When it comes to weight loss, the food that you eat has a major effect of losing on maintaining it. Thus one must know what to eat and what foods to avoid during weight loss. Let's have a look!
Some food items like yogurt, eggs, coconut oil and spicy food items can help in losing weight. There are some food products, like the processed or refined products, that can lead to excess weight gain.
It is advisable to avoid such fat gaining foods, especially when you are on a weight loss spree. But the problem is, the fat gaining foods are so common in our daily diet that we end up consuming them knowingly or unknowingly as we are not aware of their harmful effects on the weighing scale.
To help you identify those fattening foods, here is a list of 10 foods that you must avoid for weight loss.
1. Potato Chips & French Fries
Eating whole potatoes is good for health as they are filling and nutritious. But, the moment you turn them into crispy potato chips or yummy French fries they are no longer healthy for you. Both these variants of potatoes are very high in calories and are also the easiest way to eat too many of them.
Studies have shown that eating potato chips, and fries can lead to more weight gain as compared to any other food. To make things worse, the baked, roasted and fried versions of your favorite savories may contain cancer-causing acrylamides. Thus, it’s better to stick to your plain boiled version of potatoes.
2. Sugary Drinks
We all love our glass of sugary sweetened beverage like canned soda or soft drinks, but do you know that they are among the unhealthiest lot of food on this earth. They have always been associated with weight gain and can also have some disastrous effects on your overall health when consumed in excess amounts.
The sugary drinks are laden with calories, but your brain refuses to register them as solid food. Thus you end up consuming more calories along with them. Liquid calories do not make you feel full and they in no way compensate your food calories, so in a way, you end up consuming the double amount of calories.
If you are serious about your weight loss, then it is advisable to complete give-up on sugary drinks.
3. White Bread
Your daily breakfast staple that is the mighty white bread is nothing but refined flour with an added amount of sugar. The regular white bread has a very high glycemic index, which can give a sudden spike to your blood sugar levels.
Studies have confirmed that people who consume two slices of white bread are at 40% greater risk of gaining weight when compared to those who eat brown bread. Fortunately, the market is flourished with the healthy alternatives of white bread like wheat bread and multi-grain bread.
Though, these bread also contain gluten but they are still within the accepted limit and do not have that harmful effect on your weight loss plan.
4. Candy Bars
The candy bars that you love chewing on during free time are extremely unhealthy for you, and they are packed with sugar, refined flour and added oils that can create havoc in your weight loss plan.
Do not get fooled by their small size as they house a lot of calories with almost no nutritional value. An average candy bar consists of around 200 to 300 calories, which means you consume calories equal to your one meal with just a simple candy bar.
Candy bars are so easily available that we often get tempted to buy one or two out of impulse. Thus, it is better to pick up a fruit or a handful of nuts to curb your hunger pangs instead of munching on a candy bar.
5. Packaged Fruit Juices
The packed fruit juices that you find in a supermarket have a minimal amount of whole fruit goodness in them. They are highly processed and contains a lot of added sugar and preservatives to increase their shelf life. In fact, they are sugar and calorie laden as your regular soda, which does not make them healthy at all.
Also, fruit juices lack fiber as they do not require chewing. This means drinking a glass full of orange juice will not give you the same nutritious or fullness effect as the whole orange fruit would give. Instead, you will pack on extra calories, which will not come along with your whole fruit.
6. Pastries, Cookies, and Cakes
The yummy pastries, cakes, and cookies are the storage tanks of unhealthy ingredients like refined flour and sugar. Some of these items also contain a lot of trans fats which are linked to causing many harmful diseases.
Despite their great taste, these unhealthy food items are not that satisfying and you will surely end up eating something else with them or will become hungry quickly afterward.
If you are craving to have something sweet, then reach out for a piece of dark chocolate.
7. Some Types of Alcohol
Consuming alcohol gives you a number of calories than carbs and proteins, though the evidence of alcohol containing calories is still not clear, it believed that alcohol does contain at least seven calories per gram. Drinking alcohol in moderation might not affect your weight loss that much, but heavy drinking is only associated with weight gain. Here the type of alcohol you are consuming also has a great role to play. Like, drinking beer can cause weight gain, but drinking wine in moderation can be beneficial.
8. Ice Cream
Ice cream feels like nectar in scorching summers, but it is very unhealthy, to say the least. It is extremely high in calories and is loaded with sugar syrups. Indulging in a small portion of ice cream now and then might not be a problem but consuming it in a massive quantity that too in one sitting can pose some serious weight gain threat.
Try making your version of healthy sugar-free ice cream at home with healthier ingredients like fruits and low-fat yogurt. Allow yourself a small portion only so that you won’t end up eating too much.
9. Pizza
Undoubtedly one of the most popular fast foods among today’s generation, pizza is the unhealthiest thing that you can ever think of eating. It only contains calories, calories and more calories in the form of refined flour, cheese, butter and more. If you crave for pizza, then make one for yourself at home using healthier ingredients like wheat flour and homemade pizza sauce. The pizza sauce variants available in the market are processed and contain unhealthy preservatives. Another option would be to look for outlets that sell healthier versions of pizza to keep a check on your diet.
10. High-Calorie Coffee Drinks
Coffee has many weight loss properties but its sugar loaded, calorie dense versions like Frappuccino, cold coffee with ice creams, Nutella coffee shakes and more are doing more harm than good to your weight. Also, the caffeine present in coffee might help in boosting your metabolism but for a short period. On the contrary, the negative effects of artificial cream and sugar completely out weight the positive effects caffeine may have on your health. The high on calorie coffee drinks are nothing led than soda and are loaded with nothing but empty calories, which are equal to the amount of a whole meal.
If you like your cups of morning cuppa, then stick to the black coffee. You can add a little cream or milk to it but not too much. Avoid adding sugar and heavy creamers that make it unhealthy.
You may also want to try green coffee bean extract for healthy weight management.
Bottom Line
The worst foods for weight loss are unfortunately happen to be your favorite foods as well, which are nothing but highly processed junks. They are loaded with added sugars, refined flour, fat, and calories, thus doing no good to your health. If you are not sure about which food is healthy or which is unhealthy, then start reading food labels for nutritional info. Watch out for misleading names and health claims.
Do consider the serving size of every food you are eating. Even some healthy foods like dried fruits, nuts, etc. are high on calories so avoid overeating.
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