Sugar - possibly the easiest thing to cut back on for weight loss!

As we all know and agree on the only way to lose weight is to eat in a calorie deficit. So those peps currently over weight and eating in a surplus have to cut some calories somewhere and whats the easiest and least important food group to do that with - Sugar.

I found it easiest not to change what I eat but just to reduce the quantity.
Savoury snacks are the one of my favourite things so reducing quantity & frequency has a bigger impact for me.

So whats great about sugar - Nothing!!! Apart from giving the body a quick fix of energy (which it can easily get from more nutrient rich and beneficial food) it offers nothing!

Energy for my workouts (including long cycle rides) is actually very important to me.
And taste.
Once you have hit your macro and micro nutrient needs you don't get any bonus points for eating more nutrient rich food. Having some fun or discretionary food is important for many people to make tolerating a calorie deficit easier.

What could be a better thing to cut, to get that calorie surplus into a deficit?

Going to differ from person to person depending on their current diet, health or digestion issues and lifestyle. Sugar is just the current bogeyman, sugar reduction is a nice simple message to get across to populations who mostly don't track their calories.
Alcohol would be an alternative suggestion and arguably a better thing to reduce for many.

The main thing is get into a calorie deficit!

True but the way to get long term adherence will differ from person to person.

So basically eat all the sugar you want after you've met your nutritional goals......ridiculous. That Alan guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

msf74 wrote: »

I pretty much agree with the OP.

You say this, but then you say things that are not actually what the initial post said.

Highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar (particularly when combined with fat in equal ratios) are highly palatable (so easier to over consume) calorie dense but lack volume and satiety (so easier to exceed your TDEE) and usually nutrient sparse (making it easier to become nutrient deficient.)

The argument was that sugar is the easiest thing to cut. Nothing about fat.

In that not everyone eats lots of "highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar" (let alone combined with other ingredients not the subject of the original post), it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories. It's also not the only (or even main) way that many people eat sugar. Some people even add sugar--wait for it--to make some nutrient dense foods taste better!

For me, the easiest thing to cut was Indian takeout (I haven't eliminated it, I just plan better, so I cook a higher percentage of my meals). Sugar was definitely not the main source of calories in that. In that I somehow magically got fat without drinking soda with sugar (I must be a special snowflake!), advising me to drop soda probably would not have been that effective.

galprincess wrote: »

I think empty calories (junk foods) should all be done in moderation I get sugar from fruit and chocolate mainly im reducing neither

Yeah, this is basically how I feel. The parts of my diet that could be called junk food (for those bothered by the term, less nutrient dense foods that mainly add energy that I was generally not in need of) were not primarily sugar-based. To the extent some were, it made sense to consider cutting them down, just as I cut down on other things that fell in that category, for me. Currently, however, my main sugar is in fruit, dairy, ice cream, and occasional fancy chocolate, and none of those things would be easy to cut, as I get quite a bit of satisfaction and pleasure from them when compared to the calories I spend on them, not to mention the nutrients in fruit and dairy (and the positives in dark chocolate, for that matter).

lemurcat12 wrote: »

The argument was that sugar is the easiest thing to cut. Nothing about fat.

In that not everyone eats lots of "highly refined or processed foods which contain concentrated forms of sugar" (let alone combined with other ingredients not the subject of the original post), it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories. It's also not the only (or even main) way that many people eat sugar. Some people even add sugar--wait for it--to make some nutrient dense foods taste better!

I had no idea that people add sugar to caramelise stuff and nutrients and what not! You learn something new every day.

Joking aside, when you say "it's pretty presumptuous to claim that's the best way for everyone to cut calories" (emphasis added) who are you talking about - me or the OP because that is certainly not my position.

It is an easy way for many people, and in my opinion the majority of people, to cut calories. Sugar (especially combined with fat) makes up a lot of snacking outside of main meals - sweets, fizzy drinks, cakes, pastries, doughnuts, chocolate - and where many people rack up calories at an alarming rate. Drilling down on snacking is an easy way to keep your diet in check.

msf74 wrote: »

who are you talking about - me or the OP because that is certainly not my position.

