I will be careful in re: fructose content of agave. I knew it does have calories. But I think the idea was mainly to put in a drink or two during the day, to help kill sugar cravings. Depending on how my overall diet goes (and the imminence of strawberry/cherry season at the Farmer’s Market) I may or may not need it.

Stevia. It works. Sorta. Certainly, after drinking it with some water, I can’t even IMAGINE wanting sugar substances. I know they also make it in a tea. Can’t remember if I tried that last time or not. I remember not being thrilled with it overall. Mainly because I had to gulp down the water. I think I’ll keep an open mind about it and agave, up until I actually need to consider either one. Then do more in-depth research. Including, apparently, talking to you some more about it.

The good thing is that it doesn’t spike blood sugar, so fewer cravings. The bad thing is that its been shown that fructose leads to more *belly* fat than other sugars — and it’s the belly fat that is particularly unhealthy.

Have you tried stevia? It’s a natural herb that’s sold in powder form as a supplement and used as a very low cal sweetener. It also helps regulate blood sugar. I don’t know if you can bake with it, but it’s great for sweetening drinks.

Yeah, my doctor basically told me that willpower has very little to do with it. Which was very refreshing coming from one of those lithe, energetic, late 40s guys who has clearly never had a weight problem in his life.

But my therapist did suggest agave, same substance they use to make tequila, to help my sugar cravings. She swears by it. So I may have to check it out at Trader Joe’s sometime. She says it helps keep her blood sugar better in balance and helps her sugar cravings overall. It’s on my list of things to check out. But mostly I’m just trying to focus on one thing at a time, so that I don’t try to do too much and end up doing nothing at all!

Luckily, the meds I’m on don’t create any particular cravings. (Though when I don’t have enough anti-depressants my body craves chocolate as a serotonin boost.) But given that I’m eating less sugar/junk with the Alli plan, I’m also having fewer cravings because my blood sugar isn’t all over the place. It’s kind of refreshing overall!

Have you talked to your doctor(s) about this? They might be able to suggest something for the cravings. Also, a lot of meds can cause those cravings (and psych meds are notorious). That might be unavoidable, but it’s good to know, especially because — if you’re like me — you probably thinks sometimes that you should have more willpower.