sugar debate...

The problem with artificial sweeteners is that they won't fix the real problem, which is your sweet tooth. You can train yourself to stop needing everything you drink to be sweet.

I've found that to be true for myself. I've slowly learned to lower my 'sweet' threshold so that I don't need as much sweetner (be it sugar or artificial).

I used to need several sugars (or artificial sweetners) in my coffee. I've slowly lowered to virtually none or none (depending on the quality of the coffee). As I drink several cups a day, I've found that to be a good place to reduce unnecessary calories.

Have also learned to enjoy unsweet tea, unsweetened almond milk, and unsweetened yogurt. (Never would have put sugar on a sweet potato in the first place . I think they're delicious with just salt and butter).

Reducing sugar doesn't need to be cold turkey, but, if it's a goal, it is possible to slowly lower and learn to enjoy the flavor of the foods with fewer added sugars. (In most recipes you can cut sugar by 1/3 and never even taste the difference).

I am trying to find a better balance to increase my odds of losing the 100lbs I want to this year without makimg drastic changes that will cause depression and eventual rebounding to old habits. .that said...

I have 5 kids, including 3 month old preemie twins. I dont get to sleep very much at all. I live off coffee but the sugar intake was not helping my loss. Im not ready for black but I'm working my way there....meanwhile ive been using splenda but I'm becoming concerned about my body resisting the proper breakdown of natural sugars if I continue to use the splenda. Does anybody have any experience with sugar substitutes slowing weight loss? I realize its a bandaid for my sweet tooth but again I'm taking baby steps. Ive cut back my portions and ive added exercise

I'm doing low carb, cutting out carbs mostly reduces cravings. i've substituted my sugar in teh coffee for half and half and I find it's lovely that way. Sugar substitutes are really no better than sugar. your body sends an insulin response and then finds nothing there after all resulting in more cravings and hunger signals

I am in the same boat as you. I started low-carbing today and the first thing that happens is the hankering for sweets. Not chips or breads or fries, but sweets. I decided to try the Trident flavored gums with Xylitol (sugar alcohol) that low-carbers usually recommend and it helped me get through the day. Tomorrow morning I shall try coffee without sugar and a splash of milk as you mentioned. I wish you tons of luck!

I am in the same boat as you. I started low-carbing today and the first thing that happens is the hankering for sweets. Not chips or breads or fries, but sweets. I decided to try the Trident flavored gums with Xylitol (sugar alcohol) that low-carbers usually recommend and it helped me get through the day. Tomorrow morning I shall try coffee without sugar and a splash of milk as you mentioned. I wish you tons of luck!

I put heavy cream in my coffee.

eat in a calorie deficit ..

if your weight loss has slowed then you are probably eating more or you have not re-adjusted to account for your weight loss…

This, of course, is perfectly true and correct.

Although as an added nuance, if she has 107 pounds to lose (which is what she's showing in her banner), there are elevated chances of her having chronically high insulin (This isn't guarenteed, of course, but with that amount of weight to lose the chances of metabolic syndrome are relatively high as obesity is associated and it may occur as commonly as 1 in 6 people). For an individual with 100+ pounds to lose, it might be worth investigating. Checking fasting blood sugar with a glucometer and then the speed with which it falls after eating could be helpful, though that may be more trouble than someone wants to go to. Hyperpigmentation (darkening) of skin in the underarm area or around one's neck are also indicators, as are "skin tags" { http://www.pre-diabetes.com/medical/definition-skin-tags.html }.) If metabolic syndrome has become involved, then reducing simple-sugar intake could be part of a generally healthful approach. There are several things that can be done: exercise is helpful as is moderating simple sugar intake (reducing calories usually reduces sugar intake, but to a greater or lesser degree depending on exactly which foods someone is eating.)

