By Kathy D’Agati

Losing weight is not simply about the number of calories you eat.

Our grocery shelves are filled with zero calorie drinks and 100- calorie snack packs and yet as a nation we are fatter than we have ever been in our history. If it really is as simple as calories in and calories out, shouldn’t we be thinner than when we were eating butter, mashed potatoes and homemade apple pie?

Here is one surprising reason why this may be so- artificial sweeteners.

A study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience has shown conclusively that using artificial sweeteners induces a set of physiological and hormonal responses that actually make you GAIN weight!

The researchers proved this by giving two different groups of rats some yogurt. One batch of yogurt was sweetened with sugar. The other was sweetened with saccharin. They found that three major things happened over a very short period of time in the rats that were fed artificially sweetened yogurt.

  • The total food eaten over 14 days dramatically increased in the artificial sweetener group — meaning that the artificial sweetener stimulated their appetite and made them eat more.
  • These rats gained a lot more weight and their body fat increased significantly.
  • Their core body temperature decreased, meaning their metabolism slowed down.

The most astounding finding in the study was that even though the rats that ate the saccharin-sweetened yogurt consumed fewer calories overall than the rats that ate the sugar-sweetened yogurt, they gained more weight and body fat.

Today is the day you need to decide to stop using artificial sweeteners.

I know that can be incredibly challenging. These sweeteners are highly addictive.

I promise you it will be worth it.

For some, going “cold turkey” will be the best approach. You will be really uncomfortable for a few days and then the cravings will go away. Others will prefer to slowly wean themselves off. There is no right or wrong way to stop. Do whatever works best for you but set a target date and stick to it.

You will feel so much better, you’ll be sorry you didn’t do it sooner.

 

Kathy D’Agati is a CGP and Certified Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach specializing in autoimmune disease and metabolic syndrome. She can be reached at: kathy@backtobasicwellness.com