So yesterday I got into quite a heated debate about the old sugar tax.
It actually stemmed from me seeing a picture of cycling pedals next to benches put up on Facebook by a friend holidaying in Spain at the moment <<< a pretty clever incentive to get people moving. A bit like the "piano-style" stairs in Japan which play music as you step.
Well anyway, I just threw it out there that the money used from the sugar tax could fund such incentives.
To which he replied:
"Well it's just going to mean more people drink 'diet' coke which is even worse for you"...going on to say that "it makes you crave more junk food"
^^^^ and I used to think this too...
BUT just like you now know from the Lean For Life Starter Kit...TOTAL ENERGY INTAKE will determine how much FAT YOU LOSE.
NOT if the foods organic...natural (whatever that means)...or was around in the caveman era..
A recent study of all studies showed that low calorie sweetened products DECREASED our overall food intake and INCREASED weight loss compared to drinking sugary products.
So as you'd probably expect...drinking a diet coke will help you save calories and increase your weight loss!!
BUT
you're probably thinking that surely water is just the BEST option to SHED YOUR BELLY FAT, right?
Well it doesn't seem as simple as this...
In fact, compared to water alone, adults consuming low energy sweetened products lost - on average - 1.24 kg MORE.
So why is this?
Well it seems that "diet" drinks or products may provide that pleasure we're seeking from food but without the excess calories to go with it..
So we feel satisfied...less likely to reward ourselves or crave that Cream Egg (Ok,you now probably can't stop thinking about how much you want a cream egg....luckily you should know how you can include this into your nutritional strategy using the FREE Lean For Life Starter Kit...so you're not in yoyo dieting cycle of restricting and binging)...
Does this mean I recommend you swap water for sweetened products? Not quite. If you're happy with water then stick to water.
BUT the beauty of science is that you can't argue with the data, no matter what I believe!
And as for "sweetener" being "toxic"...I spoke about this previously but in a nutshell, there's no evidence that in doses possible for humans that sweeteners are cancerous or toxic. Dosage is key. Did you know that apples actually contain a poison?
and it's these myths that make us confused.
They make things complex. So complex that we have an excuse not to follow it...
"it's too hard"
And this is exactly why I make things simple, yet effective in the FREE Lean For Life Starter Kit
Speak soon,
Matt
PS. "Diet" products are making a comeback...just like Southampton did on the weekend (sorry Liverpool fans...)
PPS. for all of you geeks who want to read the science for themselves, here's the full paper for you
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v40/n3/full/ijo2015177a.html