If you use zero-calorie artificial sweeteners regularly, you probably think you're doing yourself a favor. By using zero-calorie artificial sweeteners as opposed to natural sugars that contain calories, you may even think that you can help yourself lose weight. However, some recent studies suggest that you can actually impede weight loss by using artificial sweeteners. In fact, you shouldn't be surprised if artificial sweeteners cause you to gain weight over time. Here are 2 ways that artificial sweeteners can impede weight loss:

When you eat foods and drink beverages that contain regular sugar, you often feel full after your meal. Once sugar enters your system, it heats your body up so that you can start to burn off the calories that you're taking in. When you use artificial sweeteners, this process does not happen. Your body doesn't have to heat up to burn off calories as a result of using artificial sweeteners that contain no calories. Instead, you're left with an unsatisfied feeling. This may lead you to unconsciously eat and drink more in order to get full. By doing this, you're taking in extra calories from the foods and drinks you're partaking in and, over time, this can cause you to actually gain weight instead of losing it.

Diet soda has long been a staple of people trying to lose weight. However, if you are drinking diet soda to lose weight, you may actually cause yourself to gain weight over time. When you drink a diet soda with artificial sweeteners, you may end up tricking your body into thinking that other things that you eat and drink are not filled with as many calories as they really are. So while you're reducing the calories in your drink by enjoying a diet soda, you may misjudge the calorie content of, say, the sandwich you're eating or the cake you have after lunch. This can also cause you to overeat and take in more calories than you would by just drinking a regular soda. This isn't to say that you should actually switch to regular soda, but in order for diet soda and the artificial sweeteners in it to have a positive effect, you need to be mindful of everything that you eat when you have a diet soda.

The truth is that you can help yourself lose weight by switching to a diet soda. However, you need to keep in mind that simply switching to a soda loaded with artificial sweeteners is not the only thing you need to do to lose weight. You should also try keeping a food journal to help you stay on track with a diet, and add exercise to your everyday routine. Otherwise, simply taking in more artificial sweeteners may not do anything for you on your quest to lose weight.