Artificial sweeteners

[Gunsmith]

Do any of you guys cut out artificial sweeteners or calorie free water flavoring during your contest prep.??
I few buddies were discussing all the different things we have done over the years for contest prep from drinking distilled water , eating specific vegetables using sleep aids , not using sleep aids and cutting artificial sweeteners was mentioned.
I've personally never eliminated it but I don't use a ton anyway but I do use alot of Mio and Crystal lite. I only ever remember one coach telling me it definitely made a difference in how dry you end up looking (I never could tell)
So I was wondering if anyone actually eliminated artificial sweeteners and such

 

[b-boy]

Do any of you guys cut out artificial sweeteners or calorie free water flavoring during your contest prep.??
I few buddies were discussing all the different things we have done over the years for contest prep from drinking distilled water , eating specific vegetables using sleep aids , not using sleep aids and cutting artificial sweeteners was mentioned.
I've personally never eliminated it but I don't use a ton anyway but I do use alot of Mio and Crystal lite. I only ever remember one coach telling me it definitely made a difference in how dry you end up looking (I never could tell)
So I was wondering if anyone actually eliminated artificial sweeteners and such

Nope and never had a coach that ask me too. Why would you cut it out?

 

[marssel]

Do any of you guys cut out artificial sweeteners or calorie free water flavoring during your contest prep.??
I few buddies were discussing all the different things we have done over the years for contest prep from drinking distilled water , eating specific vegetables using sleep aids , not using sleep aids and cutting artificial sweeteners was mentioned.
I've personally never eliminated it but I don't use a ton anyway but I do use alot of Mio and Crystal lite. I only ever remember one coach telling me it definitely made a difference in how dry you end up looking (I never could tell)
So I was wondering if anyone actually eliminated artificial sweeteners and such

Plain water is always best and dropping the fake sweetness makes you crave sweets less so life is just easier. Plus aside from stevia all that shit is unnatural why put it in ur body

 

[KingOfSushi]

In vs out has never effected my look personally.

I, myself, use a ton. In my oats, cream of rice, water, coffee… love the stuff! Has never effected my progress. Everyone’s different though, doesn’t hurt to try for yourself and see if you notice anything.

 

[marssel]

In vs out has never effected my look personally.

I, myself, use a ton. In my oats, cream of rice, water, coffee… love the stuff! Has never effected my progress. Everyone’s different though, doesn’t hurt to try for yourself and see if you notice anything.

I don’t think it stops fat loss I’m just not sure it’s good for you.

 

[Palifter]

I pull them due to the gut distention I can sometimes get at the tail end when I am abusing artificial sweeteners - key word here is “abusing”. Think SIBO like symptoms, it gets ugly and painful.

As @b-boy stated however, this is not a general rule people should just blindly follow. If you notice issues, pull them, if not…no need. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

 

[KingOfSushi]

I don’t think it stops fat loss I’m just not sure it’s good for you.

I’ll die some die, maybe too young. But I don’t think it’ll be cause of the artificial sweeteners! I guess we we see though

Jokes aside, I’ve never seen any compelling evidence they cause any health issues. Even the recent erythritol study was based on levels in the blood I believe, which who knows is related to consumption at all or if it was event he cause.

 

[UnholyAlliance]

Plain water is always best and dropping the fake sweetness makes you crave sweets less so life is just easier. Plus aside from stevia all that shit is unnatural why put it in ur body

Plain water seems too boring and I've been using monkfruit sweetener and it's not bad at all and gives a fruity aftertaste which is better than the slight bitterness of stevia.

 

[cmryan]

I’ll die some die, maybe too young. But I don’t think it’ll be cause of the artificial sweeteners! I guess we we see though

Jokes aside, I’ve never seen any compelling evidence they cause any health issues.

People can dismiss the evidence if they choose, but sugar subs (as a group) have mammoth amounts of evidence showing no harm to people. Doesn’t mean they’re necessarily healthy compared to water. But definitely better than sugary drinks (in a calorie surplus).

