Introduction

Losing weight requires a balance of eating nutrient-rich foods, reducing calories, and increasing physical activity – although if you get the first two right, the third is less important. But if your kitchen is stacked with weight loss sabotaging junk foods, it makes it incredibly difficult to shrink your waistline. Although some foods on this list will seem innocuous, and others shockingly counter-intuitive, many of them are full of empty calories. This leads to your metabolism slowing down, making it harder for you to lose weight. Check out our roundup of the worst foods for weight loss!

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6 Foods to Avoid if You Want to Lose Weight

1. Regular and Diet Soda

Low calorie doesn’t mean low sugar. Many sodas are spiked with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and artificial sweeteners that cause your body to have the same reaction as refined sugar. According to researchers at Princeton University, HFSC can cause as much weight gain as refined sugar.

In a study, 100% of participants who consumed HFCS became obese, a result not seen in other diet experiments. The study also found that participants who consumed other forms of sugar gained less weight than those who were fed HFCS, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Swap diet soda for water, smoothies, tea, or coffee. For some hydration inspiration check out our Top 5 Detox Waters for Weight Loss!

2. Bottled Salad Dressings

Salad dressings, including the low-fat varieties, are packed full of sugar and additives (they are low FAT, not low SUGAR). For example, one two-tablespoon serving of Marie’s Thousand Island Dressing contains three grams of sugar. For a healthier alternative prepare your own at home using one of these recipes! Or if you don’t want to make you’re own, Thrive Market has plenty of healthy options

3. Traditional Yogurt

While Greek yogurt boasts plenty of satiating protein and gut-healthy probiotics, the traditional stuff is usually loaded with sugar. A study in the journal Appetite compared the satiety effects of high, moderate, and low-protein yogurts on 24 to 28-year-old women and found that Greek yogurt had the greatest effect. Simply put, those who ate Greek yogurt felt less hungry throughout the day and were healthier for it. If you’re want to add some flavor, fiber, and texture to your Greek yogurt, toss in some fiber-rich fruit, chia or hemp seeds, and nuts.

4. Chicken

Chicken has long been a staple on ‘healthy’ diets because of its relatively high levels of protein to fats when compared to other animal-based proteins. USDA identified long ago that red meat had health dangers, and this has, by and large, been ingrained in our mental state. A by-product of this campaign is that most of us took that to mean white mean was still okay. We now know the reality is that it isn’t.

Some of the key reasons to avoid chicken are:

• Chicken is full of saturated fats. Remember that it is promoted because it is considered low in fat relative to other animal proteins. This means that chicken is, essentially, a lot of empty calories when considered against other alternatives.
• Heme iron, which is a type of iron present in all animal proteins, increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 27%
• Chicken contains N-Glycolylneuraminic acid which is a chemical we human cannot synthesis. However, N-Glycolylneuraminic acid is found in high concentrations in human cancers
• Chemical contaminants formed when chicken is cooked, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines, which have been shown to lead to cancer, and advanced glycation end products which have been shown to lead to heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, kidney failure and high blood pressure, among others.

5. Refined Grains

Most pantries are filled with white bread, white pasta, and white rice. The result is that your waistline doesn’t stand a chance! When it comes to grains, whole grains are your best friend. Unlike their refined counterparts, whole grains are packed with satiating, heart-healthy fiber that your body needs to work to break down. The benefit is that they won’t negatively affect your blood sugar or weight the way their whiter counterparts do. So, if you’re on a quest to shed a few pounds, ditch the refined stuff and stock up on whole grains such as buckwheat, brown rice, and quinoa.

6. Deli Meats

Deli meats are on the “don’t eat” because they’re loaded with sodium and chemicals that have been linked to obesity and chronic diseases – not to mention bowel cancer! Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine David L. Katz, MD, MPH suggests that the link between processed meats and chronic disease risk is strong and consistent throughout different studies.

In Summary

While most every food has its positive and negatives, these foods are some of the worst when it comes to weight loss. Surprisingly, there are some on this list that are conventionally thought to have been fantastic for weight loss.

The most important thing is to make sure your research is backed by science rather than philosophical diets which all have loopholes. Some examples of these include that French Fries are vegan, the paleo diet allows you to eat as much fatty meat as you want, etc.

Wondering what to eat to lose weight? Download our FREE 3-Week Diet Weight Loss Plan. Thousands of people who have completed the full 3-Week Diet have lost 10-21 pounds in 3 weeks!

We hope this article helps provide clarity on what foods you should eliminating for weight loss as well as some good alternatives to add to your diet repertoire.

Leave a comment below if you enjoyed this article or have any questions you’d like answered!

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