Why quitting high fructose corn syrup is one of the easiest ways to lose weight fast and keep it off (3 proven truths)
Many people believe high fructose corn syrup is just like sugar. Well, I have news for you.
It’s not.
High fructose corn syrup is on a danger-level all alone.
Yes, it’s dangerous. It’s bad for you. And it’s backed up by academic studies.
But the conversation around high fructose corn syrup shouldn’t be all negative.
In fact, AVOIDING high fructose corn syrup can help you:
- Lose weight.
- Be more energetic / motivated.
- Maintain healthy eating habits.
And learning these truths about avoiding high fructose corn syrup brought me TONS of joy.
Let me explain.
The joy of discovering the key to lean body success
I was like most entry-level employees with an expense account.
I gained the “freshman 15.”
Who doesn’t gain a little weight when there’s an abundance of free food and drinks?
But when I was ready to get back in shape, I struggled to get the lean body I wanted.
I tried everything.
I couldn’t lose the weight. And I was frustrated.
But then, I discovered EXACTLY what was preventing my success:
High fructose corn syrup.
It was like the gatekeeper of the lean body castle.
This discovery made me so happy.
Eliminating high fructose corn syrup from my diet was the key to losing weight and keeping it off.
With joy, I’ll explain why it’s so powerful.
But first, here’s a little background on high fructose corn syrup.
A brief history of high fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup is a lot like crack.
Sound crazy?
Notice the parallels.
1. Crack.
Crack was invented by drug dealers who had a surplus of cocaine. They discovered they could use their surplus inventory to create a product that was:
- Easy to produce.
- Highly profitable.
- Highly addicting.
They called it crack.
In essence, crack got the drug dealers’ customers buying more and buying forever.
Smart, right?
2. High fructose corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup was invented when corn farmers had a surplus of corn. They realized they could reduce their corn inventory by making high fructose corn syrup, a product that was:
- Easy to produce.
- Highly profitable.
- Highly addicting.
Similar to crack, high fructose corn syrup got customers buying more and buying forever.
Ease of production and profitability are simple to understand: Standard processing and high margins, respectively. But they’re not important to the point I’m making.
So instead, let’s focus on the third point:
Why high fructose corn syrup is highly addicting and how eliminating it from your diet can help you lose weight fast and keep it off.
Here are three studies.
Truth #1: High fructose corn syrup vs whole foods
Have stubborn belly fat that won’t go away?
You’re not alone.
But a billion crunches, sit-ups, and planks won’t make belly fat go away.
Quitting high fructose corn syrup will.
Here’s the study:
In this study, two sets of rats were compared. Set A was fed rat chow. Set B was fed rat chow sweetened with lots of high fructose corn syrup. Set B, after eating lots of high fructose corn syrup, ballooned in size. In fact, these rate gained 48% more weight, mostly around the belly, than Set A.
Bottom line: Avoiding high fructose corn syrup completely is an easy way to lose weight and keep it off, especially if most of your diet is already healthy.
So it’s clear what quitting high fructose corn syrup will do to stubborn belly fat.
But how bad is it compared to sugar?
Truth #2: High fructose corn syrup vs sugar
Sugar, especially in its processed and added form, is quite bad for getting and maintaining a lean body.
But here’s the thing:
High fructose corn syrup is MUCH worse than sugar.
Here’s the study…
The study compared two sets of rats. Set A was fed rat food and water sweetened with sugar. Set B was fed rat food and water sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The rats in Set B, the ones fed water sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, gained SIGNIFICANTLY more belly fat than the rats in Set A who were given water mixed with sugar.
So, sugar, as unhealthy as it is, causes less fat accumulation than high fructose corn syrup.
But, that’s not even the worse part.
The concentration of the sugar water was the same as a can of soda. Yet, the concentration of high fructose corn syrup water was only half that of a can of soda.
Bottom line: Sugar will make you fat, yes. But you will lose significantly more weight by consuming sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.
So we know high fructose corn syrup is much worse than sugar. Now how does high fructose corn syrup compare to healthy foods?
Truth #3: High fructose corn syrup impacts addiction and motivation
Eliminating high fructose corn syrup is a key to breaking the food-addiction-cycle and finding 80% more energy in your day.
Ever feel like you’re a slave to your food? How about tired and emotionally drained? Can you guess who is to blame?
That’s right: High fructose corn syrup!
Avoiding it can:
- Decrease compulsive eating.
- Increase your motivation to be active.
Here’s how this point was proven:
In the study, rats were split into two groups. Set A was fed water sweetened with sugar. Set B was fed water sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Both were given rat food, as well.
The rats fed water WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup spent 80% more time voluntarily exercising than rats given water with it.
So, high fructose corn syrup decreases motivation to exercise.
But the motivation to exercise is not the most shocking finding.
Rats fed water sweetened with high fructose corn syrup consumed 3x as many calories.
In fact, after some time, rats given sugar water grew tired of the sweetened drink and rarely indulged. The rats given water sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, however, never grew tired of their water and went back to the well at more regular intervals.
Bottom line: Breaking up with high fructose corn syrup can help break an addiction to food and increase your motivation to be physically active.
So now that we know that quitting high fructose corn syrup is key to weight loss success, how do we avoid it?
Unfortunately, it’s not easy.
But, it’s not impossible either.
Let’s discuss.
What products contain high fructose corn syrup — 3 easy ways to avoid it.
