The Truth About Sugar and Weight Gain

Have you ever hopped on the bathroom scales and been surprised to see that you have gained weight, even though you have been buying and eating ‘low-fat’ foods? So what foods have made you gain weight?

If you feel you haven’t eaten lots of fat or fatty foods, you are probably right. Eating fat does not make you fat, especially the healthy fats in healthy portions. Instead, the foods that are causing you grief are the ones laden with sugar. You may be surprised how much sugar is present in your daily diet.

Do you drink soda? Maybe you love sauces and dressings, low-fat ice cream, low-fat this, and low-fat that. All of which are loaded with sugar to make them taste better, and to tempt you into eating more of them. The manufacturers have to make their low-fat products appetizing, and adding sugar has the effect they want. All this sugar leads to weight gain as it causes your body to store fat.

Eating Low-Fat Foods

Because low-fat foods say ‘low fat,’ many people have the misconception that it will help them minimize their fat. However, studies have shown that it is quite the opposite. Based on research, those who participated in low-fat diets showed minimal weight loss, and their risks of weight-related diseases, such as heart diseases, obesity, and diabetes, remained the same. Meanwhile, those who instead chose low-carb diets and ate healthy fats benefited from weight loss and reduced health risks.

The three macronutrients are protein, fat, and carbs. If you cut down your fat intake, you invariably end up replacing them with foods that are high in carbs. If these are healthy complex carbs such as vegetables, that is okay. Usually, though, there is excess consumption of simple carbs and sugar. Your body is seeking energy and if it can’t get it from healthy fats and complex carbs, it will make you crave high-energy foods, such as those packed with sugar.

Take a look at the ingredient labels on the ‘low-fat’ foods in your grocery store. You will see they have low fat, but a high sugar and carb count. That’s the unfortunate truth about many packaged and processed foods today. Don’t be fooled into thinking ‘low-fat’ foods are the answer. Instead, look for foods labeled ‘NO added sugar’!

Why Sugar Makes You Fat – What Sugar Does to Your Body

While sugar makes foods taste better, it is very calorie-dense and they are mostly empty calories. This means they are low in nutrients.

Eating sugary foods causes elevated blood sugar levels and near-immediate insulin release. If this is rare, it is not a big problem. However, when eating sugar-rich foods and drinks and simple carbs is the norm, blood sugar levels remain persistently high.

When blood sugar levels are continually high, the body has no choice except to store the excess as fat. Our bodies cannot begin to break down stored fat until we are using more glucose than we are consuming. As soon as we eat something that provides energy that is excess to our current requirements, our body switches to fat-storage mode.

In addition, sugary foods are less filling, which means you easily get hungry, and your ghrelin hormone will think you are still hungry and so you will overeat.

Long-term, high blood sugar and insulin resistance affect the leptin hormone function. Leptin is a hormone that is responsible for energy regulation in the body. When you develop leptin resistance, due to regular high-sugar intake, leptin can’t suppress your hunger, so your appetite increases even more.

You are also missing out on essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, healthy fats, protein, and antioxidants because sugary foods don’t contain these nutrients in any reasonable amount. These nutrients are essential in protecting the body on a cellular level and enabling it to perform its functions optimally.

Without the necessary nutrients and protection, your body becomes prone to chronic health issues, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, and mental health issues such as depression.

That doesn’t mean that you must avoid sugar totally. There are natural sugars in fruits for example that are not unhealthy in reasonable amounts. What’s dangerous to your health is eating high-sugar and high-carb foods every day, especially when the sugar is added and not naturally occurring in the whole food.

If Sugar Makes You Fat, Can Eating Fat Make You Lose Weight?

If sugar makes you fat and eating fat won’t make you fat, can fatty foods help you lose weight? Well, that depends. Eating foods with healthy fats can help your body burn fat. Healthy dietary fat provides the body with essential fatty acids that promote better absorption of nutrients, healthy skin, and regulation of different body functions. However, fried foods and unhealthy fats are not healthy!

Polyunsaturated fats from fatty fish, nuts, and other seeds, and monounsaturated fats from avocados and almonds, are healthy fats and all have health benefits. They boost your metabolism, so you burn more calories, and because they take longer to digest compared to carbs, you tend to feel fuller for much longer.

So if you’ve been depriving yourself of fat for fear of getting fat, now is the time to bring them back into your diet plan. Instead, be more mindful of your sugar consumption. A few sugary foods once in a while will not likely cause you health issues, but regular intake can definitely be harmful in more ways than one.