One of the hardest parts of losing weight can be the feeling that you need to completely eliminate the foods you love. However, it is possible to eat candy and still lose weight, as long as you're smart about how you approach your diet. You can continue to enjoy any kind of candy you love - as long as you do it in moderation. There’s no reason to write off fats and sugars completely as they’re part of a healthy diet.
The Role of Moderation
Moderation is key when incorporating candy into a weight loss plan. Reserve around 100 calories from your daily calorie budget to treat yourself. This will give you the leeway to satisfy your sweet tooth without sacrificing your plan. Make it easy to stick to your portion size by dividing up your candy ahead of time so you’re not tempted to keep reaching into the bag. Divide each portion into a separate baggie and don’t let yourself take more than one portion each day.
Embrace that a little doesn’t hurt and don’t feel defeated for eating candy sometimes. In fact, allowing yourself these treats will help you stick to a healthy plan for the long term because you won’t feel deprived of things you love.
Understanding Simple Sugars
Candy contains simple sugars, which your body uses for energy. This is another trick draws on the fact that candy contains simple sugars.
Choosing Healthier Candy Options
If you love chocolate, opt for dark chocolate for your candy fix. Dark chocolate can help support your heart with flavonoids, antioxidants, and flavanols. Studies have also found that dark chocolate could decrease anxiety and blood pressure and help your metabolism. An appropriate portion size of dark chocolate is typically around 1 ounce (oz), or 28 grams (g), which provides about 150 to 200 calories.
Read also: Keto-Friendly Sweets
Alternatives to Candy
You don’t have to always turn to candy if you’re craving something sweet. Grill some pineapple or other fresh fruit for a twist on the usual flavors. When you want something cold, keep bananas in your freezer. You can eat the frozen chunks on their own or puree them with skim milk for something creamy and cold.
The Impact of Added Sugars on Health
Added sugars are sugars and syrups put in food or drinks when they are processed or prepared. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends no added sugars for children younger than 2. People 2 and older should keep added sugars to less than 10% of their total daily calories. For example, if an adult consumes 2,000 calories a day, no more than 200 calories should come from added sugars. Twelve teaspoons of sugar is about 200 calories.
Research suggests that daily added-sugar intake for 90 percent of Americans regularly exceeds the Dietary Guidelines’ recommendation of no more than 10 percent of the total calorie intake (The American Heart Association suggests we limit added sugar to 24gms/day for women and 36gms/day for men). Reducing or cutting out sugar can increase our quality of life no matter what our age or health status. This doesn’t mean we should cut out all forms of sugar. Natural sugars found in fruit, some dairy products, and vegetables, which also contain nutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals, are not associated with the health risks mentioned above.
In the American diet, the top sources are soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavored yogurts, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy, and most processed foods. Adult men take in an average of 24 teaspoons of added sugar per day, according to the National Cancer Institute. Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods.
If 24 teaspoons of added sugar per day is too much, then what is the right amount? It's hard to say, since sugar is not a required nutrient in your diet. However, the American Heart Association suggests that women consume no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) and men no more than 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams) of added sugar per day.
Read also: Nutrition of Atkins Bars
Yet, Dr. Hu warns against being overzealous in your attempts to cut back on added sugar, as this can backfire.
Benefits of Reducing Added Sugar Intake
Cutting added sugars can help to keep your blood glucose levels within healthy parameters and makes it easier to control weight, both of which lower your diabetes risk. Added sugars contribute to excess calories, and excess calorie intake leads to weight gain. Weight gain, along with higher blood glucose levels from consuming added sugars, leads to insulin resistance.
When you take in sweet treats like cake, cookies or candy, your brain tells your body you’re not full, and you then have the urge to eat more to feel satisfied. Increased intake of sugary foods or beverages fuels the increased frequency of cravings.
This is because higher intakes of added sugar are associated with a significantly greater likelihood of experiencing episodes of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
An increase in overall energy is one of the immediate perks you may notice when decreasing your added sugar intake. More than 50 percent of added sugar comes from sweetened beverages we consume - soda, energy/sports drinks, juices, and sweetened tea or coffees to name a few.
Read also: The Truth About Candy Diets
Identifying Added Sugars in Foods
Added sugars are extra calories with no extra nutrition and can lead to weight gain and other health problems. Added sugars should make up less than 10% of a healthy daily diet. That’s about 11 teaspoons if you eat 1,800 calories a day. Some experts recommend even less than that: 9 teaspoons (38 grams) per day for men, and 6 teaspoons (25 grams) for women. A single 12-ounce can of soda has 39 grams (about 9 teaspoons) of sugar, close to a day’s worth by any measure.
It’s in about three-quarters of all prepackaged foods at the grocery store and has more than 50 names, so it can be hard to keep up. Some of the more common ones are corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, raw sugar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, dextrose, agave, brown rice syrup, coconut palm sugar, barley malt syrup, and more.
Sugars are listed under the “Total Carbohydrates” heading on nutrition labels. The FDA now requires labels to list exactly how much of that sugar is added. Total calorie count is also important to good health.
