As anyone who has tried dieting already knows, choosing the right foods to include and which ones to avoid can be both complicated and frustrating. Unfortunately, some of the foods that most of us enjoy, as well as some that may appear to be completely harmless, are likely slowing down your progress.
The following takes a look at eleven foods and drinks which you should avoid as much as possible while on a diet.
1. Cream
Cream is so commonly used in cooking that many people may find it very difficult to omit it from their diets.
Creams may be used in everything from soups to curries to pasta-based dishes. In addition, a lot of people and restaurants add cream to otherwise healthy desserts, such as fresh strawberries or fruit salad.
As one of the highest fat types of dairy products, cream should ideally be completely avoided by people on a weight loss diet. You can still get your calcium from skim milk or low-fat yoghurt.
While low-fat alternatives are available, most dairy products still contain a high number of calories. Fortunately, there are some substitutes around which can taste just as good. For example, you can usually replace cream with zero- or low-fat Greek yoghurt in most dishes.
If you are cooking at home, then you can easily make this switch. When eating out, you might want to avoid creamy sauces at all costs, as they are such a major source of waistline-expanding calories.
2. Soft Drinks
Although not actually a food, soft drinks still count as something to avoid in your diet, since they contain many empty calories.
Soft drinks are typically loaded with sugar, and if you’re in the habit of drinking even just a litre of soft drinks every day, you can easily end up adding another two to three hundred calories to your daily intake.
What is worse is that these calories from sugar has almost no nutritional value – they will not provide you with any vital vitamins or minerals, or give you the healthy fibre that you need to feel full.
In fact, consuming sugary drinks creates a blood sugar spike that will leave you craving more sugar within a couple of hours. Try to avoid getting into this vicious cycle in the first place, unless you want your dieting experience to be an awful ordeal.
Of course, there are diet soft drinks on the market which use artificial sweeteners and have zero calories. However, these are notoriously bad for other aspects of your health.
For example, some artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol, can cause horrible stomach upsets. Meanwhile, aspartame, another sweetener, has a reputation as being a potentially dangerous chemical additive.
3. Fruit Juices
There is another drink which must be included for the completeness of this list, but which you might be surprised about.
Fruit juice can be a disaster for any diet because of its high calorie content.
One might think of fruit juices as a healthy part of any diet – after all, we’ve all heard of the five-a-day recommendation regarding fruits and vegetables.
Unfortunately, most fruit juices are also loaded with sugar. Even worse, fruit juices do not even give you the fibre that you would find in natural, unprocessed fruits such as oranges or apples.
This healthy fibre, which helps to suppress hunger and keeps your digestive system running smoothly, is processed out and thrown away when fruit is used to make juice.
What about smoothies? Although some smoothies do retain some of the fibre that is naturally found in fruit, they often contain more calories than any soft drink. Some smoothies also have added calorie-boosting ingredients such as honey.
Instead of using up your limited calorie budget on smoothies, stick to small amounts of juice with no added sugar when you are on a diet. Alternatively, you can use fresh fruits to flavour water for a low calorie alternative.
4. Cheese
Many people add cheese to a whole range of meals, and omitting it from a diet may be next to impossible for some.
However, like most dairy products, cheese contains a great deal of fat.
Both hard and soft cheeses can add a huge amount of calories to your daily intake, so pause for a moment before you sprinkle cheese all over your otherwise healthy meal!
While you don’t necessarily have to avoid cheese entirely when you are following a weight loss diet, it is important to shop carefully.
There are many reduced-fat cheeses available, some of which can taste almost identical to full-fat cheeses.For example, cottage cheese is a good low-fat alternative to ricotta cheese, which is a staple ingredient in many recipes.
Try to cut down on fat and calories as much as possible by choosing your cheeses carefully, whether you plan to use them for cooking or for snacking. Many low-fat cheeses contain just as much (if not more) protein as full-fat cheeses, and they are still a good source of calcium.
Really, the only thing you are missing out on by choosing a reduced-fat alternative to your usual cheddar or camembert is fat and calories.
5. Condiments
There is a huge range of different condiments such as ketchup, salad dressing and mayonnaise which people add to their food.
Many people assume that these don’t have a significant effect on a diet. Unfortunately, what may appear to be a harmless salad dressing can make a salad anything but diet-friendly.
