Does Sugar Actually Cause Obesity?!

Jun 20, 2018

 by Stephen Conca

Just want to make something clear about sugar in this post. A lot of people look at sugar as this terrible thing that will make you fat, lazy or hurt your performance.

Well I'm here to tell you that sugar alone does not cause weight gain, obesity or any specific disease. In reality, NO single factor causes obesity. It is a combination of multiple things (constant overeating, being sedentary for long periods of time, laziness, lack of sleep, stress, poor diet etc.).

You may know some people who eat absolutely horrible but don't gain any extra weight, why is that? Well, it's because even though the food may not be the best quality, they most likely are still eating LESS or EQUAL to the calories they are BURNING per day.

Example:

Burn 2,500 calories per day – Eat 2,200 calories per day = Lose Weight

Burn 2,500 calories per day – Eat 2,500 calories per day = Maintain Weight

Burn 2,500 calories per day – Eat 2,800 calories per day = Gain Weight

Sugar it self will not make you gain weight unless it leads to you constantly overeating day in and day out. Even a day or two won't yield much or any fat gain, it will most likely leave you bloated and lethargic. If you have a few days where you overeat or drink, the extra weight you gained will be little to zero percent fat, it will actually mainly be water. If that happens, best thing to do is to get right back on your plan and exercise routine like nothing happened.

I am in no way advocating that you eat a bunch of sugar, but I am letting you know it won?t be the main source of your weight gain!

Natural sugar sources like fruits, honey etc. will always be best from a nutrient stand point, just make sure you monitor your sugar intake regardless!

Written By: Frank – Head Strength Coach – Director of Nutrition & Education