I, too, gave up most of my Equal and diet sodas. My reasons were due to my stomach problems. Had to give up carbonated drinks – which I knew I was addicted to (I love the “feel” of carbonation – anyone else?)
When I did that, I lost 8 lbs. in 4 weeks. I was amazed and puzzled, since I hadn’t done anything else except start drinking more fruit juice and Gatorade, etc., which contain fructose. However, the posts to this list about aspartame came at the same time, and I read about people losing weight after cutting out aspartame from their diets. That must be it.