Additionally, the World Health Organization just issued revised guidelines that 'added sugar' should only comprise 5% of daily calorie intake (The U.S. Center for Disease Control still has it at 10%... but the average American consumes in excess of 13%)

Thank you all for the advice. I had full blood work pulled. ..and the results are...im just fat. Fasting glucose and sugar breakdown was good. As was cholesterol levels, thyroid and triglycerides. I've been instructed to try and eat balanced and increase exercise. I committed to at least a mile a day. So far so good.

Have they run a full hormone panel. Given that you're a new Mom, it's possible your hormones are unbalanced and, while not the source of an issue with not losing weight, can contribute to retained body fat, especially if you're not breast feeding.

Thank you all for the advice. I had full blood work pulled. ..and the results are...im just fat. Fasting glucose and sugar breakdown was good. As was cholesterol levels, thyroid and triglycerides. I've been instructed to try and eat balanced and increase exercise. I committed to at least a mile a day. So far so good.

Keep in mind that obesity results from learned behavior.

We all share the same metabolism, break down carbs, fats and proteins the same way, utilize calories in exercise and fat storage the exact same way.

What is different is how people react to hunger- which is mostly the stomach signalling the brain that it is not stuffed full as it is used to being.

"Naturally" thin people can deal with the sensation without rushing to the refrigerator. They might even- gasp!- miss a meal.

For a lot of folks, sadly, that sensation causes them to drop everything and start eating. Those are the obese, or the soon-to-be-obese.

This is ridiculous.

First of all, whether you eat at the first sign of hunger or you eat one meal a day, it still matters FAR more about how much you put in your mouth at one sitting. Someone can put off hunger pangs all day and then sit down in the evening and eat a 3,200 calorie pizza, whereas someone else can eat every 2 or 3 hours and consume 1,600 calories be perfectly satisfied.

Secondly, I would argue that obesity much more often stems from what people eat when they're NOT hungry - aka, what they eat when they're bored, tired, celebrating, stressed, lonely, sad, drunk, etc - than what they eat when they ARE, or one of a variety of other things. It's actually pretty offensive to generalize that all overweight people are that way simply because they can't control their most basic human impulses and function only at Maslow's first hierarchy level or something. Maybe some people are like that, but for most others it's a lack of either knowledge around or ability to obtain the proper balance of foods and energy expenditure, or it's a far deeper emotional issue. Not "OMG I'M HUNGRY AND I CAN'T STOP STUFFING MY FACE NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM."

Sorry for the derailment, lol. This one just got my ire up a bit.

Thank you all for the advice. I had full blood work pulled. ..and the results are...im just fat. Fasting glucose and sugar breakdown was good. As was cholesterol levels, thyroid and triglycerides. I've been instructed to try and eat balanced and increase exercise. I committed to at least a mile a day. So far so good.

Keep in mind that obesity results from learned behavior.

We all share the same metabolism, break down carbs, fats and proteins the same way, utilize calories in exercise and fat storage the exact same way.

What is different is how people react to hunger- which is mostly the stomach signalling the brain that it is not stuffed full as it is used to being.

"Naturally" thin people can deal with the sensation without rushing to the refrigerator. They might even- gasp!- miss a meal.

For a lot of folks, sadly, that sensation causes them to drop everything and start eating. Those are the obese, or the soon-to-be-obese.

there was also a study done that proved that some people don't get the reward from a taste of food that others do. The smell of the food builds anticipation in the brain, and then the taste doesn't fulfill the anticipation, so the person will eat more and more to try to rach fulfillment. Other people get some anticipation, but the first taste gives much more fulfillment, so they don't eat as much.

That's from learned behavior. Nothing more.

Um, no, it's a chemical process in the brain.

Luckily, a person can be taught not to put food to mouth.

there was also a study done that proved that some people don't get the reward from a taste of food that others do. The smell of the food builds anticipation in the brain, and then the taste doesn't fulfill the anticipation, so the person will eat more and more to try to rach fulfillment. Other people get some anticipation, but the first taste gives much more fulfillment, so they don't eat as much.

The Pavlov study?