Strategies for Cutting Added Sugars
One sure way is to skip prepackaged foods in favor of whole foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. And when you buy ready-made foods, read nutrition labels. If you know how much sugar is in a product, you can limit how much you eat. And drink water instead of sodas and sports drinks.
The Impact of Candy Consumption on Children
In younger children, total, chocolate, and sugar candy consumption was 11.4 g±1.61, 4.8 g±0.35, and 6.6 g±0.46, respectively. In adolescents, total, chocolate, and sugar candy consumption was 13.0 g±0.87, 7.0 g±0.56, and 5.9 g±0.56, respectively. Total candy consumers had higher intakes of total energy (2248.9 kcals±26.8 vs 1993.1 kcals±15.1, p<0.0001) and added sugars (27.7 g±0.44 vs 23.4 g±0.38, p<0.0001) than non-consumers. Mean HEI-2005 score was not different in total candy and sugar candy consumers as compared to non-consumers, but was significantly lower in chocolate candy consumers (46.7±0.8 vs 48.3±0.4, p=0.0337). Weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, percentiles/z-score for weight-for-age and BMI-for-age were lower for candy consumers as compared to non-consumers. Candy consumers were 22 and 26%, respectively, less likely to be overweight and obese than non-candy consumers.
These data showed that nearly 32% of children and 30% of adolescents reported consuming candy the day of the recall.
Despite the higher intake of energy by candy consumers, consumption was not associated with higher levels of any weight parameter, but was associated with a lower risk of overweight and obesity. Overall, candy consumers also had higher intakes of AS than non-consumers; however, mean energy from AS in consumers of total, chocolate, and sugar candy was only 4.9%, 4.7%, and 6.3%, respectively.
Foods to Limit for Weight Loss
Certain foods are high in sugar, refined carbs, and fat yet low in essential nutrients like protein and fiber. This can make weight loss more difficult and have other adverse health effects.
Foods high in protein and fiber can keep you feeling fuller for longer, which may support weight loss. On the other hand, eating too many foods high in sugar, refined carbs, or fat can add extra calories to your diet without adding beneficial nutrients, making weight loss more challenging.
- French fries and potato chips: These are often very high in calories and fat and may contain substances called acrylamides, which have been linked to cancer.
- Sugary drinks: These are strongly associated with weight gain and can negatively affect health when consumed in excess.
- White bread: White bread is highly refined and often contains a lot of added sugar. It also lacks beneficial nutrients like protein and fiber that help you feel more full.
- Candy bars: Candy bars pack high amounts of added sugar, added oils, and refined flour into a small package.
- Some fruit juices: Some types can contain just as much sugar and calories as soda if not more. Also, fruit juice usually contains no fiber and doesn’t require chewing.
- Pastries, cookies, and cakes: These are often packed with calories and added sugar and are also not very satisfying, meaning you may quickly become hungry after eating these high calorie foods.
- Some types of alcohol (especially beer): Beer can cause weight gain, but drinking wine in moderation may provide some health benefits.
- Ice cream: In addition to being high in calories, most types of ice cream are also loaded with added sugar.
- Pizza: However, commercially made pizzas are often high in calories and made with ingredients like highly refined flour and processed meat.
- High calorie coffee drinks: However, many coffee drinks contain excessive amounts of cream and sugar, which can significantly increase the total calorie content in each serving.
- Foods high in added sugar: Foods high in added sugar usually provide high amounts of calories but lack other important nutrients and are not very filling.
Popular Candy Choices and Expert Takes
Here are eight of the most popular choices among dieters:
- Dark chocolate square: Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, such as flavonoids, which can help reduce inflammation and improve heart health by lowering blood pressure and improving blood flow.
- Milk chocolate: The combination of fat from chocolate and protein from peanuts could give energy levels a boost.
- Milk chocolate: Milk chocolate contains milk solids, which provide calcium and protein, albeit in small amounts.
- Fruit-flavored treats: While gummies, Starburst, Twizzlers, and hard candies are popular treats, they are generally low in nutritional value and high in sugar and artificial additives.
- Chocolate peanut butter cups: Chocolate peanut butter cups offer a satiating fat-plus-protein combination.
- Truffles: Truffles themselves may be high in calories due to their chocolate and cream content. But if you crave truffles, choose ones with antioxidant-rich dark chocolate on the outside or those featuring hazelnuts.
- York Peppermint Patty: Peppermint relieves gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort, particularly symptoms like bloating and indigestion, according to Mount Sinai.
- Chocolate wrapped around gooey caramel: Caramel is a mix of sugar, heavy cream, and butter, so it doesn’t do much for you nutrition-wise. But you do have a choice when it comes to the chocolate surrounding the caramel: milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
When you enjoy a sweet treat, pay attention to the portion size. Aim for smaller portions of roughly 100 to 150 calories per serving. Also, try to limit your candy intake to a couple of times a week rather than every day, and consider pairing candy with healthier snacks, such as a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts, to create a more balanced treat.