What's worse: calories or sugar? Which is worse for weight gain?

Women all over the world are dealing with excess weight and struggles around food. Weight gain, being overweight or obese, and issues around food are rampant in western society.

And you’re here reading this article, so my guess would be that you struggle in some way too.

Many women, when starting a weight loss journey start by reducing calories and some cut back on sugar. So what’s worse? Calories or sugar?

Is it the sugar that is causing weight gain, the amount of calories, or a combination of both? And why is it so darn hard to cut back on both?

In this article we will explore:

Calories and Weight Gain
Sugar and Weight Gain
Do Calories Really Matter?
When To Address Calories With Weight Gain
When To Address Sugar With Weight Gain

Calories and weight gaiN

Let’s take a look at calories first. There are so many people that say that calories are calories, no matter the source. This is simply not true and bad advice given to someone who wants a healthy body. Food is not just calories.

Food is:

Protein (amino acids)
Fats (omega 3, omega 6, etc.)
Carbohydrates (glucose)
Fibre (has a completely different role than carbohydrates)
Vitamins (vit C, vit A, B vitamins, etc.)
Minerals (magnesium, calcium, iodine, etc.)

And guess what? Our body needs all of these. Most of these, we MUST get from food. Glucose, for instance, doesn’t quite follow this rule. Glucose is so important that our bodies will make glucose (from lipids or proteins) when we aren't getting it from food.

So what if a large part of your calories are coming from carbohydrates and you are in a calorie excess? You’re going to gain weight. It’s too much energy for your body to use so the energy gets stored away as fat cells.

What if you’re in a caloric deficit and eating mostly carbs? Well, you might lose weight, but you’re going to end up being deficient in many of the above nutrients - like much needed fats for brain health or hormone production (yes, this means hormone imbalances may eventually surface) or minerals for energy production and bone health.

Food is not just calories. It’s so much more. So no, I don’t advocate for a diet that counts calories. Doing that alone and not considering the quality and nutrients in the food you are consuming can lead to deficiencies and poor health down the road.

Sugar and weight gain

So what role does sugar have in weight gain?

Sugar is a carbohydrate. All the different types of sugars are carbohydrates.

They all get used by the body in the same way (all accept fructose). They get broken down into glucose to be used as energy or stored away for later use. Fructose is the exception. The cells cannot use fructose for energy the same way that it uses glucose. In fact, there’s no process in the body that requires fructose. It gets shuffled to the liver (the only place it can be metabolized) where it is broken down and stored as fat in the liver or stored as fat elsewhere. It’s a tough thing for the body to process and leads to fatty liver, insulin resistance, diabetes, etc.

So yes, carbohydrates - in the form of sugar or even in the form of starches - like breads, rice, potatoes will cause weight gain. The difference is that there is little to no fructose in starch and therefore doesn’t contribute to the negative effects of fructose.

Starches, however, when eaten in excess will cause weight gain because the body simply cannot use up all the energy it is given. Too much starch equals weight gain and could possibly contribute to insulin resistance and similar conditions.

Do calories really matter?

I don’t like counting calories.

The reason for this is because calories do not equal nutrients and therefore just any calorie does not equal nutrients your body needs to run efficiently and prevent disease. Rather, I suggest counting nutrients - focusing on macronutrients and nutrient dense, whole foods.

So for weight loss, you might count your macros or simply follow a meal outline like the one in my Sugar Cravings Solution program. It doesn’t have to be complicated to work.

Are calories worse for weight gain? The answer is that nutrients are better for weight loss!

When to address calories with weight gain

There is one way in which calories DO matter with weight gain. That is in overeating.

If you are constantly overeating, eating past the point of fullness, or eating several snacks throughout the day outside of mealtimes, you are likely overeating and contributing to weight gain - even if you are eating the right stuff (nutrient dense whole foods from all food groups!).

The difference is that you are a lot less likely to overeat because when you are eating whole foods, your body sends like right signals telling you that you are full and satiated and have had enough.

Here’s a fun experiment (this is a figure of speech - please don’t actually try this):

Try overeating on whole foods coconut oil fat bombs or eating too much steak, then;
Try overeating on ultra-processed foods

You’ll notice it’s hard to overeat on whole foods! But the processed food? You’ll eat and eat and eat until you are so full and uncomfortable that the stomach possibly can’t fit anymore! There’s no comparison.

If you’re overeating even on healthy, nourishing foods - then yes, this will still contribute to weight gain and will need addressing.

When to address sugar with weight gaiN

You could be eating the right foods but still struggle with sugar consumption.

It’s because sugar is super addicting and at the end of the day, sugar is sugar; whether that comes from natural sugars, processed sugars, hidden sugars, or refined carbohydrates like white bread. Your sweet tooth might signal more of a problem than you might think.

That sweetness triggers dopamine in the brain making you feel really good - albeit, temporarily. The brain then builds up a tolerance over time and starts craving sugar to feel good.

So if the sugar is causing you to crave constantly, snack too much, reach for sugary sweets often, then focus on the sugar first. Get your cravings under control THEN focus on your health goals. Any health goal will be so much easier to reach after you’ve taken care of those cravings. And getting control of your sugar consumption will give you a huge head start to your health goals.

Ready to get a hold of your sugar cravings?

Check out the Sugar Cravings Solution: a 3 month program aimed at helping you conquer your sugar cravings so you can lose weight, have more energy, and finally take control of your health.

The Great Debate: Calories Or Sugar - What’s worse For Weight Gain?