List of foods not to eat when trying to lose weight || When our goal is to lose weight, the first thing we usually do is eat healthier, however, that is not enough, we must also reduce the intake of unhealthy foods in our diet. Therefore, if you are looking to lose weight, we show you 18 products that you must eliminate from your diet.
List of foods not to eat when trying to lose weight
Table sugar
Table sugar is not a necessary food, as it does not provide
any beneficial nutrients for the functioning of the body, but only simple
carbohydrates and easily assimilated calories.
It is a perfectly replaceable ingredient for foods that sweeten naturally such as stevia or others such as fresh and dehydrated fruits (dates for example), among others. We can also resort to artificial sweeteners if we wish, although it is best to reduce the sweetness threshold and adapt our palate to a sugar-free or very low-sugar diet.
Chips
They are crunchy, tasty, have fat and sodium, do not fill
you up and have an effect on our body similar to drugs, which is why we can
never eat a single potato chip. But in addition, they have acrylamide in many
cases, a toxic substance for the body that harms health.
Given that they do not have fibre or protein, they do not provide good vitamins or minerals, we could say that French fries are a concentrate of empty or poor quality calories that, of course, we recommend reducing when looking to lose weight.
Battered and breaded commercial
They are an easy alternative when solving meals, and we
might think that if we prepare them in the oven they constitute a healthy
option. However, as is the case with chicken nuggets that have little in the
way of chicken, their quality leaves a lot to be desired.
They are coated with refined flour, precooked with a lot of oil and worst of all, we do not know exactly what is inside them since meat remains are mixed with other ingredients such as starches, flavourings and others that form a tasty but not very nutritious nugget.
Commercial ice cream
Most commercial ice creams have a high amount of added fats
and sugars in their composition, a combination that makes them a preparation
that does not satisfy but, on the contrary, can encourage us to eat more and
more.
Good alternatives to commercial ice creams are sorbets that are just sugar and water, or better yet, homemade ice creams without added sugars, such as banana, pineapple and coconut ice cream, cherry and coconut ice cream or other alternatives.
Commercial breakfast cereals
They are ultra-processed, loaded with sugar and can also
contain large amounts of salt as well as trans fats or palm oil.
They do not satisfy or provide valuable nutrients that justify their consumption, in fact, many are derived from refined flours, therefore, their consumption should be limited as much as possible and replaced by whole grains and natural, unprocessed, such as oats, quinoa, amaranth, rice, whole wheat and derivatives, bran and others.
Cold cuts and sausages
They belong to the group of processed meats and therefore
have more fat, salt, and even sugar than fresh or lean meat. In addition, they
may contain substances that are harmful to health and have been associated with
an increased risk of cancer.
Among the cold cuts and sausages, we find some worse than
others, such as the fattier options and of doubtful origins such as sausages,
chorizos and the like, but all should be reduced within the framework of a
healthy diet that aims to help us lose weight.
Of course, its most recommended replacement is fresh, low-fat meats such as lean beef, chicken or turkey breast, rabbit, and fish of all kinds.
Refreshments
We always say that the best drink is water and even more so
if we are looking to lose weight, since soft drinks have a large amount of
sugar and contribute empty calories to the diet, being one of the main sources
of free sugar among Spaniards.
As if that were not enough, they have substances with an addictive effect on our bodies such as caffeine and derivatives. Therefore, there is nothing better than replacing both sugary and sugar-free soft drinks with water, naturally flavoured water at home or similar, but staying away from industrial drinks.
Trinkets
They are another of the many sources of industrially added
sugars, they do not satisfy or provide good nutrients, therefore, they are also
empty calories that we should reduce in our diet.
Within this group, we find candies, jellies, popsicles, chewing gum, and others that we can easily replace with almonds, walnuts or other dried fruits that do fill us up, or with ripe red fruits that are a source of natural sugars or dates.
Frozen burgers
They have also processed meats that can hide a lot of fat,
salt and even sugars and refined flour in high proportions.
In addition, they can be not very satiating if their protein
content is low compared to their fat and sodium content, which, far from
calming the appetite, encourages us to continue eating.
Although they are options that facilitate the resolution of a meal, a much better alternative is fresh meats such as a beef fillet that is made in a matter of minutes and is food, not product. We can also make homemade chicken or vegetarian burgers if we want to add vegetables or legumes to the diet.
