How Much Sugar In A Day For Weight Loss? Just as important as working out and staying active is what you eat.
If you’re on a weight loss journey, it’s also helpful to know how much sugar in a day to reduce your intake of empty calories that won’t do anything for your body.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 25 grams or less per day for women and 37.5 grams or less per day.
But many health experts say it should be even lower — no more than 10% of daily calories. One teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams of the sweet stuff.
So that’s 16 grams (or about four teaspoons) of added sugars per day if you’re eating a 2000-calorie diet.
That’s a pretty low amount, so you might think there’d be no harm in going over it occasionally. But studies of large numbers of people suggest otherwise.
What happens if you eat too much sugar?
Sugars of all kinds are added to countless processed foods like bread, breakfast cereals and even salad dressings, and it’s easy to scarf down a lot of sugar throughout the day unknowingly.
Excess sugar (and sugary drinks) has been linked to Weight gain and obesity, leading to diabetes and other serious health problems.
It’s even been called “the most demonized additive” in the food supply. (1)
The American Heart Association (AHA), among other health groups, recommends that women limit their added sugar intake to 100 calories or six teaspoons per day. Men get no more than 150 calories or 9 teaspoons daily.
Is there anything you can replace all that sugar with?
Yes, it’s stevia! And studies show that it has some surprising benefits for your health when compared to plain old table sugar
More about stevia later in this article, but first, let’s look at how much of this substance the average American consumes.
According to the USDA, the average daily consumption of added sugars among Americans is about 74 grams or 22 teaspoons.
How Much Sugar In A Day For Weight Loss?
74 grams x 22 teaspoons = 1688 calories
To lose weight, you need to run on a calorie deficit. That’s why your daily intake should be at least 500 less than what you burn.
So let’s see how much overweight Americans would need to cut back to reach their healthy weight loss targets:
74 grams x 22 teaspoons = 1688 calories per day
1688 ÷ 9 (number of spoons) = 193.7 or 194 rounded down
This means that if the average American male is about 5 ft, 9 in tall, weighs 190 pounds/86 kg and wants to get rid of 20 pounds/9 kg, he needs to decrease his added sugar intake by about 194 calories daily.
In other words, if our typical overweight guy wants to maintain his current weight, he would need to eat 194 fewer calories daily.
On average, Americans consume about 15% of their total daily caloric intake of added sugar. That’s an average of about 274 calories per day for men and 203 for women.
So cutting out just one can or bottle of soda/day would help eliminate 116-188 calories every day.
Is eating 50g of sugar a day too much?
Non-industrialized nations, such as Mexico and Somalia, have sugar intakes of about 4% daily caloric intake. So 50g/day is in that range, but it’s still too high, in my opinion.
The World Health Organization recommends an added sugar limit in the range of 5%-10% total daily calories (about 25 grams to 50 gm). That would mean 125 to 250 calories daily.
Is 300g of sugar a day too much?
In my opinion, yes! Are you still going to argue with me?
The next time you think that sugar isn’t the problem and that fat is the devil – remember this: You would have to eat 32 sticks of butter or one stick of butter every day for a month to get the same number of calories as in ONE can of soda.
This is scary!
Remember: Sugars are extremely addictive – so be aware of your sugar intake!!! Choose healthy sugars such as fruits instead. And read more about “hidden” sugar on labels here. If you want to lose weight, follow these 10 tips on reducing your overall calorie intake.
Will-less sugar Reduce belly fat?
You cannot spot reduce. You can lose weight and tone up different areas of your body:.
However, the only way to reduce your overall “belly fat” is by reducing your overall calorie intake and increasing your exercise level. You will need to do both to see a measurable result in belly size reduction.
The Bottom Line
Intermittent fasting can help you reduce your overall body fat percentage. It would be best if you got into the “super lean” category of 5% – 8% to get a six-pack. You can get there with a calorie deficit and weights/resistance training.
Here is my review on intermittent fasting. This is not an overnight thing. It takes time (years). If you want quick results in 6 months – it’s unlikely that Intermittent Fasting will be your best option in this case.
However, if you are overweight or obese – give IF a chance! It had helped many people lose weight and keep it off when other methods failed (working for me too). You still need to do resistance training to shape your muscles.
If you are NOT lean, I suggest that you go for options #2 or #3 above first! You can combine them too – do a low / no-calorie diet and Intermittent Fasting simultaneously. This is what ketogenic diets are designed for (quick fat loss). Of acourse, don’t forget about resistance training 🙂