Even the recent erythritol study was based on levels in the blood I believe, which who knows is related to consumption at all or if it was event he cause.

That was horribly misinterpreted by most of the media reporting it. The study never measured actual intake of erythritol of any of the subjects. Rather, it only measured their blood levels of erythritol. I’ll be honest, I did not realize we produced erythritol naturally within our own bodies before I read summaries of the study.

And the subjects they tested were basically the picture of unhealthy. Something like 60% were hypersensitive and/or had already had a heart attack in the recent past. So really all the study was able to show is that really unhealthy people with higher levels of erythritol in their blood (not necessarily intake) were at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease/death.

 

[cmryan]

Plain water seems too boring and I've been using monkfruit sweetener and it's not bad at all and gives a fruity aftertaste which is better than the slight bitterness of stevia.

I’d drink plain water before anything flavored with stevia. It’s one of the least appealing sugar subs available. Maltitol and sorbitol being worse due to the absurd amount of gas they give me.

 

[Aikman56]

…all that shit is unnatural why put it in ur body

And pass the tren!

I kid! I kid!

But seriously, that tren, though…

 

[Aikman56]

Layne Norton has posted data on This numerous times. It doesn’t hinder fat loss, doesn’t increase cravings, has zero impact n insulin production, and as far as cancer goes, you'd have to eat buckets, daily, for years.

 

[buck]

Many studies can be found that show artificial sweeteners are less then healthy. Many find it disrupts their digestion and others don't'. Dexter Jackson has spoke out against them. I find people tend to gravitate to what they want to hear. I never saw a reason to start using them so i really never have. I am one of the weird ones i guess that drink water and don't think it tastes terrible. And sweets were a more like once a week thing when i was younger so i never had any big urge to be ingesting sweets on a regular basis. Now that i don't eat much sugar i can really notice the sweet flavor of fruit and even in veggies.

 

[w8tlifterty]

Plain water is always best and dropping the fake sweetness makes you crave sweets less so life is just easier. Plus aside from stevia all that shit is unnatural why put it in ur body

I find this statement ironic coming from a guy that sells UG gear.

Yea… cut the aspartame but inject solvents, heavy metals, raws from random labs in china

 

[slide]

Prep, off-season, life...Crystal light in my water and splenda on green beans, jasmine rice, and sweet potatoes.

 

[TheRoid]

Never noticed any difference when used within reason. A few cans of Dr Pepper and sweetened coffee di not affect contest prep in the slightest IME. But helped a lot mentally.

 

[b-boy]

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

Nope and never had a coach that ask me too. Why would you cut it out?

Artificial sweeteners can have an inflammatory effect in the gut. And, usually, as contest prep gets deeper, and calories get lower, sweetener usage goes up. I always cut them / have clients 2 weeks out to kill any inflammation they may cause to keep abs and waist as tight as possible. you certainly do not have to do this, but I like to eliminate any variable within my control that could have deleterious effects on a show-day physique

 

[AllOkJumpmaster]

Sweeteners themselves are not bad, I use a good bit of Truvia (don't use store brand knock off though). You have to be careful with splenda though. It is not so much that sucralose in of itself is bad, but each packet also uses maltodextrin as a filler to give it more body. Each is at least one gram of dextrose and contains 4 calories. Nothing crazy, but when guys are using 30-40 or even more packets a day, that shit adds up.

 

[b-boy]

Sweeteners themselves are not bad, I use a good bit of Truvia (don't use store brand knock off though). You have to be careful with splenda though. It is not so much that sucralose in of itself is bad, but each packet also uses maltodextrin as a filler to give it more body. Each is at least one gram of dextrose and contains 4 calories. Nothing crazy, but when guys are using 30-40 or even more packets a day, that shit adds up.

One reason I buy liquid splenda when I can, I at least use it in my coffee which cuts down on my powder splenda use alot