I think the secret for me was that I stopped drinking diet (NutraSweet) sodas at the beginning of the diet. I have read somewhere that many problems can be traced to Aspartame. It was certainly so for me. The way the Aspartame ‘addiction’ affected me was to make me continually hungry for ‘taste’, or more accurately ‘flavor’. I would eat or drink way past I was hungry for ‘bulk’, often until I was in pain.
I started drinking sugar-sweetened soda or tea and a single can or less satisfied my desire for flavor, as opposed to the 2-liters or more per day that I drank before the diet.
If anyone knows about amino acid metabolism and the effect of Aspartame on diet, I would love to hear from you. I think there is a connection there which is of significance. I can’t prove anything, but I know in my heart that it is real. Oh, another thing, my continual sinus headaches with migraines have ceased. What a blessing. I can now eat blue mold cheeses without going into a day of migraine headache recovery.