“...every time I drink a soda, I feel like I’m fattening myself up.”
Every time you drink a soda...and it does not matter whether it is sweetened with sugar, HFCS, or any of the artificial sweeteners...all will cause weight gain. And the artificial sweeteners are pure poison...the will mess with your mind. Stevia is the only no-calorie sweetener that is safe, and it is the only sweetener that will not have a tendency to make you gain weight.
I have had issues with Aspartame...its hard to describe, but I become physically addicted to it, always needing more...and walking around in a ‘funk’, while jonesing for my next aspartame fix. I’ve been hooked twice, and quit twice.
So I’ve been reluctant to try another non-sugar sweetener...but I might give Stevia a try.