There are many different factors between your diet and general lifestyle that may contribute to a struggle in losing weight, but oftentimes it’s the smallest factors which sneak under that radar that may be primarily to blame for a plateau on the scale. It’s been said time and time again that moderation is key, and it’s true that there is room for all of your favorite foods within a balanced diet for weight loss. However, there are some ingredients that are naturally less beneficial to reaching your goals than others, and eating certain foods in excess may be the culprit for your stalling results.
With this, artificial sweetener is one of the leading reasons for a difficulty in losing weight, but understanding why this is the case can make it easier to cut down on sugar intake and create a healthier diet to adequately nourish your body
It worsens sugar cravings
Cravings are entirely natural and listening to them will allow your body to tell you what it needs in order to feel great. However, in replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners you’re actually worsening your cravings for sweet foods, leading to overindulgence if you believe that’s what your body needs.
“Artificial sweeteners, although they do not have any calories or sugar, can actually increase your sugar cravings, which, if you're trying to reduce added sugar and processed foods, can be counterproductive and very frustrating,” explains registered dietitian, Zoë Schroeder.
This can be explained due to the fact that artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than the natural variation, making it more addictive. “Our brains actually then desire it even more and require even more of regular sugar, when you have it, to get to that same level of sweetness to satisfy it,” adds Schroeder.
While you may be opting for zero calorie sweeteners in order to ‘save’ on calories, in the long term you may be impeding on your goal of reducing sugar intake due to the sweetness of these foods and the cravings they promote.
Sugar is not entirely bad to include within your diet, and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels will ensure you’re left feeling energetic and in a good mood. However, consuming artificial sweeteners as an alternative may put your body at risk in more ways than simply struggling to lose weight.
“New research is showing that too much artificial sweeteners can actually cause insulin resistance, in a similar way that too much sugar can. Insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes,” explains Schroeder. Therefore as a general rule of thumb to preserve all of the faculties of your body (including healthy weight loss), sugar intake should be kept to a minimum in favor of more natural options like fruit.
Fruits are an example of healthy sources of sugar that can improve your wellness and offer a serving of fiber to the body which will in turn increase satiety and minimize overeating. “Fruit has naturally occurring sugar which means it has lots of other good nutrients attached to it such as fiber, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients,” notes Schroeder.
Paying attention to the needs of your body without hyper-focusing on weight loss will ultimately be the most beneficial tactic for improving your wellness, and eating a healthy and balanced diet will naturally result in a healthy appearance to follow.
If you have a significant sweet tooth and are looking for more nutritious ways to fulfill that craving, try utilizing fruit as a means for reducing your artificial sugar intake while still satisfying what your body is asking for. “For example, ‘nice cream’ is frozen banana and unsweetened cocoa powder blended up,” says Schroeder. “The banana offers lots of natural sweetness and the cocoa powder makes it rich and chocolatey without adding any sugar.”
Making small but intentional changes within your diet can have a major impact on your body over time, so instead of replacing real sugar with artificial sweetener to reduce your calories, turn to whole foods for a more nutritious and fulfilling sweet option.
