Fast Facts: 10 foods to Avoid!

We've all been there, and if you say you haven't, you're lying. Everyone has said they want to lose weight at some point-- trim a little here, cut down a little there, shave off some there.... I get it. At some point you must have also thought, "well why am I not losing those last stubborn pounds?" (I know I have!) Take a look at your daily/weekly eating habits...if any of these are in your diet, I would suggest trying to avoid them! Now of course, we all indulge, DUH! I do, several times a week in fact! They key is to indulge in moderation, and on occasion (along with an active excersie regime and healthy eating habits). So here are 12 foods to try and avoid to help kick off those last few stubborn inches!

1. Dips:
     *Polynesian Sauce (Chick Fil A)-->a WHOPPING 110 calories in that teeny tiny 1oz package....YEP!
     *Ranch (I know I LOVE it too!) --> an avg 2 tbs serving has 88 calories!! (and NO ONE uses just 2 tbs....come on).
     *Teriyaki Sauce --> 69 calories per 2 tbs. Toss it around on your chicken, that's probably at least 200+!

2. Sodas:

If you are a non-soda drinker like me, congrats! I was lucky enough to grow up without sodas in the house, so it was never an issue for me. However, if you are a soda drinker...think again! The average person who drinks 1 soda per day weighs an additional 7-10lbs!!(proven studies). Like crown & coke? or 7 & 7? ah...lets add another 4-5 cans per week! Shame on you!

    

3. Alfredo Sauce:
     Creamy, white, herby, delicious....wait! 240-280 calories in a HALF cup serving of alfredo sauce. Why? Because its made with cream (most of the time). Anything else made with cream, for that matter, should be avoided like cream based soup bisques, mac & cheese, etc!

4. Starbucks or similar high calorie coffees -->
     I'm going to let you just take a minute and pull up the nutritional facts on starbucks coffee yourself here . Ah, ha! Not liking that peppermint hot chocolate so much anymore during Christmas are ya? Well, no fear! Just know how to order it to reduce calories
     *NON FAT-- (means to use fat free or skim milk, now you just cut back 50-70 calories)
     *NO WHIP-- cut another 50-60 calories
     *SUGAR FREE SYRUP (1-2 pumps MAX!! they average 4-5 pumps if you dont tell them)--cut back 80 calories
By doing these three things, you can just about have MOST warm coffees on their menu for under 200 calories. My ordering is always one of the two:
Grande Nonfat Sugar Free Carmel Macchiato, 120 calories
Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte, 90 calories

5. Butter -->
    Oh the joys of butter. Use it to fry, bake, saute, steam, broil, baste..you name it, butter is probably in it. This one is a little harder to kick, but especially when you are cooking on your own at home, I suggest X-Naying it out of your food. As stated in an earlier post, a little harder when baking, because of consistency issues, but most other times there are substitues (oilve oil, chicken broth, fat free milk, etc!)

6. Mayo -->
      This one is super easy! Average serving of mayo has 90 calories per tablespoon. Again, you use more than one! Simple replacements when ordering out on a sandwich opt-out of mayo and use italian dressing, vinagrette, hot sauce, katsup, etc. I promise you won't even know its not on your sandwich, burger, whatever! For cooking, try to use fat free Greek yogurt, fat free sour cream, or none at all!

   
7. Whole Milk -->
       Another easy one! Switch to fat free and you're golden! One cup of whole milk has 140-150 calories, while fat free only boasts around 80 calories!

8. Prepackaged/Processed Foods --->
     DUH! I shouldn't even have to put this one on here. Frozen dinners, canned meals, boxed pastas/dinners is no bueno! They add tons of sodium to preserve the food, even if there may not be many calories-- the sodium is offsetting it! Check out the sodium in a frozen dinner next time you are in the frozen food isle...you'll see =)

9. Simple Carbs -->
      Examples are bagels, breads, and pastas made with white flour, white rice, packaged cereals. They do almost nothing for your body. Instead, try complex carbs like whole grain pasta (if you have to have pasta), quinoa, beans, lentils, buckwheat, oatmeal, and oat bran cereal!

10. Red Meat --> (i know, this is debatable to some!)
     For some, this one will never happen, and I get it! I rarely eat red meat, and I mean rarely. Special occasions call for it, and it has to be perfectly cooked, tender, and a leaner piece of red meat. Why? Look-see:
     -3 oz of top sirlion, 320 calories and 21 g of fat
     -3 oz of chuck beef, 292 calories and 17 g of fat
     -3 oz ground beef, 210 calories and 6 g of fat
Comparable to:
     -3 oz chicken, 100 calories, 3 g of fat
     -3 oz white fish (tilapia, cod), 95 calories, 1 g of fat
Your body will absorb 80% of protein from chicken, and only 64% of most red meat. Chicken will give you 6 times more beneficial proteins & acids than most red meat. Out of the 95 calories you consumed in your fish, 89 of those calories will be directly turned into protein! Of course, red meats have nutritional value as well, I am not knocking the red meat. Simply put, from Livestrong.com red meat has much higher levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, which is harder for the body to break down, than white meats & fish.



See if you can eliminate some of these foods and keep a healthy lifestyle! =)