Need some info

[Bikini Bound]

A local newsgroup I frequent is currently have a discussion on dieting, ala Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc.

One of the comments flying around says that Splenda has been found to increase your hunger. I've never heard of this, have you?

Another person stated that the reason Atkins dieters lose weight, is due to eating less calories, not eating less carbs.

What would you say to remarks like this?

[not2late]

Re: Splenda

There's something called the "Cephalic Phase Insulin Response" (check the 14 day forums, stickie note about it for more detail). Basically, all artificial sweeteners can trigger and insulin response. So in folks who are particularly sensitive to this, they might not lose weight if they use any artificial sweetener or just one particular artificial sweetener.

Re: calories on Atkins, WW, etc.
There was a study published in January 2005 in Journal of the American Medical Association comparing Atkins, WW, Ornish and Zone. It used 160 subjects. Anyhow, you can't get the full text anymore on line, but when it was available, it contained a table of the number of calories the dieters ate. The average number of calories were about the same for all four diets. The study found that all dieters lost weight and all had improvements in their cholesterol---no matter which diet they were on.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/293/1/43

[Miss Phode]

Personally, I would stay out of it. People are people and they're gonna say what they're gonna say. If you're gonna say anything, tell them to read the book. As far as splenda goes, it does trigger cravings for some. Also, I've read about some nasty side effects that sometimes come with consuming Splenda. I personally don't touch the stuff.

[JoanOH]

Re: Need some info

One of the comments flying around says that Splenda has been found to increase your hunger. I've never heard of this, have you?

I've not heard nor have the experience of Splenda increasing your hunger. HOWEVER, it can increase or at least maintain your "sweet tooth" -- keep you wanting those "treats" that, for most of us, put the weight on in the first place. That goes for all artificial sweeteners, not just Splenda. I have read that artificial sweeteners can also trigger an insulin response simply out of the habit of responding to all things sweet. I have no studies to back that up (other than being able to cite the book I read it in) or disprove it. It does make sense to me.

I know when I was in an 8 week stall and dropped all artificial sweeteners, I started losing weight again.

Another person stated that the reason Atkins dieters lose weight, is due to eating less calories, not eating less carbs.

That's actually true, in the long run. You do not have to be concerned with calories during your initial induction phase. But as you move up through OWL and into pre-Maintenance and Maintenance you will be replacing some of the higher fat/calorie foods with more veggies and fruits, and that's a natural calorie reducer.

I used to weigh 275 lbs. Now that I weigh 151 (YAY ME!), I simply can't eat all the high calorie high fat foods I did when I first started Atkins. The smaller my body gets, the less calories I need for the daily demands of living. On the other hand, the more I exercise, the more calories I burn and therefore, the more calories I can eat. Hope that makes sense -- I know what I mean but it was hard to explain!

No matter what your carb count, if you were to eat 12,000 calories a day you're going to gain weight. It doesn't matter if it comes in the form of carbs or fats or proteins -- a calorie is forever a calorie. Dr. Atkins cites studies that show that when we eat low carb/high fat we can consume more calories than those folks eating low cal/low fat, and still lose weight. He calls this the "metabolic advantage" to eating low carb.

Hope this helps!
Joan J