10 Worst Foods That Are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts
When you make a trip to your favorite supermarket, you’ll surely come across many items touting to be healthier for you. The packaging may proclaim promises like “No added sugars”, “Low-fat”, “Less Calories” and many more. However, if your goal is weight loss, these products are very misleading and detrimental.
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For example, a product on a shelf may be made of seemingly healthy and benign ingredients, but is often full of other sugars and/or additives that can easily sabotage your weight loss goals if you eat too much if it, such as natural fructose, MSG or excessive salt, high glycemic index sugar substitutes, high carb foods and more. While we all need some salt and carbs for energy and overall balanced health, it must, however, come from the right sources and kept in moderation.
Furthermore, some diets still emphasize that calorie and fat intake is what’s making us gain weight and BMI, when in fact, this has been completely debunked and written off as false in recent years by top health, dietary and medical professionals. The true culprit of unwanted weight gain are insufficient daily exercise and excessive amounts of all kinds of sugars and carbs that turn into sugar in the body, which then becomes fat as a result.
With all that being said, the following ten foods are the worst and should be avoided or limited in order to prevent sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
Alcohol And Breakfast Cereal
Beer is made of fermented wheat and is thus one of the very worst culprits of weight gain, along with a slew of other serious health problems. Alcohol in general adds a boatload of bad carbs to your day. You’re also more likely to overeat after having a few cups. If you absolutely must indulge, opt for one small shot of liquor on the rocks or club soda instead.
Also, breakfast cereal is not only full of carbs and added sugars, it’s mostly devoid of nutritional value as well.
Energy Bars And Rice Cakes
Energy bars may contain some nutritional value, but these much loved delights on the go are actually full of added sugar or harmful sugar substitutes.
They also frequently contain added fiber, and while this might sound good to the un-informed customer, too much fiber can leave you gassy, bloated and constipated if you don’t drink a lot of water afterwards. So watch out for bars with more than 7 grams of fiber per serving and any mention of added sugars or sugar alcohols.
We all love those tasty grab-and-go snacks like rice cakes for instance, but on their own they don’t offer much nutritional value. They are also highly addictive and don’t do much to keep you full and feeling satisfied, as they largely consist of air, which is why it’s so easy to eat too much of it. So instead of going solo with the empty carbs, try making it more balanced by adding some healthy fats or protein to it, such as swipes of nut butter, cottage cheese or avocado.
Sugary Drinks And Diet Drinks
One glass of fruit juice, a teaspoon of sugar and some cream in your daily coffee regimen may seem harmless to you, but all those sugars and carbs quickly and easily add up with all the other food and snacks you eat throughout the day.
Extra sugar and carbs often lurk in drinks many would assume are relatively healthy for us, like fruit shakes, smoothies and energy drinks. If you’re buying a bottled beverage, be sure to read the nutrition label. Next time you hit your favorite coffee shop or cafe, ask for just one small teaspoon of brown sugar, or skip the whipped cream topping, or both.
You may be wondering – What about “diet drinks” like Diet Coke or Diet Sprite? Unfortunately, while these drinks are free of or extremely low in sugar per say, countless studies have linked diet soda and the artificial sweeteners they contain to weight gain, neurological problems, obesity, higher mortality rates and more. Instead of baloney diet drinks, reach for sugar-free sparkling water instead. If you’re craving sweetness, an occasional glass of very low-fructose fruit juice is ok as well.
Frozen Convenience Dinners And Fast Food
With such attractive labels promising “low fat,” “organic,” and “weight smart” meals, it’s no wonder people often head straight for the freezer aisle, especially when there’s a lack of time, energy and patience to cook an actual meal. However, if you look more closely, those labels were working overtime to try to distract you from a dirty hidden secret: tons of unnecessary sodium, added sugar, and impossible-to-pronounce ingredients. The link between highly processed foods, water retention, diabetes, weight gain and more is crystal clear. So if you see a food product that is obviously highly processed, it’s best and smartest to just leave it on the shelf.
Regarding fast food, once you realize what it’s made of, how it’s kept and cooked, you’ll likely want to turn around and make a smarter food choice elsewhere. All in all, fast-food options typically contain very little nutritional value. They only offer a ridiculous amount of sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats. They’ve also been heavily linked to serious long-term health problems, including weight gain and obesity.
Flavored Yogurt And Processed Salad Dressings
Yogurt can be a great healthy snack as long as you’re checking the ingredients list to see how much sugar has been added. Flavored yogurts can sometimes have more sugar than some cookies, chocolate and candy bars. Plain Greek and Icelandic varieties tend to have more protein and much fewer carbs, making them a better choice. If you need a hint of sweetness, which is totally understandable, try mixing in chopped up low glycemic fruit, such as blueberries or strawberries.
Watch out for those sneaky salad dressings as well, as they often contain a crazy amount of sugar and sodium.
