Sugar isn’t inherently fattening. It has no properties that will make you gain weight without a calorie surplus. It also isn’t addictive on its own. If it were, you would see people eating it out of a bag with a spoon (which you never see). However, when mixed with fat, salt, and put in to a low nutrient, low satiety, extremely tasty mixture, it can produce ‘addictive like behaviours’.
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Now of course, sugar and the foods mentioned above, are far from the best choices you can make, and they don’t provide much nutritional value. But this doesn’t mean you can’t eat them. Not everything you eat has to be nutritious. The vast majority of what you eat should be nutritious, but a small quantity can come from foods that aren’t.
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It’s recommended that you keep your added sugars to less than 10% of your daily intake. Keep in mind that this is ADDED sugars and doesn’t include sugars found naturally in foods.
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People often lose weight when they cut these foods out, but it has nothing to do with the sugar. It’s calories. You go from eating bags of crisps, bars of chocolate, tubs of ice cream, weekend pizza feasts etc to not having any of them. It’s just a huge reduction in calories, nothing more.
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If these foods cause you to overeat and binge then it may be wise to restrict or cut them out until you can develop a better relationship with them. And if you’re okay with never eating them again then that’s cool, if that works for you then brilliant. However that doesn’t mean that it’s the same for everyone.
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Not everybody would want to never eat these foods again (definitely me!!!). And if you can get the same weight loss results and still be healthy whilst eating them, then in my opinion, why wouldn’t you?!! Now of course you have to learn how to incorporate them in to your diet and of course as mentioned before, they should make up a small portion of your intake. And this is a skill, and like all skills it takes time and practice, but it can absolutely be done.
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We know that adherence is the number #1 predictor of whether your eating regime will be successful. If including these kind of foods increases your adherence then finding a way to include them can bolster your chances of long term success. As always, do what works for you.
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There is evidence that flexible dieting (having controlled, planned indulgences) is associated with better long-term weight management, lower rates of eating disorders and better management of cravings when compared to rigid, all-or-nothing dieting (restricting or banning foods). Of course these are just averages and people vary on an individual basis so do what works for you. I know for me personally, including small, planned treats here and there stops me from having large, unplanned binges. But that’s me.
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Experiment and find what works for you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
As always, consult your doctor before making a change to your eating habits. And keep in mind that there may be certain instances and medical conditions that would require a more stringent approach with this topic.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Now of course, sugar and the foods mentioned above, are far from the best choices you can make, and they don’t provide much nutritional value. But this doesn’t mean you can’t eat them. Not everything you eat has to be nutritious. The vast majority of what you eat should be nutritious, but a small quantity can come from foods that aren’t.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s recommended that you keep your added sugars to less than 10% of your daily intake. Keep in mind that this is ADDED sugars and doesn’t include sugars found naturally in foods.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
People often lose weight when they cut these foods out, but it has nothing to do with the sugar. It’s calories. You go from eating bags of crisps, bars of chocolate, tubs of ice cream, weekend pizza feasts etc to not having any of them. It’s just a huge reduction in calories, nothing more.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If these foods cause you to overeat and binge then it may be wise to restrict or cut them out until you can develop a better relationship with them. And if you’re okay with never eating them again then that’s cool, if that works for you then brilliant. However that doesn’t mean that it’s the same for everyone.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Not everybody would want to never eat these foods again (definitely me!!!). And if you can get the same weight loss results and still be healthy whilst eating them, then in my opinion, why wouldn’t you?!! Now of course you have to learn how to incorporate them in to your diet and of course as mentioned before, they should make up a small portion of your intake. And this is a skill, and like all skills it takes time and practice, but it can absolutely be done.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
We know that adherence is the number #1 predictor of whether your eating regime will be successful. If including these kind of foods increases your adherence then finding a way to include them can bolster your chances of long term success. As always, do what works for you.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
There is evidence that flexible dieting (having controlled, planned indulgences) is associated with better long-term weight management, lower rates of eating disorders and better management of cravings when compared to rigid, all-or-nothing dieting (restricting or banning foods). Of course these are just averages and people vary on an individual basis so do what works for you. I know for me personally, including small, planned treats here and there stops me from having large, unplanned binges. But that’s me.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Experiment and find what works for you.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
As always, consult your doctor before making a change to your eating habits. And keep in mind that there may be certain instances and medical conditions that would require a more stringent approach with this topic.
Sugar isn’t inherently fattening
Reviewed by eslam
on
2:52 AM
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