Salad dressing is usually very high in fat, which means that it could contain more calories than all of the healthy green foods that are filling up the rest of your plate! Sauces, such as ketchup and barbeque sauce are often loaded with added sugar as well.
Mayonnaise is one of the worst offenders, although there are now low-fat yoghurt-based alternatives. If you really can’t live without mayonnaise on your tuna sandwich, then try to find one of these low-calorie alternatives.
With all sauces, the best approach to take is to limit your portion size. A small drizzle of sauce can add interesting flavours to a meal. On the other hand, drowning all your food in mayonnaise or ketchup will add calories and prevent you from enjoying the flavours of the actual food on your plate.
A little sauce can go a long way, so be careful when squeezing the ketchup bottle!
6. Breakfast Cereals
Most breakfast cereals, particularly those which come in boxes, contain plenty of added sugar, making them a disaster for any low-calorie diet.
A lot of such products also come with added chemical preservatives which can be harmful for other aspects of your health.
The third dangerous ingredient in many cereals on the shelf is salt, which raises blood pressure and can lead to water retention, which makes you look larger than you really are!
On the other hand, there are other breakfast cereals which are great in any diet. Any whole-grain cereals without added sugar are generally very good for your health while also being low in calories.
Look for cereals that are based on oats or whole wheat, and read the box carefully to find out exactly how much sugar is lurking inside each bowl. If you cannot find a suitable cereal, then try porridge as a tasty breakfast alternative.
Oats are a high-fiber superfood that will keep you full until lunch time rolls around. Simply combine rolled oats with some low-fat milk and cook into a lovely creamy porridge. Add a few slices of banana, a handful of raisins or a couple of chopped nuts to turn this into a truly tempting breakfast.
7. Cooking Sauces
Take a look at the labels of commonly sold cooking sauces and you will see that they often contain extra sugar along with a whole raft of preservatives and other harmful ingredients.
Instead of buying things like carbonara or bolognese sauces for pastas or any other cooking sauces in jars, try making your own.
Even if you do not cook very often, this does not have to be too difficult! A can of chopped tomatoes is a good starting point for most sauces. You can then add herbs and spices to boost the flavor of your sauce, without increasing the calorie content.
Yes, it does take a little bit more time to create your own sauces from basic ingredients. But at least you will have far more control over what actually ends up in your meal.
One of the key ways to lose weight and keep it off is to take a greater interest in what you are eating and how it is made. You could also save money by learning new cooking skills!
8. Fast Food
You do not have to swear that you will never eat a fast food meal again, but they should definitely be seen as an occasional treat, not a daily or weekly indulgence.
Even leaving the calories aside, these foods contain a bunch of other preservatives and are often cooked in the unhealthiest ways imaginable.
The nutritional content of fast food is often very low, making it a poor choice from a health point of view. You would be much better off going to a café or restaurant where you can order some vegetables with your meal, or eat a salad that is not covered in mayonnaise.
Of course, the best way to have control over the calories in your food is to eat food you have prepared yourself at home. However, there are some exceptions to the rule that fast food is bad food, and not all fast food should necessarily be avoided.
Among the better options are Subway sandwiches, which can be customised to be exactly the way you want. Just make sure you opt for extra salad and go easy on the condiments!
9. Pasta
While pasta itself is not at all high in fat, it does contain a great deal of carbohydrates. It should therefore be avoided as much as possible in any low-carb diet.
However, regardless of what sort of diet you are on, you should limit the amount of pasta you eat.
Pasta is relatively high in calories and does not have a particularly good nutritional profile.
You would be better off filling up your plate with more nutrient-rich foods, such as vegetables or lean proteins, than eating huge amounts of pasta.
If you enjoy pasta and would rather not leave it out of your diet completely, try going for the much tastier whole-grain fresh pasta. As well as containing more healthy fibre to fill you up, whole-grain pasta also generally has fewer carbohydrates to burden your diet.
You can eat a small portion of whole-grain pasta with a larger portion of beans and vegetables in home-made tomato sauce for a healthy, low-fat meal. Whole-grain pasta only takes a few minutes longer to cook than white pasta, so you can still prepare a fast mid-week meal while sticking to your diet. It is also something that the whole family is likely to enjoy.
10. White Rice
Surely rice can’t be bad for you? The answer is no, but you need to choose your rice with care.
White rice is the standard and most common type of rice, and while it is not high in fat, it does contain a great deal of carbohydrates.
