Does Eliminating Sugar Always Equal Weight loss?

sarahmbm
sarahmbm Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My doc has me off sugars for reasons not related to my weight. I'm dealing with stomach issues that are making it hard to keep counting calories (there's not much I can eat, so I'm not as vigilant about counting).

Still, I'm not losing weight at all.

Anyone out there lose weight by simply cutting out sugar/simple carbs?

If so, was the loss slow and gradual?

It's been two weeks for me and I see no difference.

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. If you're not in a deficit, you're not going to lose, no matter what type of food you are eating. Since you say you aren't counting calories, you're probably eating more than you think.
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    Obviously, the answer is "no."
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    If you cut out the sugar and do not replace it with other calories, then yes, you will lose weight. BUT if you will not count calories, and yours is definitely a new excuse to not count calories, then you have no idea how many calories you are eating. If you aren't losing weight, you are not eating at a deficit.
    Suck it up and start measuring and logging if you want to lose. That's all I got. Sorry.
  • banditmoss
    banditmoss Posts: 1
    I have a sugar tooth, so I usually have some form of sugar each day -- normally at night. These are things like fun dip, minute maid freezes, necco wafers, stuff like that. Pure sugar with no nutritional value. It's not unusual for me to take in 200-300 calories of snacks that are mostly sugar each day. And yet I still have been able to lose weight.

    The key is my overall calorie intake. I generally keep within my calories for losing weight. Even when I go "bad" I eat more than I should to lose weight, but not enough to gain it.

    I know this doesn't directly answer the question, but I wanted to point out that sugar intake is not detrimental to weight loss if managed appropriately. The real issue with sugar intake, given a constrained diet, is the concern that sugar calories are taking the place of nutrients the body needs. For that reason, I usually take a multivitamin, and put a limit on my sugar intake as described above. The research on the value of multivitamins are mixed, but generally they are appear to be useful in addressing nutrient deficiencies.

    Cutting sugar from a diet is good from the perspective that it allows you to focus more calories on foods that are helpful to the body. However weight loss is still tied to the fact that you are eating less calories than your body needs to function, regardless of sugar intake. If you are gaining, or maintaining weight over a long period, it's probably because you are eating more than you realize.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    Eating in a calorie deficit is the only thing that equals weight lose.

    That being said, cutting back on sugar is a quick and efficient way to reduce the calories to get into a deficit.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    Nope
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. If you're not in a deficit, you're not going to lose, no matter what type of food you are eating.

    +1. A calorie deficit is needed to lose weight, whether you eat a high-sugar or low-sugar diet.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    It's super easy to overeat if you cut out sugar and simple carbs. Steak, bacon, pork chops, burritos with lots of cheese on a whole grain wrap, all of these things are practically sugar free.
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    If you cut out the sugar and do not replace it with other calories, then yes, you will lose weight.

    Not necessarily true. If the rest of your food is still more food than you need, you will still not lose weight. At least not a considerable amount. The above statement depends largely on how much of your calories come from sugar. As others have said before me, you need to be in a caloric deficit - eating fewer calories than your body is using. The best way to be sure of this is to get an estimate of your total daily energy expenditure: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    And eat less than that. LOG EVERYTHING and weigh your food instead of using measuring cups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    Everybody's body works a tiny bit differently and calories are always estimates so if something isn't working after a few weeks, eat a bit less. Losing weight has very little to do with WHAT you eat and everything to do with HOW MUCH you eat. Granted, you won't feel as healthy or be as healthy if you don't have a varied diet with protein, fat and carbs. . .but you will still lose weight even if all you eat are snickers bars.
  • dsb188
    dsb188 Posts: 121 Member
    When I first started losing weight I ate a bunch of fruit 7-8 pieces a day and limited my fat and calories. I lost weight and than I switched to low carb and lost a bit more. I am off of low carb and now that I am back to eating fruit and honey (sugar) or sugar in other foods in small quantities I am still losing weight. I have found that calorie counting works. Even when I was on low carb FOR ME the fact that I was watching my calories made me lose weight.

    I feel like if people drink like12 sodas a day than cutting that out would help you lose weight but for me I still have sugar and I'm losing weight. I feel like sometimes that is an easy answer for doctors to give. Its kind of generic. I know people say sugar is bad for you and all that jazz but I like fruit and I like cake occasionally and I don't plan on cutting out sugars completely. Its insane to me.

Categories