You said you agreed with the OP, who had said sugar was the easiest thing for people to cut, but amended it to highly refined and processed foods containing sugar and fat are the easiest thing to cut. Not everyone--not even all fat people--eat lots of that kind of food. Even people who eat lots of junk food (depending on how we define it) don't necessarily eat lots of sugary foods. This current bizarre paranoia where the main problem with eating lots of McD's is there's some sugar in the ketchup or whatever makes no sense to me. There are lots of things to cut besides sugar. I got fat in part because I like fat (not particularly in "highly processed foods" and I haven't actually eaten fast food in years, so not that stereotype either) and because I was eating thoughtlessly in general, so wasting calories on foods I don't even care about that much. So that was how it was easy for me to cut calories.

I think the better message is don't focus in on some food group or ingredient and demonize it (I think sugar in coffee is disgusting, but a tsp doesn't actually add many calories, so if it makes a huge difference in whether you enjoy your coffee, why worry about it?). Instead, eat mindfully, understand where your calories and nutrients are coming from, and cut what makes sense for you to cut.

I also happen to agree that for many--for me specifically--cutting snacking probably helps, not because one necessarily eats lots of sweets (some people likely do, but others do not), but because for me specifically it related to eating extra calories as recreation rather than for any genuine hunger/nutrient reason. However, others enjoy the grazing or 6 small meals way of eating, so me saying "cut down on snacks" might not work for them at all.

Basically, you seemed to wonder why people were arguing with the OP, and I am because I think one-size-fits-all advice is never good. I think people need to understand what they are eating and how it related to them gaining weight and then address their specific issues. As someone who never chowed down on Twinkies and washed them down with Coke or whatever (not that there's anything wrong with that) it rather irritates me that it's assumed that that's how all fat people gained weight and thus what we all need to be told what to do (well, I'm not currently overweight, but you get the idea).

ana3067 wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Cutting back on added sugars was the easiest thing I ever did to aide in my weight loss. It's simply not needed in so many places it's added.
And, yes, I cut back on heavily refined, highly processed convenience foods as well. No calorie counting, no weighing, measuring, logging.

Just cut back on the crap.

I did this 5 years ago, with lots of cardio. And neither were sustainable because I developed a love for lifting in lieu of cardio (now i pretty much never do it) and I started binging on those "crap" foods until I eventually ditched the entire "lifestyle" i had created. Now that I no longer cut back on anything other than tracking my macros/calories, I eat junk food way less than I used to. Funny how not placing any limits on my consumption, outside of knowing I need to meet my macro needs, has made me automatically opt for other foods instead while still regularly enjoying the junk.

Different strokes!
Hope maintenance is a breeze for you as well. cheers
fwiw, yes, you cut back, if you didn't you wouldn't be losing. right?
Unless you only cut back on something else? Vegetables?

ana3067 wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Cutting back on added sugars was the easiest thing I ever did to aide in my weight loss. It's simply not needed in so many places it's added.
And, yes, I cut back on heavily refined, highly processed convenience foods as well. No calorie counting, no weighing, measuring, logging.

Just cut back on the crap.

I did this 5 years ago, with lots of cardio. And neither were sustainable because I developed a love for lifting in lieu of cardio (now i pretty much never do it) and I started binging on those "crap" foods until I eventually ditched the entire "lifestyle" i had created. Now that I no longer cut back on anything other than tracking my macros/calories, I eat junk food way less than I used to. Funny how not placing any limits on my consumption, outside of knowing I need to meet my macro needs, has made me automatically opt for other foods instead while still regularly enjoying the junk.

I find it interesting how a lot of people seem to find unsustainable cutting back on added sugars. (Not saying it's your case, your post just made me think about it.) I grew up in a household where added fat, salt and sugar were barely used, instead, my mom would use herbs to make the food tastier. (Although, when teaching me how to cook, she was the first to recognise that fat is what tastes good in food.) So, now that I find myself eating foods with more fats and sugar on a regular basis, I actually feel way better and relieved when I get to cut back.

I have to admit though, I also have a similar reaction to you… I told myself no fries for this month. Thought it would be easy because of the above. Now I suddenly find myself craving them. Also, burgers.

maybe I will buy them tomorrow and do an extra half an hour of cardio.