Article on WLS reset thoughts?

I'm not in search of a pouch reset and I'm pretty much always low carb. What is interesting to me in this article is the mention of artificial sweeteners and caffeine causing weight gain. I use a lot of "skinny syrup" in my caffeinated coffee everyday and chew gum after I eat and before I can drink which also has artificial sweeteners. Has anyone found these cause weight gain or stall of loss? I'm on the high end of my comfort zone and working camaw to get to the bottom of my range but I don't want to give up those two things but I'm wondering if I should be trying to cut back. I only drink caffeinated in the morning and then switch to decaf. What are you thoughts on this?

Research (in non-WLS patients) shows that ingesting artificial sweeteners leads to eating more or making carbier choices at the next meal than you otherwise would have. The theory is that your body senses sweet but no calories and so primes you to eat more. No study has shown that artificial sweeteners aid weight loss. For that reason I personally try (and often fail) to avoid them.

i have no idea where the vilification of caffeine came from. There is plentiful research on the health benefits of coffee and none (I'm pretty sure) correlating caffeine with weight gain.

I drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee every morning, and while I did experience regain in my 3rd year, I really think it was the crap food I'd let back in, and portion size creeping up-NOT MY BELOVED COFFEE. My coffee can do no wrong! ;)

I'd never heard that coffee itself can lead to weight gain. The add-ins sure can-depending on what they are and how much/how often they're used. ( Caramel Sauce? I can't even fathom how much sugar is in the regular sauces/syrups found at coffee places. Too much for me-that's for sure. )

That being said...

Last year, I had enough ( my 4th year out ) of being out of my comfort zone weight wise and wanted it gone, so I buckled down and got serious with losing it.

I switched to liquid sucralose ( Sucradrops ) in my coffee when I cut out crap carbs, started watching my portions, and tracking my food again. I also switched up my calcium supplements to a lower carb supplement, and stopped eating cheese 12 million times a day. I think it's possible that getting away from the maltodextrin in the Splenda I was using previously helped with my loss as well.

Honestly, looking back, I think the powdery, bulk Splenda ( in the big yellow bag ) was certainly doing me no favors in terms of weight loss. I like a little coffee with my sweetener..hah.

I feel good about using liquid sucralose in my coffee and tea, and using pure sucralose powder ( 1/64th of a teaspoon is equal to a teaspoon of sugar ) mixed with good quality erythritol in anything I bake.

I don't think artificial or alternative sweeteners are "bad" at all, but depending on what you're using...it may be worth it to possibly cut back or switch sweeterners. I think the sugar free syrups are mostly made with Splenda, depending on the brand, but I have no clue which form may be used. I would venture to guess a liquid form since the carb count is usually zero on the labels. The gum is probably made with xylitol or sorbitol; some forms of xylitol are naturally produced, some aren't. I would not know how to go about finding out how companies source their sugar alcohols or to find out how either form could affect weight loss/maintenance.

I think ultimately, we have to do our own research and do what makes sense for us. OH articles aren't always known for their accuracy or great advice. ( Corn flake laden recipes-I'm lookin' at you! )

Sorry for the novel...lots of that coffee has happened today. :) I'm a freaking chatterbox today. Yikes. I hope some of this makes sense!

Audrey,

I'm with you on the coffee. In research, 3 cups is the optimal amount for most people, for heart health benefits.

Yes It made sense..I would urge you and others to examine the chemical extraction process and alternate names(of all their sweetners). High fructose corn syrup is being marketed as many other products now...

My goal on my carbs is to limit to 50 tops. so the flavored coffee would not be anything but extra calories and a craving hit for me..I can live without that and if need be, drink mine black. A few years ago i was burning the candle at both ends, caregiving and could not delegate, enough to be helpful. I was drinking 2 full pots(called 12 cup) and another half most days... when that stress was eased i began cutting by cutting it to 1 and a half pots then to one.. now I am down to about 7 cups as marked on the caraffe..( i think it uses 4 oz cups and mine is 10-11 oz. so 3 of those...with the milk and cube of ice i put in it.****assionally I will have only one, but 2-3 is my usual, until I get my coffee my gut does not wake up and I can't eat anything substantial.

Coffee CAN cause blood sugar dips when consumed even without anything in them.. It causes a release of insulin from the pancreas. This is why diabetics should check their blood sugar before having anything in the morning...as a true fasting... I put my portion of lactose free milk in mine. and drink unsweet. nothing else... MY nutritionist looked at me 6 weeks post op and said now I had to work on stopping my coffee. I looked at him and told him straight..".I have given up all sweetened tea, all fruits and fruit juices (sugar issue), all milk products but a few ounces of milk a week,( extreme lactose intolerance) and everything bu****er and coffee. I am not giving up my coffee!"

I have found almost all of the artificial sweetners increase my cravings... except I have NOT noticed with the" PYUre Stevia" granulated..(1/8tsp serv).. or the Now liquid Stevia. Both are economical. I use these to sweetnen my home made diet fruit/deserts/syrups from natural fruit. Both does hold its sweetness in cooking, but with the reduced volume, I must re work several recipes to add qualities that sugar would add.(.usually it is a little non gmo corn starch or rice flour...to an entire recipe to give it the texture desired.)

I am... thinking it has to do not with the actual sweetner but..all that of the others are processed with heavy chemical extractions...ie the processing of splenda, asparatine etc, those remain in the product. My sensitivity to them may be from the processing method. All cause gastritis effects... diarrhea,dumping, cramping etc.

Before I switched to the pyure stevia.. i went to their web site and read extensively about their methods. They use a particular strain of the steva plant that has less of the bitterness parts than some of the other companies that produce stevia...( I wanted to know if it warranted the change from the splenda i was using.. or if it was more of the same.)

. I also use the Stevia whole fresh green leaf when I have it available... it is awesome,wonderful in herbal teas.

I stay away from artificial sweeteners and drink de-caffeinated beverages. I find abstaining from artificial sweeteners minimizes carb & sugar cravings for me. I'm below goal weight so consider these habits beneficial to my weight and well being.

Every OTC diet pill has caffeine in it. I do not believe caffeine makes you gain weight. If you are putting cream in 6 cups a day, that will make you gain weight.

There is a theory that artificial sweeteners can trigger insulin raises. This has not been proven (in multiple replicated studies) and the author offers no scientific reference. Depending on the person things can be triggers but that is on a case by case basis.

It bothers me that an article making statements with no real scientific backup was posted here...

unfortunately, you will find this to be true of many, many of the articles posted here.

My coffee, either caffeinated or decaf, always has premiere protein in it for creamer and skinny syrups for sweetness. It's literally my favorite part of the day and on many days what gets me out of bed to go to work. It would be difficult to give up. I just want to maintain my weight as best I can and don't want to over use the sweeteners etc but I really do t find that it leads to my wanting other things off plan. Once school is out I may experiment and see if t make any difference to cut those things out but I need to wait till I don't have to be nice and kind to students! Haha

Funny you should ask this. I was questioning it as well. I did some googling and found some backup for artificial sweetener possibly related to weight gain, but a lot of it was associated with having it in soda. There was also the supposition (mentioned by another here) that it could cause cravings for other sweets. The only thing I could find on caffeine is that it is associated with weight loss. Perhaps the author was referring to the drinking of multiple cups of caffeinated coffee with lots of high calorie add-ins (like some versions of popular lattes)?