It is also not very high in vital nutrients, which is partly because white rice is heavily refined and not as natural as many people think it is.
As is the case with any foods which are high in glycaemic carbohydrates, white rice actually stimulates the appetite to the point of making you hungrier. The result could be that you find yourself reaching for a snack only an hour or two after finishing a meal based on white rice.
Instead of plain white rice, try to use healthier types of rice, such as basmati or brown rice. Brown rice has a much lower glycaemic index, so it will not leave you feeling hungry again soon after you eat.
As with pasta, you should fill up your plate with vegetables to cut down on the amount of rice that you eat. This approach will help you to reduce the meal’s total calories without experiencing hunger.
11. Alcohol
Alcohol is a type of sugar, and as a result, alcoholic drinks are loaded with empty calories.
This is particularly the case with beer and sweet cocktails, which can contain additional sugars as well as the alcohol.
Even just drinking a few beers can double your calorie intake for a day! This surprising fact is something that many people overlook when they head out for a night on the town.
If you would rather not abstain completely from alcohol while dieting, try to stick to healthier options such as red wine or spirits mixed with a low-calorie fruit juice. For the sake of your health, you should still limit the number of drinks that you have during an evening.
Try alternating your alcoholic drinks with glasses of sparkling water. You will drink less overall, gain less weight, and feel much better the next morning!
When you are on a diet, you do not have to stop going out and socialising with your friends and colleagues. You just need be careful about what you eat and drink during these times. Don’t forget that all of the calories count, whether they come in the form of ready meals, alcoholic drinks or anything else.
12. Tropical Fruits
Of course, you shouldn’t cut fruit out of your diet entirely when trying to lose weight. Fruit contains healthy vitamins and fiber.
However, many fruits are very high in sugar and calories. Tropical fruits like mango and pineapple are delicious, but they are very high in calories compared to other types of fruit.
Bananas are another type of high calorie fruit that should be eaten in moderation.
You can still enjoy a banana once in a while, but remember that each medium-sized banana contains approximately 100 calories. If you are eating one or more bananas per day, these calories could very quickly add up to a gut-busting total.
Many diet plans class fruits and vegetables as a “free food” that can be eaten without restrictions. Taking this approach can lead to you consuming a lot more calories than you expect. Remember that you need to count everything that goes into your mouth when on a calorie-controlled diet!
Instead of high-calorie tropical fruits, try snacking on low-calorie fruits such as apples, blueberries and blackberries.
Who knows whether eating an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, but it certainly could help to keep the extra inches from your waistline.
13. Peanut Butter
Wait! Aren’t nuts a healthy food?
Yes, nuts contain some healthy fats, but you only need to eat a tiny amount of nuts every day to meet recommended daily amounts of unsaturated fats.
The problem with peanut butter is that it is very easy to eat huge quantities of fat without realizing how many calories you are packing into your sandwich or onto your toast.
In addition, most commercial brands of peanut butter also contain added sugar and salt. That’s even more calories sneaking into your diet plan, and even more potential harm to your health.
If you want to indulge in peanut butter, then it is best to stick to the following tips.
Choose a brand of peanut butter that is labeled as natural. These peanut butters generally contain peanuts that have been roasted in their shells, so that there is extra fiber in the finished product.
Check the ingredients label to make sure that there is no added sugar in the peanut butter. A little salt won’t add calories to your diet, but bear in mind that too much salt can cause water retention and bloating, so be careful with this ingredient too.
Be strict with yourself! Check the nutritional information on the label to find out how many calories are in each spoonful of peanut butter, and then measure out how much you eat carefully.
14. Dried Fruit
Dried fruit contains a surprising number of calories, and it is very easy to consume large amounts of sugar by snacking on this supposed health food.
The reason why dried fruit is so high in calories is that it contains just as many calories and as much sugar as fresh fruit, but it is all crammed into a much smaller volume.
Eating a handful of raisins is the equivalent of eating a big bunch of grapes, which is actually a very large portion size!
Some types of dried fruit also contain added ingredients that are high in calories. For example, dried cranberries are often sweetened with sugar. Dried bananas typically contain both sugar and coconut oil, which makes them high in both calories and fat.
If you choose to eat dried fruit, remember to keep the portion sizes small. It is very easy to keep picking at a bag of raisins or dried apricots, so measure out the amount that you want to eat into a cup or bowl and then put the rest away. This strategy works with any kind of food that is likely to cause you to overindulge.
