If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that no one solution works for everyone. Despite what fad magazines tell you, no “miracle diet” will help anyone “drop pounds fast!”. Each body is unique and there are different “levers” so to speak that need to be pulled to affect weight. However, two tools are universal for losing weight: diet and exercise. For everyone, the right type of diet and the right exercises can create a combination of healthy weight loss. And, for most people, regulating sugar intake makes a big difference in their weight loss journey.

The Two Types of Sugar in Your Diet

When it comes to regulating your sugar intake, it’s important to know that it’s not possible to cut out all sugar from your diet. But, you can work to decrease your intake, especially from added sugars. These sugars are usually listed as dextrose and sucrose in ingredient lists and are found in the likes of candy, cookies, soda, and fruit drinks. Added sugars also include adding sugar, syrups, and honey to food before eating it, such as adding sugar to coffee or honey to granola.  

Natural sugars are the sugars that occur naturally in foods. Fruits, vegetables, and even dairy contain natural sugars, like glucose and fructose, that occur within the food. The main difference between added and natural sugar is that natural sugars come paired with other nutrients. When coupled with other nutrients, natural sugars are easier to digest and don’t cause blood sugar spikes, which can contribute to weight gain./

How Sugar Affects Weight Loss

Whether you’re going to your primary care provider or connecting with a weight loss doctor online, they will all tell you that sugar intake plays a role in weight loss. Weight gain happens when you eat more calories than your body can burn, but sugar plays a part in slowing down your ability to burn calories with activity. Natural sugars tend to have less of an impact due to their link with other nutrients. 

Added sugars pose a higher threat to your weight loss goals. Essentially, added sugars provide calories without offering the other nutrients your body needs to convert them to energy. Since it’s harder for them to be useful, your body ends up storing them as fat. Some of the ways added sugars can impact weight loss include:

• Tricking your body into thinking it’s still hungry: Foods that are high in added sugar don’t give you the full feeling you need to stop eating. They tend to elevate your blood sugar and insulin levels, making your body think it needs more food to regulate them. 
• Causing insulin resistance: Every time you eat, your blood sugar rises as your food is digested. Foods with added sugars cause your blood sugar to spike higher than other foods, meaning your body produces more insulin to digest it. However, after frequent spikes your body will eventually become more resistant to insulin, causing even natural sugar to be stored as fat more often. 
• Creating an addiction: Yes, sugar has an addictive quality. When you eat sugar, your brain releases chemicals that are linked to feeling happy and motivated. Essentially we feel rewarded when we consume sugar, so it makes us want more. The more you eat, the more you’ll crave. 

Decreasing Your Sugar Consumption

Just knowing how sugar can impact your weight is a valuable tool to promote healthy weight loss. If you’re struggling to decrease your sugar consumption, there are a few things you can do to help. The first is to understand how much added sugar you’re consuming in a day compared to your ideal intake. Talk to your doctor to determine your ideal intake, then start keeping a diary of the foods you eat. Identify ways you’re adding sugar you don’t need (i.e. adding whipped cream to coffee or choosing a morning cereal with a high sugar content). Start by eliminating one of your added sugar foods every few weeks until you’ve cut yourself down to a more reasonable amount. 

You can help eliminate some added sugars by finding alternative ways to add flavor to your foods. Adding in natural sugars via fruit or using spices like cinnamon or ginger can help you cut sugar you don’t need while keeping great flavors. You can also substitute with more naturally based sugars like honey or agave, but keep in mind you still want to keep your consumption minimal. 

In the end, know that it’s unrealistic to cut all sugar from your diet. The goal is moderation. Work with your taste buds and your body to find balance and you’ll be set up to reach your healthy weight goal.