Fatty foods take longer to digest and contain more calories to burn than low-fat foods that are higher in nutrients. If you don't expend the energy that you take in from food, your body stores it as fat and may hold it in the belly area. If you eat fatty foods often, your "spare tire" will likely increase. If you start substituting more nutritious foods for high-fat items part of the time, you'll be on your way to losing weight.
Ice Cream
Dairy fat represents a big factor in belly fat increase. Ice cream and milk shakes have some of the largest fat totals of any foods, for example, there is approximately 493 calories in a 16-oz vanilla shake, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. That's nearly one-quarter of the calories allowed daily in a 2,000-calorie diet. Other fatty dairy foods to avoid include whipped cream, sour cream, and whole milk, yogurts and cheeses.
Cheeseburgers
Cheeseburgers get calories from fatty meats and cheese, as well as condiments and a bun made from refined white flour. The American Heart Association suggests avoiding these highly caloric sandwiches and especially those with double meat or bacon. A double cheeseburger can total close to 600 calories and some fast-food restaurants sell diet-busting triple-meat burgers that have even more fat and calories.
Tacos
Tacos and chimichangas combine fatty meat with fried tortillas, cheese, sour cream, avocados and other toppings that contribute to belly fat. You may be surprised to learn that a taco has nearly as many calories as a double cheeseburger. The American Diabetes Association includes taco salads made with a fried shell, which alone can deliver 1,000 calories, in its list of foods to avoid.
French Fries
The low nutritional value of french fries does not warrant eating them often as a large serving of them has more than 500 calories. Most of the calories in fries come from 29g of fat. However, a better alternative is a baked potato with the skin, which has 0g of fat and only 118 calories.
Baked Goods
Breads, biscuits and baked goodies such as cakes and cookies may contain several kinds of fat, including unhealthy saturated and trans fats, that slow your metabolism and make it difficult to burn off calories. The USDA notes that baked goods with lower nutritional value, such as white bread, may still have the same number of calories as those that won't add to belly fat, such as whole-wheat bread. Foods to avoid include those that incorporate large amounts of sugar along with fat, such as muffins, pies, donuts and pastries.
Member Comments