Remember, just because dried fruit is fruit, that doesn’t mean that it is calorie-free!
15. Snack bars
There are a lot of snack bars in the store that market themselves as being healthy.
From protein bars that promise to help you build muscle, but are actually loaded with sugar, to granola bars that deliver a huge calorie load, snack bars are generally something to steer clear of.
Most bars consist of cereals stuck together with some kind of sugar syrup. Some granola bars use honey rather than sugar, but remember that honey is still very high in calories.
If you are eating protein bars to boost your protein intake, then consider eating other foods that you could eat instead. Low-fat milk is a very good source of protein and is easy to drink.
Eggs are another option, whereas vegans might prefer to eat a range of different types of beans. You can also turn to the high-protein grain quinoa to pack a little more protein into your meals.
For on-the-go snacks, a little low-fat soft cheese spread on savory whole wheat crackers or oatcakes can be a very good option, with a respectable amount of protein.
Nuts are another ultra-convenient option. They are high in protein, but also high in fat, so only eat as many as you need to sate your hunger – don’t mindlessly snack on them!
16. Yoghurt
Yoghurt can be a very healthy food. It provides calcium and protein, and can be relatively low in fat.
Unfortunately, many brands of yoghurt contain large quantities of added sugar. This sugar is pure empty calories, and will hinder rather than help you in your quest to lose weight.
In order to enjoy yoghurt without breaking from your diet goals, choose a brand that contains no added sugar. Most natural flavored yoghurt fall into this category.
Fruit-flavored yoghurt, although it might sound healthy, is usually sweetened with sugar. If you enjoy eating yoghurt with fruit, then the best thing to do is to pour natural yoghurt over fresh fruit in a bowl.
Greek yoghurt is especially low in sugar, while still delivering all the benefits of dairy products, such as protein and calcium content. It’s also generally very thick and creamy.
The same advice also applies to yoghurt drinks and snacks that have a yoghurt coating. The yoghurt used in these products is often sweetened with sugar or syrup, so it isn’t necessarily the health food that you are expecting.
The message is clear: you need to read the ingredients list carefully when you are choosing foods for your diet plan. Look out for added sugar and avoid it as much as possible.
17. Processed meat
Lean meat can form a very healthy part of a weight loss diet. After all, protein is important to keep you feeling satisfied and to support muscle growth if you are also working out.
However, some forms of meat can do more harm than good. Processed meat products, such as burgers, sausages or chicken nuggets generally have extra fat added to them to create the taste and texture that everyone loves.
You do not need this extra animal fat. When you are on a weight loss diet, the restricted amount of fat that you eat should come primarily from plant sources, such as olive oil, nuts and avocados.
Animal fat is saturated fat, which clogs up your arteries and puts inches on your waist. Most plant fats are unsaturated. The body needs unsaturated fats in order to perform the metabolic processes that shift fat from your hips.
Instead of reaching for the freezer cabinet, choose fresh meat that has nothing added to it. Avoid reconstituted meat in any form, as it is usually poor quality, high in fat, and contains added salt.
Cook meat using low-fat methods, such as baking, grilling or stir-frying. Sticking mostly to white meat and fish will help you to reduce your fat intake and reach your weight loss goals.
18. Lattes and Frappuccinos
Town centres everywhere are filling up with coffee outlets offering a wide variety of coffee-based drinks. Watch out for these calorie pit stops!
Plain black coffee is low in calories, which might be why people think of having coffee as a diet-friendly activity.
However, many of the coffee-based drinks that are currently so popular are filled with extra ingredients that pile on the calories.
In particular, lattes contain large quantities of milk, which can be high in calories and fat. To reduce the calorie count, order your latte with low-fat or non-fat milk, and avoid adding any sugar or flavor syrups.
The same principle applies to drinks such as frappuccinos. These drinks can have unbelievably high calorie counts, particularly if you opt to have extras such as whipped cream or chocolate syrup on top.
If you are worried about the calorie count of your next coffee date, ask the barista whether there is a printed list of nutritional information that you can see, or look the drinks up online to find out how many calories they contain.
As with all types of food, paying attention to portion size is important. Do you really want to order your drink in the largest available size? Liquid calories are very easy to consume without realising it, so think carefully about what you are putting in your body.
(via Diet Insider)
