The Splenda myth

will having 2-3 packets of Splenda everyday (almost everyday) hinder my weight loss? There's all those studies out there about Splenda hindering weight loss and even causing weight gain. Has anyone else noticed that their consumption of Splenda has made it more difficult for them to lose or cause any health problems? I'm trying not to be ignorant or read too much into articles that are out there on the subject matter but I just want to know others experiences.
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Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    No.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Nope. I use 3 packets of splenda in my morning Greek yogurt (It helps to make it not taste as sour), and I'm still losing weight.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Every week I drink gallons and gallons of water sweetened with sucralose.

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  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited June 2015
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.
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  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Nope! No effect at all. If you like it, have it!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I'm not a fan of splenda, but it won't hinder anything. I prefer stevia myself.
  • bionicrooster
    bionicrooster Posts: 353 Member
    I use it in my coffee and tea everyday and I am down 25 pounds or so since February.
  • discretekim
    discretekim Posts: 314 Member
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.

    What!? I have 7-11 packets most days. I guess it doesn't matter though. I chew up to a pack of gum and each piece has 5 calories. These things average out. Still I didn't know that.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.

    What!? I have 7-11 packets most days. I guess it doesn't matter though. I chew up to a pack of gum and each piece has 5 calories. These things average out. Still I didn't know that.

    Yeah, I know that in the US they're allowed to say '0 calories' if it's less than 5 calories. Which is cool, I guess, as 4 calories is negligible. But it gets a bit misleading with things like '0 calorie' spray oil that is actually 4 calories per 'serve' (a half second spray) so you get people using like 4 times that and logging it as zero
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    That's a small amount. You'll be fine. All the studies where crazy things happen to mice have the mice eating like 100x what a human being would eat, or thereabouts.
  • SimoneBee12
    SimoneBee12 Posts: 268 Member
    edited June 2015
    The reason these articles think Splenda causes weight gain is normally because people think they are being good by using Splenda, and make up for it by over eating other things without realising how detrimental it is, and they gain weight. It's a correlation not causation issue, as (almost) all these articles claim.
  • bbontheb
    bbontheb Posts: 718 Member
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.

    What!? I have 7-11 packets most days. I guess it doesn't matter though. I chew up to a pack of gum and each piece has 5 calories. These things average out. Still I didn't know that.

    Yeah, I know that in the US they're allowed to say '0 calories' if it's less than 5 calories. Which is cool, I guess, as 4 calories is negligible. But it gets a bit misleading with things like '0 calorie' spray oil that is actually 4 calories per 'serve' (a half second spray) so you get people using like 4 times that and logging it as zero

    Um whaaaat? I had no idea of this! Says person who drinks tea with sucralose (0 cal) tsp but has like 6 cups of tea a day.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    The reason these articles think Splenda causes weight gain is normally because people think they are being good by using Splenda, and make up for it by over eating other things without realising how detrimental it is, and they gain weight. It's a correlation not causation issue, as (almost) all these articles claim.

    I find this believable as @SimoneBee12 is wearing a cap and gown. smarts!
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    I use an app called foodacate. This app grades foods from A to D-. I scanned every single artificial sweetener on the shelf and every one of them graded poorer than regular sugar (including splenda).

    I use regular sugar, but I use it sparingly.
  • SimoneBee12
    SimoneBee12 Posts: 268 Member
    tibby531 wrote: »
    The reason these articles think Splenda causes weight gain is normally because people think they are being good by using Splenda, and make up for it by over eating other things without realising how detrimental it is, and they gain weight. It's a correlation not causation issue, as (almost) all these articles claim.

    I find this believable as @SimoneBee12 is wearing a cap and gown. smarts!

    Not only am I wearing the cap and gown, but it was for a scientific degree! So, you just have to believe me, it's science ;)
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I buy giant boxes of granulated Splenda. Been doing it for years. I've been at my goal weight for a long time.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    bcalvanese wrote: »
    I use an app called foodacate. This app grades foods from A to D-. I scanned every single artificial sweetener on the shelf and every one of them graded poorer than regular sugar (including splenda).

    I use regular sugar, but I use it sparingly.

    Sure because it grades foods based on how "real" they are, so anything with only one ingredient that isn't "real" will get a poor grade. That means absolutely nothing except that this app decided to grade things that way.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    i consume inordinate amounts of all kinds of sweeteners. Had no problem dropping over 170 pounds and staying there.
  • meganjcallaghan
    meganjcallaghan Posts: 949 Member
    The reason these articles think Splenda causes weight gain is normally because people think they are being good by using Splenda, and make up for it by over eating other things without realising how detrimental it is, and they gain weight. It's a correlation not causation issue, as (almost) all these articles claim.

