(GoHealthier.com) – After the holidays, many of us embark on a journey to shed a few pounds. Some of us, despite our best efforts, will lose a little and stall. It may not be all our fault! It might be some of the “healthy” food choices we’ve made sabotaging our best efforts. Don’t get stuck on an endless plateau. Find out more about the six healthy foods that might stall your weight loss in the full article.
| Quick Read: Many of us look in the mirror after the holiday only to discover it’s time to lose a few pounds. Despite giving it our best shot, we cannot seem to take off those last couple of pounds. However, that may not be our fault. It could be that we are consuming products like diet sodas and gluten-free processed foods that end up sabotaging our best efforts. Don’t get stuck with a stalled diet plan; check out more about six healthy foods that can stall your weight loss in the full story. |
These 6 Seemingly Healthy Foods Could Be Sabotaging Your Diet.
The US weight loss market in 2020 was estimated to be worth $71 billion, as reported in June. There’s little doubt that we live in a diet culture that pushes 100-calorie snacks, low-carb meal replacements bars, and low-fat and sugar-free versions of everything under the guise of healthy foods will help us lose weight. But watch out for the following foods that might stall weight loss.
1. Low-Carb Treats
Going low-carb can be a great way to lose weight and drop blood sugar levels, but it can present huge challenges for those of us who adore bread and pasta. Several food manufacturers produce low-carb alternatives for the treats we’re missing out on, and occasionally indulging might help us maintain this lifestyle. Commercially made low-carb snack foods are highly processed, contain loads of chemicals, and may not contain much fiber.
2. Processed Fat-Free and Low-Fat Foods
Another popular diet trend, reducing our consumption of fats, especially saturated fats, may help us lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides to maintain or improve heart health. Unfortunately, when we remove fat from foods, we often remove flavor.
Manufacturers compensate by adding salt, sugars in various forms, chemical additives, and spices. So even though we’ve cut the fat, we may actually have increased the overall calorie count.
3. Store-Bought Salad Dressings
Standard and diet dressings alike tend to add salt, sugars or sugar substitutes, vegetable oils, and chemicals to make their offerings both tasty and shelf-stable. Sometimes the hidden calories are the problem, but the saturated fats and occasional inclusion of trans-fats can also drive up cholesterol levels.
4. Gluten-Free Processed Foods
Like other processed foods, gluten-free choices may include more sugars, fats, or chemicals. And even though they are gluten-free, they still use refined non-gluten grains that break down into starches in our bodies. While they may provide quick energy, they can also spike blood sugar and convert to fat if we don’t need the extra calories for activities.
5. Fruit Juices and Bottled Smoothies
A lot of people think fruit juices are healthy options. After all, they contain real fruit, right? Not always. A quick scan of their ingredient label will indicate that many don’t contain any fruit at all. They are merely sugar water with added fruit flavoring. Best case scenario, they contain some real fruit juice along with vitamin C and some antioxidants. However, typical commercially-offered fruit juices have at least as much sugar as traditional soft drinks like Dr. Pepper and Pepsi. Bottled smoothies are usually just as bad but also contain high levels of fat.
6. Diet Sodas
Research shows that drinking diet sodas can create changes in your digestive system’s microbiomes, the fauna and flora naturally occurring in your body. Unfortunately, disruptions in the microbiome can reduce your body’s ability to control blood sugar levels, putting you at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Most of us want to lead healthier lives. Unfortunately, product packaging and marketing strategies can lead us to think products are healthy for us when, in fact, they may be worse than products we already know are bad for us.
It’s always a good idea to check labels for ingredients. If they begin with many long words we don’t understand, such as monosodium glutamate, they probably aren’t good for our bodies. Skip the processed foods whenever possible in favor of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains to keep from stalling your weight loss.
~Here’s to a Healthier Life!
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