Pizza
Whether frozen or purchased and ready to eat, pizza is a
preparation that is traditionally made with refined flour and a variety of fatty
products such as cured and semi-cured cheeses, cold meats, sausages, sauces and
others.
If we want to satisfy ourselves and achieve dishes with good nutrients at the same time, we can make our own pizzas with whole grains, vegetables, legumes or other quality, fresh and unprocessed ingredients. Thus, we can achieve broccoli, aubergine, tuna and anchovy pizza or many other options.
Fried and salty snacks
We always consider that the salty snacks that we can find in
the supermarket are a better alternative than the sweet ones. However, many of
them hide poor-quality fats and excess salt because they are fried and salty.
They are also a source of refined flour and can hide sugar in their composition, so they have an addictive component that encourages us to eat more and more. It is best to avoid commercial snacks and instead prepare super easy homemade snacks or fruit and vegetable chips that are crunchy and very tasty.
Honey or syrups
Honey is natural sugar, but free sugar at last and that is
why, like sugar, we should reduce its consumption if we are looking to lose
weight.
In a similar way, it happens with syrups of all kinds
(vegetable or not), since they are foods that are quickly absorbed, do not fill
you up and do not provide considerable good nutrients beyond the sugar or
simple carbohydrates they contain.
Like table sugar, we can replace them with stevia or artificial sweeteners without calories, or if we are looking for a substitute for preparations, we can use fruit or vegetable purees with a high degree of fructose (beet, pumpkin or carrot for example), dates, banana among others.
Commercial dressings and sauces
They are ultra-processed with low nutritional quality and
can hide a lot of sugar inside, as well as fat and sodium, therefore, they are
not suitable ingredients in a diet to lose weight.
Beyond calories, the important thing is to look at their
origin, because in this case, we can access light options but with a large
amount of sugar and sodium that do not favour health care or weight loss.
In addition, we can easily replace commercial sauces and dressings with healthier homemade options such as avocado and yoghurt sauce, carrot sauce, vegetable pasta sauce, or others.
Cereal bars
We have already analyzed different options and reality shows
that without exception, cereal bars are low-quality ultra-processed foods that
we should avoid.
Although there are no added sugars, most have a huge amount of sugar and are concentrated in calories that do not fill you up. Therefore, it is best to avoid the consumption of these products and resort to homemade preparations instead, such as oat and date bars, dried apricots or others that will always be of better quality than those of industrial origin.
fruit nectars
Fruit nectars have a large amount of sugar inside and
because they are drinks, they do not satisfy as a piece of fruit does. They
also have far fewer good nutrients than whole fresh fruit, which is why fruit
nectars and commercial fruit juices are not good alternatives when it comes to
losing weight.
As we have said, the best replacement is whole fresh fruit or, in moderation, natural fruit juices. Water or naturally flavoured water can also be alternatives if we use fruit nectars as our usual drink.
Cookies
All cookies, even those marketed as healthy, are similarly
processed whose quality leaves much to be desired. Even cookies are also
industrial pastries with harmful fats, sugars in large quantities, salt and
concentrated calories that do not satisfy.
For this reason, it is best to reduce their consumption and use whole-grain or whole-grain bread instead, as well as cookies without added sugars or without refined flour made in our own hands.
Buns and cakes
All kinds of pastries, including all kinds of buns and
cakes, are obvious products that we should reduce if we want to lose weight, as
they contain sugar, fat and calories.
In addition, they do not fill you up, they have an addictive
component by giving us pleasure with their consumption and therefore, they
encourage us to eat more and more.
If we want to lose weight, we recommend reducing their consumption or replacing them with alternatives without added sugars and made at home with better quality ingredients than those of industrial origin.
Commercial cafes
The coffees bought in recognized chains seem to be consumed
like water without limitations. And although they don't fill you up, they pack
calories and sugar in outrageous amounts.
Therefore, these products that we underestimate and that
also have caffeine in variable amounts that has an addictive effect, we should
avoid them in our diet to lose weight.
Instead, we recommend the most basic coffee, with no additives other than milk and, if possible, made at home to know what it is. And of course, in amounts no greater than 5 cups a day.
Purchased smoothies
Like cafes, the fruit smoothies that we usually buy on the
street, in well-known chains or in fast food are considered healthy options to
calm the mid-morning or mid-afternoon itch. However, they also hide a lot of
sugar as this alternative from Burger King demonstrates.
If you want to lose weight, these are 19 foods that we recommend avoiding in your usual diet to achieve a quality diet that promotes weight loss and protects your health.
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