    preach. that's the number 1 problem with all the stupid "scientific" articles people find on the ol' interwebs. Everyone needs to memorize and repeat...."correlation is not causation....correlation is not causation....". Remember this every time you open your web browser.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,739 Member
    I agree that the information regarding artificial sweeteners is very confusing and conflicting, so I just ignore it and use a wide variety of them all: I sweeten my tea with real sugar, but use artificial sweeteners for other things like coffee or hot tea and I change it up. I use them all: Sweet-n-low, Splenda, Equal, Stevia, whatever. I haven't gained any weight, nor have I died (yet) so, so far so good!
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    There a couple of processed foods that are vital to my ability to maintain and still be satisfied. Splenda is the main one. CoffeeMate and Cool Whip are the other two. I'm not worried.
  • whatatime2befit
    whatatime2befit Posts: 625 Member
    I use several packets of artificial sweeteners every day (in my coffees, yogurts), and i've lost almost 60 lbs. Hasn't hindered anything for me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I HATE the whole 'we can say it's 0 calories if it's less than 5' thing. Mostly because I can never find the correct information to log it.

    Personally though, I don't do splenda, it turns me into a carb-craving monster.
  • PopeyeCT
    PopeyeCT Posts: 249 Member
    bbontheb wrote: »
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.

    What!? I have 7-11 packets most days. I guess it doesn't matter though. I chew up to a pack of gum and each piece has 5 calories. These things average out. Still I didn't know that.

    Yeah, I know that in the US they're allowed to say '0 calories' if it's less than 5 calories. Which is cool, I guess, as 4 calories is negligible. But it gets a bit misleading with things like '0 calorie' spray oil that is actually 4 calories per 'serve' (a half second spray) so you get people using like 4 times that and logging it as zero

    Um whaaaat? I had no idea of this! Says person who drinks tea with sucralose (0 cal) tsp but has like 6 cups of tea a day.

    Yeah, like it's even possible to get a 1/4 sec spray from the can. Most people probably use 3 or 4 seconds...which is 64 calories.

    ov0bh7hxt2yz.jpg

  • SimoneBee12
    SimoneBee12 Posts: 268 Member
    The reason these articles think Splenda causes weight gain is normally because people think they are being good by using Splenda, and make up for it by over eating other things without realising how detrimental it is, and they gain weight. It's a correlation not causation issue, as (almost) all these articles claim.

    preach. that's the number 1 problem with all the stupid "scientific" articles people find on the ol' interwebs. Everyone needs to memorize and repeat...."correlation is not causation....correlation is not causation....". Remember this every time you open your web browser.

    Exactly! People think "Oh, someone wrote it down, it must be true!" As a scientist, whenever I watch the news and they talk about 'studies' I get so angry because you can tell when an idiot was the Principal Investigator, half the stuff they claim has no scientific basis and is always correlation not causation.

    I no longer watch the news, broke a few too many TVs o:)
  • Suzmp88
    Suzmp88 Posts: 48 Member
    I haven't read the studies you're talking of, but I try not to overdo the sweetners regardless. Splenda is my main source of "sweetness" on a daily basis. My reasoning is this - I have a massive sweet tooth and I'm on Atkins so instead of going to cookies, cake etc. I grant myself a splenda dessert or even a diet soda to curb that. I think the trade-off is worth it and yes, I still lose weight
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    PopeyeCT wrote: »
    bbontheb wrote: »
    No. I've lost 45 pounds and have had Splenda every day.

    Do know that each packet of Splenda has 4 calories thanks to the bulking agent. If you're going to use more than 2-3, they start to add up.

    What!? I have 7-11 packets most days. I guess it doesn't matter though. I chew up to a pack of gum and each piece has 5 calories. These things average out. Still I didn't know that.

    Yeah, I know that in the US they're allowed to say '0 calories' if it's less than 5 calories. Which is cool, I guess, as 4 calories is negligible. But it gets a bit misleading with things like '0 calorie' spray oil that is actually 4 calories per 'serve' (a half second spray) so you get people using like 4 times that and logging it as zero

    Um whaaaat? I had no idea of this! Says person who drinks tea with sucralose (0 cal) tsp but has like 6 cups of tea a day.

    Yeah, like it's even possible to get a 1/4 sec spray from the can. Most people probably use 3 or 4 seconds...which is 64 calories.

    ov0bh7hxt2yz.jpg

    Yeah I'm starting to log 1 tsp of oil when I use my oil spray... although I only do 1 second, if that.
  • benzieboxx
    benzieboxx Posts: 253 Member
    I personally just dislike the taste of splenda or any other sugar substitute. I used to be one of those people who believed all those things about fake sugar causing weight gain but then I actually started to do my own research instead of having it spoon fed to me. So yeah, OP, you're fine. It's amazing how many bogus "scientific studies" get released that say something is super bad for you when really it was the one case out of 1,000,000,000,000 and it was something incredibly skewed.
  • jesikalovesyou
    jesikalovesyou Posts: 172 Member
    I hate when people tell me I should just use sugar instead of Splenda. Yes, I started using Splenda because it was "low calorie" but I use it all the time because I LIKE THE WAY IT TASTES!!! I can't use regular sugar anymore because it tastes bad to me.