Extra pounds come from consuming more calories than you burn through moving. Avoiding specific foods will help you to stay fit. In general, foods that are high in sugar or carbohydrates and foods that are hard to stop eating should be the first to go when you want to get in shape. Once you finally lose some pounds, you know how fast they can come back. It is in your best interest to avoid consuming foods that directly counteract the positive impact of all your efforts to stay fit. To help you, we have listed the top 15 foods you must avoid to stay fit.
1. Fruit juice
Juice from concentrate is almost never a healthy choice, because of the high levels of sugar in it. But even fresh-squeezed orange juice that you can buy will likely cause you to gain weight.
The reason is that juices have a ton of natural sugars, and are packed with more artificial ones. Converting whole fruit into liquid requires a lot of processing.
When finished, the once-healthy fruit gets pasteurized, pulverized, filtered, pureed and stored in massive vats for years, all of which removes the nutrients, vitamins and belly-filling fiber the fruit once had. Store-bought smoothies are also a bad idea, also because of sugar. The best is to make your own. Make sure you make it with fresh fruit, so you will know that it doesn’t contain any sugar or additives.
2. French fries
French fries are the most dangerous side dish out there, especially for those people who want to get in shape. The partially hydrogenated vegetable oils used for making fries are the main problem.
This oil (usually corn based) essentially fortifies the potatoes with high amounts of harmful calories. Potatoes are healthy things… lots of vitamin C, fiber etc. But when they are cut into these tiny pieces and deep-fried they absorb too many oils. Even unsaturated fats are bad in large amounts.
Throw in massive amounts of sodium and you’ve got a food that people should avoid like the plague. Just one baked potato has nearly the same effect on your organism as eating a tablespoon of pure sugar. Like all refined grains, french fries are packed with empty calories. And even more, when the sugar high fades, it leaves you hungry and craving more food.
3. Refined grains
Not sure what a refined grain is? It’s foods like white pasta, white rice or white bread. The unrefined foods (whole wheat, brown rice, and quinoa) are always healthier.
Researchers found that people who consumed whole grains in addition to keeping a healthy diet—of vegetables, fruits, protein and low-fat dairy —lost more weight than the group of people who kept the same healthy diet but consume all refined grains.
Refined grains are pure carbohydrates and eating them gives you a sugar rush just like eating sweets. The calories from this rush are bad enough, but after the sugar high quickly fades, your body starts to feel hungry again. It is recommended to eat whole and wild grains, which release their carbs more slowly.
4. Crackers
A go-to snack, crackers are often conduits for unexpected amounts of sugar and calories. The situation with these snacks is similar to bread.
You have to know what type of crackers you are eating, or else what you put on them won’t help you lose your weight. It is rather difficult to find the 100 % whole wheat crackers without any added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and other unhealthy additives.
If you can’t find crackers that are really healthy and made of just a few natural ingredients, you can always eat vegetables as a substitute. Cucumbers and pickles work really well as makeshift crackers when you slice them up. Same goes for squash and zucchini. But don’t forget to pay attention your toppings when you switch to a veggie cracker.
5. Diet soda
It’s easy to get fooled by the low-calorie label, yet sodas are made with sugar substitutes. Many doctors believe that these substitutes play a role in weight gain.
A new study found that people who consumed diet soda gained almost three times the amount of fat over 9 years as those who didn’t it. Diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and chemicals that can be harmful to your body. When we eat regular sugar, our bodies register the sweetness and come to understand that very sweet thing have a lot of calories.
Studies have shown that using artificial sweeteners, tricks your body so that your internal ability to count calories is thrown way off. Besides gaining weight, the same study found that people who consumed artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin), became vulnerable to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance—two things known to lead to weight gain.
6. Red and processed meat
Many studies have found that people who consumed more red and processed meat gained weight, too—about 1 extra pound every 4 years.
And even more, processed meats – such as ham, bacon, and sausages- can cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).Its report said 50g of processed meat every day- less than 2 slices of bacon – increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18 %.
Processed meat has been modified to either extend its shelf life or change the taste and the main methods are adding salt and preservatives, smoking and curing. Simply putting meat through a mincer doesn’t mean the resulting mince is processed unless the meat is processed further. Processed meat includes hot dogs, salami, corned beef, bacon, sausages, beef jerky, and ham as well meat-based sauces and canned meat.
7. Ketchup
No one ever thinks about ketchup ingredients. You put ketchup on hash browns, french fries, hamburgers, and even your eggs…When you were a kid, you probably put it on your pasta and chicken too.
Ketchup is a common food in many family households, and for good reason: it adds that familiar tomato-based flavor. Ketchup is so common that it has been a best-selling condiment in the world since many of us were too young to even spell our name.
One of the main ingredients in ketchup is high fructose corn syrup. 1 tablespoon of ketchup has 4 grams of sugar. And who eats only 1 tablespoon of ketchup? Those sugar totals are sure to add up fast, so best to avoid ketchup at all costs.
8. Heavy cream
If you are trying to stay in shape, you should completely forget heavy cream because one serving of it will counteract a lot of the work you put in at the track.
A drizzle of heavy cream in your coffee or a dollop on top of a bowl of fruit may seem harmless, but heavy cream is loaded with calories and dangerous fats, so it’s best to save it for a very occasional treat.
Try not to eat cream-based soups like chowder and bisque, cream sauces, and of course, things like ice cream and crème Fraiche. Unfortunately, there is no real alternative for heavy cream. Sure, you can try some light alternatives. But you probably won’t like the results. Better to just say goodbye to this dangerous liquid for good.
9. Microwave popcorn
We all can hear them popping and then, of course, the fake-buttery aroma spreads all around. Actually, it’s not popcorn that you should be worried about.
It’s the microwave bag in which popcorn is made that many experts say are the problem. Popcorn itself is healthy food. It’s a whole-grain food, rich in fiber and antioxidants, and if not doused in fat, a pretty low-cal food.
The problem is food additives used in the lining of the bag, including perfluorooctanoic acid. This acid is used to make a Teflon and other stains – and stick-resistant materials, like pizza boxes. It’s part of a number of compounds that can cause liver, testicular and pancreatic cancer. It might also be linked to infertility in women and many other diseases.