When it comes to food and weight loss, there are certain things to avoid altogether, and food items you should eat in moderation.
Although you might already have reduced calories, you could still be consuming more than you think. A wiser approach can be to look at your everyday habits which can cause weight gain, or which are preventing you losing those few extra pounds around your stomach. One of the secrets is knowing that going on a diet creates an obsession with food, and this actually heightens cravings because you feel you are deprived.
This can be the main reason that people quit on a diet and say it does not work. When you are reducing your calorie intake, it is crucial that you know how a small, “extra thing” can make a massive difference to your daily intake. Good examples are: a spoonful of salad dressing that can quickly add up to 100 calories to your meal, while a spoonful of butter adds almost the same. A small bag of chips that accompanies your lunch adds nearly 200 calories, which is a fair chunk of your daily allocation.
Aside from this, there are the regular foods you eat, and how they mount up, yet they do not do much to help you feel satiated. It is easy to fall into bad habits. When this happens, it is another thing that makes those last few pounds extremely challenging to remove.
A high number of individuals fall into bad habits when trying to lose weight, here are some of the most common:
- Hectic lifestyles do not leave us much time to eat at a leisurely pace, yet this has been shown to be more beneficial, because it is easier to savor the food in front of you, and you get a greater sense of being full than when eating on the go.
- Skipping meals is one of the leading bad habits and does nothing to help. When trying to lose weight, you should make sure you eat three meals per day. It has been shown that you’ll consume fewer calories than you would by skipping a meal and making up for it later. Each meal should contain a portion of carbs, proteins, and fat, so you get a full range of nutrients and vitamins. You also need to eat three times a day at regular intervals, so that your blood sugar levels stay well-balanced.
- Calories in drinks are the one area many people underestimate the calories being consumed. A study showed that an average American adult received around 21% of their calories from various types of beverages
Foods to Avoid and Why
One of the first things to avoid is sugary drinks, and this is not only in the case of sodas and energy drinks. There are a high number of fruit juices which aren’t great for you and that contain a large amount of calories, too. There is also the misconception that drinking fruit juices rather than eating a meal is good for you. We want balance, not starvation. So, don’t do that, please.
Actually, many fruits contain high amounts of natural sugars. Drinking anything will never be a substitute for food when feeling hungry, as drinks deal with thirst, and not hunger. If you are to consume juices, it should be fresh vegetable juices which are very high in vitamins and nutrients, while still being low in calories. I will share
some great green smoothie recipes at the end of this title.
High Sugary and Salty Snacks are the Types of Food you Should Entirely Avoid. This can include potato chips, popcorn that has been artificially flavored, ice cream, cakes, cookies, and candies. Not only are these full of calories, but the ingredients they contain might make you feel like eating more. There are loads of additives and “processes” which are not natural in these foods. So, avoid “junk” food, altogether.
1. Sugar-Free Products
Sugar-free products are one of the tricky ones. They might be low in calories, yet they contain artificial sweeteners which make you feel hungry and give you more cravings. So, in truth, they backfire the cause entirely.
2. Multigrain Products
Multigrain products should be avoided because they are only labeled this way to trick you into thinking they are healthy. Multigrain is a fancy name for products that are full of processed carbs. Just choose “whole grain” products if you are ever unsure.
Following on from multigrain is white bread, and it contains high amounts of added sugar and will spike your blood sugar levels. It’s loaded with calories, too. I used to love white bread, but now I don’t miss it at all.
3. Candy Bars
Candy bars are conveniently placed everywhere and should be avoided at all costs. Even though they might be small, they are packed full of calories, added sugars, oils, and refined flours. They have no place in health, at all.
4. Store Bought Fruit Juices
Store bought fruit juices should be avoided. As mentioned earlier, they are highly processed and full of added sugars. Unfortunately, they bear no resemblance to the fruits they are portrayed to containing. With no fiber, they require no chewing and have no effect on you feeling full, like you would with a fresh orange, for example. Juicing with real fruit is so much more beneficial.
5. Cakes, Cookies, and Pastries
Cakes, cookies, and pastries are made from highly refined flours and contain vast amounts of sugars. Many are also made using trans-fats which are harmful, and they are not very satisfying, and hunger will quickly return once you have eaten them.
6. Processed Foods
The list goes on for any processed foods, or foods that contain ingredients that are hard to pronounce. Yet all is not rosy on the fruit and vegetable side as you would expect. There are some (that although healthy) aren’t very helpful when it comes to shifting those few pounds around the belly area.
7. Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits taste delicious, yet mango and pineapples contain more sugar than other fruits, and as an aside, they contain more calories too.
8. Dried Fruits
Dried fruits have more calories in smaller quantities, the only difference being they have had their water removed. If you consume these as a snack, you seriously have to limit yourself because of the moreish taste.
9. Mashed Potato
Mashed potato might seem healthy for many reasons, but they come with a large amount of calories when compared to equal weights of other foods. They also have a high glycemic index which spikes blood sugar levels. I use sweet potato because it’s low GI. It gives the body energy over time. Pumpkin can also become a substitute here.
10. Bottled Waters
Many people choose to drink bottled water rather than rain or filtered water. Most bottled tap water has no major benefit and is just put into fancy bottles before shipping it to market.
To make sure you are drinking pure water, it is better to drink distilled water as this contains no impurities compared to other types of bottled waters. How do you really know a bottled water’s source?
Distilled water is as pure as water can get. In addition to this, another real misconception is that most nutrients come from the foods we eat and not from the water we consume. The daily allocation of water only contains 15% of the daily organic content the body needs on a regular basis.
Distilled water brings with it the advantage of eliminating poisons from the body. This is due to distilled water being efficient in removing toxins. Never drink tap water, because it is loaded with nasty chemicals, including fluoride which is not conducive to long term health when ingested.
Allen E. Banik, M.D. Author, “The Choice is Clear” wrote:
“Distilled water is the greatest solvent on earth. (It is) the only water that can be taken into the body without damage to the tissues.
What we as scientists and the public have never realized is that minerals collected in the body from water are all inorganic minerals, which cannot be assimilated (digested) by the body. The only minerals that the body can utilize are the organic minerals (from fruits and vegetables). All other types of minerals are foreign substances to the body and must be disposed of or eliminated.”
He went on to say, “Today, many progressive doctors prescribe distilled water to their patients. All kidney machines operate on distilled water.”
Here is what Dr. Teofilio de la Torre says…
“Instead of drinking the hard water of springs or the chlorinated water of the cities, it will be to our advantage to drink distilled water . . . to prevent calcification of the body.”
Other harmful additives in tap water include: chloride, lead, mercury, arsenic, perchlorate, dioxins, fluoride, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT (insecticide), HCB (a pesticide), dacthal, and MtBE. Some are more prevalent in certain countries than in others. It’s like a horror story, really.
Other foods
Other foods that might appear to be healthy and are not as healthy or nutritious as they seem. These should be avoided or consumed rarely and in small portions. They are:
- Flavored Yogurts – Contains high amounts of sugar.
- Granola – Labeled as healthy, yet full of sugars and fats.
- Bagels – These contain the same amount of carbs as in 6 slices of white bread.
- Pasta – Here, most of the goodness has been stripped in processing.
- Coleslaw – Although most of it is cabbage and vegetables, that mayo covering it is loaded with calories.
- Dairy – Full of protein and calcium, yet one small bite-sized cube of cheese can contain 70 calories. It is also highly acidic.
- Deli meats – Deli meats are mainly processed, one example being salami, which is high calories.