Foods To Avoid If Trying To Lose Weight

Two thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, according to U.S. National Library of Medicine. If you're one of these individuals, the notion of embarking on a diet may sound intimidating to you. But you can take significant steps toward your weight-loss goals simply by eliminating certain foods from your diet. Replace these diet-busters with healthy, low-calorie alternatives. Using calorie counters, you can review the caloric and nutritional values of the foods you eat and make more intelligent choices that will help you lose weight.

Processed Flour

Products made with processed flour have the most fiber-rich and nutritious parts, which include the outside bran layer and the germ, bleached and processed out. Foods like white bread, pasta and flour tortillas are quickly digested and released into the bloodstream as glucose. This triggers the release of insulin, which promotes the conversion of glucose into body fat. Replace processed flour products with whole wheat bread, pasta and tortillas.

Whole Milk

Milk provides lots of protein, calcium and potassium. The combination of protein and calcium takes a long time to digest, which stabilizes your blood sugar. The problem with whole milk is the high level of fat and unnecessary calories. When you drink one cup of whole milk, you consume 147 calories and 4.6 grams of saturated fat, nearly a quarter of your daily recommended amount of saturated fat.

If you drink skim milk instead, you get the same nutrition, but with one-third less calories and a fraction of the fat. One cup of skim milk has only .4 grams of saturated fat, yielding only 2 percent of your daily recommended limit of saturated fat.

Fruit Juice

If you are looking to economize calories while maximizing health benefits, you are better off eating fruit rather than drinking fruit juice. For example, one cup of orange juice has nearly 23 grams of sugar, about 120 calories, and provides only .5 grams of dietary fiber and about 10 grams of calcium. On the other hand, at only half the calories, one medium orange provides six times the fiber and five times the calcium. The additional fiber slows digestion, releasing the sugar into your blood stream over a longer period of time. This reduces insulin surges and staves off hunger pangs.

Soda

Drinking your calories rather than eating them confuses the body. Your body doesn't register that the calories are present, offers researcher Walter C. Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health, cited in the "Washington Post." His 2004 study found that women who drink non-diet soda gain weight more quickly and face heightened risks of diabetes.

Think of it this way: One 143-calorie can of cola a day translates to over 14 pounds worth of calories in a year. If you currently drink the equivalent of three cans of soda a day and you replace that soda with water while keeping your diet and activity level the same, you could lose about 43 pounds over the course of a year.

Snack Food

Snack foods such as potato chips and crackers contain partially hydrogenated oil, an oil associated with varied health risks including heart disease and cancer, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. These foods are calorie-intensive relative to their nutritional benefits.

For example, according to Calorie King, an ounce of potato chips contains an average of about 150 calories and 16 percent of your recommended daily limit of saturated fat. If instead of 1 oz. of chips you ate one medium apple, you would get over six times the amount of food and about four and a half times the fiber while consuming a third fewer calories.