It’s highly profitable. It’s easy to produce. And it’s highly addicting.
So, it makes sense that high fructose corn syrup is everywhere.
But like most crimes (yup, I just went there), you gotta look at who stands to benefit.
There are three companies whose products are most likely to contain high fructose corn syrup.
1. Kraft (now Mondelez)
Big Food companies, like Kraft (now Mondelez), put high fructose corn syrup in nearly all of their products. Salad dressings, condiments, and even crackers have it.
Just check the ingredients (but not for the purpose of counting calories).
2. Coca cola
Soda companies in America sweeten their soda with high fructose corn syrup.
Certainly, you never actually NEED soda. But if it’s Feast Day, find a can that uses real sugar, instead.
3. McDonalds
Fast food companies use high fructose corn syrup in nearly all of their products. Even the buns include it.
Subway, regularly a healthy-living hypocrite, recently pledged to stop using high fructose corn syrup in their bread. Hat tip to them. Who is next?
Bringing it all together
If you want to dramatically change your body, there’s one simple thing to do:
Quit high fructose corn syrup forever.
You’ll be so happy to see this was the ONLY thing holding you back.
When you do:
- Belly fat will melt away.
- You’ll have more energy to exercise.
- Your overwhelming addiction to food will go away with ease.
Not to mention, you’ll be a part of the proud NOYOKE Folks who never touch the stuff.
No, it won’t happen overnight.
But quitting high fructose corn syrup forever is the simplest step to losing weight, maintaining a lean body and living a happier, more fulfilling life.
Works cited
Mary Teem -
I’ve been off HFCS for about a week now. Not cutting sugar yet, starting with HFCS. Down 6 lbs already. My head is killing me and my stomach is really upset. Plus, I’m tired all the time. Please tell me this will stop! I’m willing to go thru it to break the cycle, but, ugh!
Sam Diamond -
Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Really, as much as you can.
Vicky -
Also headaches can be from the HFCS converting to ethanol in your body which will make you feel bad too.
It takes 9 days to detox from HFCS after no longer consuming.
Just be careful and research your food consumption to make sure you have eliminated it from your diet.
Bioengineering ingredients can be HFCS, too
Damascus_ari -
I just decided to cut all added sugar in my diet. About 90% of the food on shelves is off limits, and you know what? I don’t care. I’m no longer craving sweets, the fat on my belly and thighs literally melted off, and I’ve never had as much will to exercise in my life!
I love very dark chocolate and fruits, though.
Well, off to the gym!
Lenny Gale -
Proud of you!
I’m 42 and work at a place where soda pop is free all day long. I finally had to quit drinking Mt. Dew because it was destroying my teeth. After about six months I noticed my appetite had crashed to NOTHING. I lost 25 lbs in 2 months. I am a couch potato. I have been sedentary for YEARS. I wasn’t sure if it was HFCS or not. I recently went on a long road trip in a short time and drank mt dew(I’m not going to waste my time correctly capitalizing their name!) to stay alert. Sure enough I gained a few lbs and my appetite came back with a vengeance! I’m off again and look for it in all foods. Tonight I weighed my self and after 3 months I have lost 38.4 lbs! I am not doing any exercising at all. I take stairs now at a brisk pace, park the car a little further from the store. I don’t know if this works for everybody, but I have offered to at least one friend who has been working on losing weight that if he goes completely off for 6 months I’ll give him a hundred bucks! This is absolutely crazy! I am SUPER LAZY.
If you hadn’t noticed I am excited. I am planning on losing another 40 pounds at least then reactivating my face book acct.(YES I WANTED TO GO OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD!) Then I am going to show before and after pictures and SPREAD THE WORD!
sorry for all the caps, I am so excited because this is real. and my life will never be the same. I never comment on anything, but if I can do this. ANYONE CAN.
Jeremy
I love this so much.
Thank you for getting the courage to share your story, Jeremy. Hope it’s an inspiration to anyone reading this.
Who’s next?
I recently switched from cokes with High Fructose Corn Syrup to the ones form Mexico with real sugar, and the brands made with real sugar. Dublin Vintage Cola is really good too. And I have lost about ten pounds in the first month off HFCS! I mean really, really easily, too. And its true, I haven’t been craving eating as much in general whereas I was just going crazy with food and over eating and got up to almost 300 lbs! (278) !!! Jeez!
Then in desperation I switched from HCFS to sugar just to help quit, drinking as many,… and was blown away at how much I improved. I am losing belly fat and I just don’t feel as puffy and sick all the time and I have cut my coke drinking in half. You just can’t drink as much sugar… You naturally want to stop at a certain point or you will get sick. but HCFS, I could drink that all day and I craved it all the time and just got in a horrible cycle of eating and drinking cokes!
I can’t believe it was that easy to switch and that weight is kinda falling off me even though i am still drinking regular sugar cokes at the rate of about 2 12oz bottles a day. I want to get down to one and then to every other day and then maybe only once or twice a week and so on. I feel better already and can finally see the numbers getting smaller and smaller on the scale!
This week I cut down portions of starch and added twice as many vegetables so we’ll see. I I feel that since the craving for food aren’t nearly as bad anymore, I can actually control what I eat more now too. All in all, so far, I am convinced. High Fructose Corn syrup is more addictive, and contributes to my weight gain more, makes me feel worse, than real sugar.
Well if this isn’t the perfect testimonial, I don’t know what is. 🙂
Keep up the good work, Alli, and thanks for sharing.