I am 38. Twenty-two years ago (gulp – I must be old!) I was apprenticing to a ballet company, when the ballet master was harassing everyone to lose more weight, one point driven home was, “If you want to lose weight, DO NOT drink diet sodas. Drink water or unsweetend ice tea or hot tea.”) Therefore, for my entire life, I’ve never voluntarily consumed artificially sweetened beverages or products. Besides, they all taste foul.
Over the years I’ve become a working actress and a fitness trainer. Six weeks ago I booked a Crystal Light commercial. During the day’s shooting I had to drink a total of about three glasses of the beverage – the shots were such that it was impossible to ‘fake drink’ or drink and spit. The following morning I woke up with an abdomen swollen to three or four month’s pregnancy in appearance. I thought I had put on some weight, having been married the week before and eaten to my heart’s content. However, my entire intestinal system was upset: gas, tenderness, constipation. Nothing for three days would relieve the bloating, and believe me, I reverted to all the instant weight loss secrets I’ve learned over the years. On the fourth day, I woke up, urinated for what seemed an hour, and my system was fine. Obviously, these sweetened actually make one RETAIN water rather than simply running the system as water does. The only really abnormal thing I’d consumed for three weeks was the Crystal Light – everything else was “real” food. I counsel all my clients to reject all foods containing not only artificial sweeteners, but also – and I dread to learn in a few years what they’ll reveal about the artificial fats – artificial fats.