How to Lose Weight: #9: Get Rid of the White Stuff

David Bennett

Desserts, photographed by Jennifer Bennett

I often call sugar "the white stuff," likening it to a certain hard drug that was snorted off mirrors in the eighties. Obviously it is nowhere near cocaine in its immediate destructiveness, but evidence suggests that as high fructose corn syrup (basically sugar) became more available in soft drinks and other foods, America has gotten fatter. I have no qualms about saying clearly that excess sugar is bad, very bad. I try to avoid it as much as possible, although sugars occur naturally in a variety of foods and cannot (and should not) be avoided entirely. What I am primarily speaking of here is high-sugar, processed foods and drinks. I do allow myself sugary treats now and then, but I try to avoid a steady, high, everyday consumption of sugar and high sugar products (and this includes certain fruit juices).

Processed sugar is a modern marvel really. I just can't imagine ancient man eating as much sugar as we do, since he didn't have the tools to extract large amounts of sugars from fruits and other sources (had you given ancient man a bushel of corn, I doubt he would have thought "hey, maybe there's high fructose syrup in there!"). Fruits and their juices truly would have been ancient desserts. At least these ancient treats were sugar surrounded by nutrients and fiber. Most sugary drinks consumed today are basically empty calories, or what I tend to call "pointless calories" (more on this in a second). Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a bottle of cola? It is pretty much sugar (in the form of high fructose corn syrup), caramel coloring, some natural flavors, caffeine, and of course, carbonated water, and yet Coke and Pepsi have no problem charging you $1.50 for 2 liters of this stuff. It doesn't really fill you up, and if you drink it with a meal, you probably barely notice it's there. But, if you manage to consume 3 large glasses of cola at a meal, you still will consume 600 calories. This is why I call calories from sugary drinks "pointless calories" because when you really look forward to a meal, or go to a restaurant, you probably do so for a steak, pizza, General Tso's Chicken, or whatever, and yet along with that you probably get 600 calories from your drink, which, if consumed six days in a week, will result in you gaining a pound for that week (600×6=3600 calories). You may not really notice the sugary drinks you consume, but other people will notice them as they cause you to slowly gain weight.

Not only does excess sugar increase your calorie consumption, it raises your blood sugar levels, creating insulin resistance, making losing weight more difficult. Excess sugar is bad news, really bad news, like learning the New Kids in the Block are reuniting this year (which they are).

Pumpkin Pie, photographed by David Bennett

Below are some methods that I employ to try to avoid sugar. I hope that you find them helpful in your weight loss.

- Drink sugar-free drinks (like coffee, water, teas, etc).

- Don't add sugar to naturally sweetened foods. For example, don't add sugar to grapefruit or applesauce.

- Don't insist that every meal has to end (or perhaps begin) with a dessert.

- When you must eat a processed sweet, go for a lower sugar option (like "No Sugar Added" products). See substitutes below.

One problem we face is that getting a sweet taste without sugar requires the use of artificial sweeteners, which have their own problems. Some studies show that artificial sweeteners cause people to gain weight, probably because artificial sweeteners don't really satisfy our cravings for sugar, but give us a taste for it, so most people just eat more calories elsewhere to compensate. Keep this in mind when consuming "diet" foods and drinks.

The safest artificial sweeteners seem to be sugar alcohols, like sorbitol and mannitol, which have fewer calories per gram than sugar, and don't raise blood sugar levels. They are absorbed less readily than sugars, which means sugar alcohols effectively provide even fewer calories to our bodies, but they are still caloric. Because they are poorly absorbed, they can cause digestive disturbances in large amounts (eat two servings of "no sugar added" cobbler at Golden Corral to see what I mean), and are often present in candies and foods marked "no sugar added," including sugarless gum. You really can't buy these in powder form that I know of, except I have seen Xylitol powder available.

Saccharin (aka Sweet-N-Low), usually comes in pink packets, and tastes bitter to me. It has an uneven safety record in animal studies. However, you would have to eat piles of it a day to produce the negative effects seen in animals (bladder cancer), so it is probably safe in moderate amounts.

I like the taste of Aspartame (aka Equal), which usually comes in blue packets, but it too has a sketchy safety record, and the manner in which it was approved is downright shady. Apparently the FDA gets more complaints about Aspartame than just about any other food product. Even though Aspartame is a combination of the amino acids Aspartic Acid and Phenylalanine, when heated it breaks down into formaldehyde, so it can't be used in baking, although it could be used as an embalming agent I suppose.

Splenda, i.e. sucralose, comes in yellow packets, and tastes good to me, but there are safety concerns with it as well, since it is made by chlorinization (adding chlorine to the sucrose molecule). You can bake with it, which makes it nice for a variety of recipes. It is now available in generic, but brand name Splenda is pricey. I don't find sucralose as sweet as other options.

Stevia, now FDA approved as a sweetener under the name Truvia, is probably my favorite option. Other forms of Stevia besides Truvia are available, but are sold not as sweeteners, but "dietary supplements," which is how Stevia was legally sold prior to the recent FDA approval of Truvia. Stevia is usually sold as a concentrated powder, a highly purified, super-sweet, herbal extract. It has few side effects (the Japanese use it as their primary artificial sweetener). One problem is that if you use too much, it tastes bitter, and if you are using a concentrated extract, a little goes a long way, so sometimes it is hard to figure out how much to use (25 mg is as sweet as about 4 grams of sugar). This stuff is super, super sweet. Even a little dusting is overpoweringly sweet. Finally, since we are dealing with an herbal extract, different Stevia products may taste different from each other, making cooking with it in recipes frustrating.

And you think our artificial sweeteners are a bit unsafe...the ancient Romans used lead acetate!

The bottom line is that sugar and high-sugar products are generally empty and pointless calories that can lead to quick weight gain. If you are addicted to the legal "white stuff" you may want to cut down your consumption. Your body will thank you!

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Disclaimer: These tips reflect the insights of one or more individuals about weight loss and other issues of health. These insights are based on personal experience and scientific research, to help you live a life of greater wellness. They should not be construed as medical advice or the services of a dietician. Before beginning any weight loss or exercise program, you should consult a physician.