The Top Five Foods to Avoid to Lose Weight

The Top Five Foods to Avoid to Lose Weight
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If weight loss defines your goal, avoiding certain foods can assist you in achieving success. The ability to identify these foods and how they hinder progress may keep you from avoiding the scale. Common ingredients found in these foods include sugars and excessive fat amounts.

Whole Dairy

The NutritionMD website classifies whole fat dairy items as "diet-busters" One cup of whole milk contains 5 grams of saturated fat, enough reason for whole dairy to be labeled as food to avoid. For weight loss, sparingly use products like yogurt, sour cream, cheese, ice cream and butter. You should not completely eliminate dairy from your diet, instead choose lower fat varieties to benefit from the protein and calcium these products contain.

Sodas

Sodas and other high sugar drinks are not exactly thought of as foods, however these items pack on the pounds fast. According to a King County Public Health publication, a 20oz. soda contains an average of 16 teaspoons of sugar that packs 240 calories. With a few of those you could drink your suggested daily number of calories for weight loss without including your food intake.

To slim your body, avoid this top five worst-for-weight-loss food and switch to water. If you experience trouble adapting to water, try carbonated water however read products labels to ensure the drink does not contain sugars or other ingredients.

Refined Grains

Refined grains act similar to sugar as they cause your blood sugar levels to spike and fall. Fluctuating blood sugar levels assist in packing on excess pounds. Stay away from white breads, white rice and other processed grains, for these foods are without a doubt bad for weight loss. Switch to foods like oats, quinoa and other whole grains. These healthier alternatives maintain level blood sugar levels which prevents excess fat storage.

Processed Foods

According to an article published on the Women's Health website, you'll have a hard time finding a fine chef with a weight problem. The website claims these chefs would ever eat a microwave meal or a fast food hamburger. Fine chefs prepare their own natural, unprocessed foods. Processed foods typically are higher in fat, sugar, sodium and refined carbohydrates which wrecks weight loss progress. If you are serious about losing excess pounds, keep far away from this type of flab-packing foods. For smarter grocery shopping, most grocery stores place natural, unprocessed foods on the outer perimeter of their facility.

Snacks

All snack foods are the enemy of weight loss seekers. Snacks like potato chips and most crackers consist of hydrogenated oil. According to the "Harvard School of Public Health" website, hydrogenated oils are often associated with certain health risks including heart disease and cancer. Snack foods like chips come with a heavy calorie price tag. For example, a 1 oz. serving of salted potato chips contains anywhere from 140 to 160 calories and up to 10 grams of fat depending on the brand. People commonly consume more than 1 oz. of potato chips without realizing their faults. To avoid falling prey to the mistake of over consumption, eliminate snack foods from your diet at once.

References

Article reviewed by Geoffrey Darling Last updated on: Jun 6, 2011

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