Do Artificial Sweeteners Hinder Weight Loss? What Are Healthy Alternatives that Satisfy?

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ballardf
ballardf Posts: 55 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I get conflicting info about artificial sweeteners. Do they hinder weight loss? I use them sparingly but I have to have them in certain foods and beverages, mainly coffee and oatmeal. I have one cup of coffee daily and drink water the rest of the day- no soda. Once in a while if eating out I'll have unsweetened iced tea. Im diabetic so I really have to monitor my sugar intake.
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Replies

  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
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    no, cals in-cals out is EVERYTHING
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,084 Member
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    No calorie ( or next to no calories, before somebody pedantic comes in and tells us there is 2 calories or something in a box of Equal) sweeteners will not hinder your weight loss.

    There was a really good sticky on aspartame - not sure if stickies are still there with new format of forum.
  • maybebaby34
    maybebaby34 Posts: 234 Member
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    Artificial sweetners are so bad for you. They contribute to many health problems. They also trigger your body to crave more sugar. Hence over eating and then gaining. If you need sugar in drinks and oatmeal use Sweet leaf stivia drops. They even come in soda flavors to give water extea taste. Stevia wont cause spikes in your blood sugar like other sweetners will. :)
  • ballardf
    ballardf Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks maybebaby34. I'm lucky in the fact I've gotten over the sugar cravings. But I think will give the stevia drops a try tho. Thank You!!!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    No, they don't hinder your weight loss. Most of them taste icky though!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    That depends. Do they make you hungry, causing you to eat more? Do they affect your blood sugar levels?
  • ballardf
    ballardf Posts: 55 Member
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    No Sabine_Stroehm. Niether. I only use it 1-2 times a day tho. Three packs of equal when I do use it.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I use Splenda in my coffee regularly and also only drink diet soda (no full sugar soda). Calories in calories out. No negative impact on weight loss, because if anything, I can still enjoy the things I like for little to no calories
  • EvgenyP
    EvgenyP Posts: 19 Member
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    well you should keep on researching then, asking people on forums isn't going to yield you anything that is not conflicting. Obviously its nothing good, like obviously, but its not as bad as holding a cellphone beside your ear or taking birth control pills.

    For some diet drinks might help w/ weight loss due to addiction, if you drop everything you'v had in the past you will have hard time staying on track.

    Whatever works for you. Definitely being over 20%bodyfat for men and 30% for women is worse than drinking 200L of diet drink in 1 year for the purpose of losing weight. Its bad, but not as bad as many things you do in your life. One of them is sedentary lifestyle that some people have.

    In my own experience and research that I have read, all artificial sweeteners including stevia increase insulin resistance, which will lead to diabetes. They did this test on mice and confirmed(dont ask for reference, google yourself), they never tested on humans afaik
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    edited October 2014
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    And of course, researching won't give you conflicting info, either

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
  • Coolhandkid
    Coolhandkid Posts: 84 Member
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    I have a severe diet coke addiction. I found I eat more sugar on days when I drink more diet coke. I think there is something to what Maybebaby34 is saying as it has impacted me personally. When I stick to water I don't have any of those cravings. YMMV.
  • EvgenyP
    EvgenyP Posts: 19 Member
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    Worst offender is air we breathe. Has much more bad stuff than aspartame. Look at hong kong for example.
  • maybebaby34
    maybebaby34 Posts: 234 Member
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    True some Stevia can spike insulin, but not in the quantity that artificial sweeteners can. Again like you said google and research are key. Not all stevia is treated equal. Many have additives too. Any product we consume should be research, & fit into our lifestyle. I cannot stand artificial sweeteners, agave, or even stevia. I do believe if you decide you need something that Stevia is the right choice. No one is asking him to run out and purchase their favorite. But when asking for advice, of course everyone will have an opinion.
  • GulfcoastAL
    GulfcoastAL Posts: 74 Member
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    My paternal family is diabetic, so I'm at risk for it. They developed it despite working out and diet- both were thin.

    I don't touch artificial sweeteners. They did. Sweet and Low (grandfather); Aspartame/ Splenda (father).

    I still don't have diabetes and I'm 45. I use plain old sugar in my coffee and drink water, no sodas.
  • shadowjack1965
    shadowjack1965 Posts: 107 Member
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    Avoid the fear blogs and decide for yourself. Here's two excellent discussions about it:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198517/

    It's really all up to you. If you choose to eliminate all artificial sweeteners, good for you. If you choose, like I do, to still have a diet soda once in a while or have some Equal, then you can read here and realize there's no harm to your body unless you're in one of the rare categories like those mentioned in the second link.

    Best of luck!
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
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    This theory is bogus. I have been using artificial sweeteners for 20 years! And I...oh, yeah, I'm still fat.
  • ballardf
    ballardf Posts: 55 Member
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    Thanks everone for youe comments!! I'm not insulin dependent. I do a pill regimen twice daily. As stated earlier I was fortunate enough to get rid of the sodas, even diet, as I can't stand the taste of them. I will do the research!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Eh, I had a sweet tooth long before I switched to diet soda. And I'm still losing.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    For some of us, sweet tastes pique our appetites and the extra-sweet tastes of artificial sweeteners have more of an effect than straight sugar. I am one of those people. If I want the out-of-control munchies, all I need is a Diet Coke and I'm off to the snack races. There is science showing that a goodly number of people have this reaction and need to avoid the artificial sweeteners to keep our eating under control.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,699 Member
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    maybebaby34 wrote: »
    Artificial sweetners are so bad for you. They contribute to many health problems. They also trigger your body to crave more sugar. Hence over eating and then gaining. If you need sugar in drinks and oatmeal use Sweet leaf stivia drops. They even come in soda flavors to give water extea taste. Stevia wont cause spikes in your blood sugar like other sweetners will. :)
    Not according to peer reviewed clinical studies. This is a subject I'm well versed at and NONE of my clients have any issues with weight loss using it.
    Where does it become a issue? IMO, when people think that drinking a 0 calorie drink is "saving" them calories and go off and eat because they believe 0 calories allows room for a lot more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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