Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels... Except Sugar

The skinny on how sugar is making you fat.

While many people are aware of the benefits of low-carb eating for weight loss – avoiding potatoes, white bread, pasta and all those other delicious fillers – plenty continue to consume the worst carbohydrate of all without realising, and then wonder why they’re not getting anywhere. And the culprit is sugar.

“Wait, what? I thought fairy floss was totally good for me!” said no one ever. It seems that everyone avoids eating foods that are obviously packed with sugar, like cakes and chocolate, yet sugar still seems to sneak into our diets, hiding behind labels marked 'low fat'.

“Following a low-carbohydrate eating plan without factoring in added sugar in packaged foods is a sure way to veer off course,” says Ms Colette Heimowitz, Vice President of Nutrition and Education at Atkins Nutritionals. “But with sugar a hidden ingredient in many common foods people don’t think of as ‘high carb’, it’s easy to see where the confusion creeps in. Foods sold as ‘low fat’ are often the worst offenders, with sugar added to replace the fat that has been removed.

“By opting for a low-carb lifestyle without following a scientifically-formulated eating plan, people often end up consuming more carbohydrates than intended not adhering to any plan at all – and the side effects can be serious, and not just on the scales,” she adds.

“Consuming excessive sugar may cause headaches, chronic tiredness, ‘brain fog’, irritability, bloating and weight gain, and long term consumption of excessive sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. It also ruins our ability to determine when we’re satiated, driving us to eat more often than necessary, and long after we’re actually full.”

Keeping in mind that 4g of sugar equals 1 teaspoon of sugar (fun fact from 'That Sugar Film'), popular foods that are high in carbohydrates as a direct result of their sugar content (both natural and added) include:

JUICE

600mL Orange Juice – 32.4g of sugar and 32.4g of carbs
600mL Apple Juice – 51.6g of sugar and 51.6g carbs

SAUCE

1 Tbsp BBQ sauce – 10g of sugar and 11g of carbs
1 Tbsp Plum sauce – 12g of sugar and 14g of carbs
1 Tbsp Hoi Sin sauce – 8.3g of sugar and 9.3g of carbs
1 Tbsp Sweet and Sour sauce – 9.45g of sugar and 11.4g of carbs

TINNED FRUIT & VEGE

1 cup tinned Fruit Salad in syrup – 46g of sugar and 48g of carbs
1 cup tinned Beetroot in liquid – 16g of sugar and 17.56g of carbs
1 cup tinned Corn in liquid – 7.24g of sugar and 39.44g of carbs

SOFT DRINK

600ml regular soft drink – 16 teaspoons of sugar up to 80g of carbs

*sigh* This is disappointing.

FLAVOURED MILK

600mL chocolate flavoured milk – 60.36g of sugar and 65.46g of carbs
600mL iced coffee flavoured milk – 57.6g of sugar and 59.4g of carbs
600mL strawberry flavoured milk – 57.6g of sugar and 58.2g of carbs

CEREAL

50g Muesli with dried fruit – 14.7g of sugar and 28.3g of carbs
1 cup Just Right – 14g of sugar and 32g of carbs
1 cup Nutri Grain – 9.6g of sugar and 20.8g of carbs
1 cup frosted corn flakes – 15.2g of sugar and 36.12g of carbs

MUESLI BARS

30g Choc Chip muesli bar – 5.85g of sugar and 18.45g of carbs
30g Yoghurt topped muesli bar – 9g of sugar and 19g of carbs

There’s a rapidly growing body of scientific evidence highlighting the negative health consequences of caving to our sugar cravings, with a recent analysis revealing that for every excess 150 calories of sugar there’s an 11-fold increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes compared to obtaining the same 150 calories from fat or protein sources – regardless of weight of physical activity.

“In fact, a recently published nutrition review found that restricting dietary carbohydrates is the single most effective means to reduce the features of metabolic syndrome, and should be the first step in managing diabetes, proving that low-carb eating has benefits that go way beyond the waistline,” advises Ms Heimowitz.

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“A carefully designed low-carb eating program, such as Atkins, which advocates eating healthy fats, adequate protein, plenty of colourful high fibre vegetables and low-sugar fruits, is a sensible way to cut back on sugar consumption – and cravings – and to help your body burn fat (instead of carbohydrates) for fuel, boost your energy and improve overall health.”

So what if you're craving that sweet treat at the end of a hard work week? Well it’s a matter of retraining your tastebuds to appreciate the natural sweetness of foods. Cut out all sweet treats for a week and you’ll get the idea – even carrots will taste sweeter. If you don’t want to cut sugar out altogether, make smarter snack choices.

Dark chocolate is richer than milk, so you’ll need less to satisfy you, if you eat it with a few nuts the protein will slow the effect the sugar has on your bloodstream. Chopped fruit and natural yoghurt is a delicious alternative for dessert. Mix some grated carrot and zucchini into your slice for a mid-afternoon get-me-through. Or just stuff the diet, have the cake, eat it and when your hips ask, blame its disappearance on the cat.