The plan does not allow artificial sweeteners except stevia and sugar alcohols. Personally I don't use any artificial sweeteners (to the best of my ability/knowledge). Jorge also recommends that you eat all of the 6 carb servings allowed, but I usually eat 4 or 5 servings. In general, I only eat carbs if they are adding to my fiber count, and when I have enough fiber for the day I stop eating carbs.
The BFC is largely a recipe book. I looked through the recipes, which are all based off a fast-food or restaurant meal that you can buy to show you how you can eat similar/more healthy food on this plan. Since basically all of the recipes use some kind of specialty product like a sweetener or a bread product I didn't find them useful. I have never made any of the recipes from the book. I simply modified some of my recipes that I used pre-project and added in whole plan-friendly foods.
I don't think there is anything magical about this diet, especially given that I only use the principles and not the specifics. I could probably follow a less specific low-carb or low-sugar plan but I like the externally-decided numerical limits.
The diet doesn't require exercise for weight loss, although Jorge does state that you should exercise for heart health. I work out about 4 or 5 times per week - about half the days I lift weights and half I run or play tennis.
