Can "0" calorie fake sugars hinder weight loss?

I’ve heard so many pros and cons and there is so much debate about artificial sweeteners. Here is my take on them.
Many people will tell you that artificial sweeteners may affect insulin causing a spike in insulin production; however, that depends on the sweetener. The studies I have found show that aspartame, was shown early on to have a positive effect on insulin secretion. Sucralose (Splenda ) moves undigested through your digestive system without affecting insulin or blood sugar because your body does not recognize sucralose as a sugar because of the three chlorine atoms. Stevia does not cause a spike in insulin and may also improve glucose tolerance. Artificial sweeteners are not all created equally. An article published in the journal "Hormone and Metabolic Research" in 1987 reported that the artificial sweetener acesulfame-K (marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One) increases the release of insulin. Artificial sweeteners might cause side effects such as diarrhea and stomach upset. You should not use artificial sweeteners, such as some stevia extracts, sold in alcohol if you are a diabetic.
What does the scientific literature have to say about artificial sweeteners causing weight gain? In a study involving 78,694 women over a 1 year period, artificial sweetener users were significantly more likely to gain weight than nonusers. However, the weight gain averaged just a modest 2 pounds. Most of the advertising for artificial sweeteners is targeted towards people that want to lose weight. But do they actually help you lose weight? The addition of artificial sweeteners to diets pose no benefit for weight loss or reduced weight gain without energy restriction. In other words, without calorie restriction, artificial sweeteners have no weight loss benefit. With calorie restriction, there is no difference between sugar and artificial sweetener use.
Artificial sweeteners provide no nutrition. They are empty “calories”. They are a processed man-made product. We can debate whether particular “natural” sweeteners like Stevia are OK to use, but the fact still remains that it’s processed food. If you must have a sweetener, try some honey instead. Honey at least has nutritional value and is a whole food. With all the negative side effects that show themselves decades after a sweetener is approved for use, I’d be weary of experimenting with any artificial sweetener. Studies show that artificial sweeteners both cause weight gain and can help aid in weight loss, but that the real determining factor is calorie intake. All things being equal then, you should be focused on the health benefits, if any, of artificial sweeteners.
The real question you should be asking is if the product the artificial sweetener is included in provides you any kind of health benefit. Most of the products containing artificial sweeteners are processed foods and drinks. They may or may not have any calories in them, but calories are not the determining factor of your health. The choice is yours if you choose to use them, but I will continue to eat whole foods that are nutritionally dense – providing essential nutrients to keep my body healthy.

Haven't hindered it for me. I have 2-5 packets of splenda a day, and 1-2 died soft drinks most days.

So I know that the artificial sweeteners are not good for you, but I'm wondering if they can thwart weight loss attempts?

I personally gave up the stuff for the most part, but someone I know who is diabetic uses it in everything, an I'm just curious if this may be hurting her weight loss efforts.

Anyone know?

Lauren

Nothing thwarts weight loss as much as too many calories. Even so I try to limit the artificial sweeteners and mostly use stevia. I love the liquid vanilla and English toffee, and plain powder. Still I love sugar free pudding and I know it won't kill me to have it once in a while.

Some people might have adverse reactions to some of those products and that would be the only reason to avoid them. I like to avoid most "chemical" foods, but at the same time if a little bit of it helps keep my sanity while I'm trying to keep a calorie budget then fine, but still I try to use stevia most of the time. I had to cut out processed sugars for health reasons, but I've also seen that it does help me keep my calorie budget to not have them.

Nope hasn't affected my weightloss....

no issues here

Simply... No.

Granted a little bit of real sugar is not going to hurt you, but as someone who formerly had blood sugar issues I can totally understand.

The problem might be the other ingredients that you're consuming alongside those "0 sugars". They're not a license to eat more stuff in general.

I just bought some No Sugar Added chocolates and 3 pieces have 240 calories! :sad:

I use sugar but I don't use enough to count either way I don't drink sodas just water and 2 teas a day haven't heard anything good about the artificial stuff

I was trying to make the decision whether to use agave nectar (about 30 calories) versus Splenda in my morning coffee. I was conflicted because by using Splenda I could save 30 calories, but then concluded it's not the agave in my morning coffee alone that's making me fat...for me, using real sugar is worth it because it tastes so much better.
But then again if I had a real Coca Cola and a Diet Coke in my hand, I'd drink the diet because that would save me 150 calories.

IMHO the main issue with artificial sweeteners is that they cause you to develop a sweet tooth. Many studies have linked artifical sweeteners with obesity and weight gain. No study is perfect, but why bother drinking something that might be bad for you when it provides zero nutrition? A diet soda here and there is probably fine. But it's probably not a great idea to basically replace water with diet soda which is what a lot of people do b/c they're so addicted to sweet flavors that they can't tolerate drinking plain water.

one (alleged) issue is that people use calorie free sweeteners and then say well, that had no calories, so I can have more of this other thing. Obviously, if we are counting calories that's not going to be an issue, but for people who are just "trying to diet" without really tracking, using artificial sweeteners has been shown to hinder weight loss just because it leads to eating more of other foods. No can't lnk to any studies, it's just something I have seen/heard a few hundred dozen times, so... take it with a grain of salt. or sugar