A List of Foods to Avoid If You Are Trying To Lose Weight

With the New Year approaching it is always a good time to reset. It is a time to give your body’s digestive system a break because it has been working hard trying to digest all of the junk food that you have been putting into your body the past few months.

When people look to start eating healthy, they focus on DIETING. Ugh I loathe that word. I make it a point to never mention that word in front of my kids. Instead, I use the term “healthy eating.” The truth is,  I don’t believe in dieting. I believe in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Instead of focusing on what you need to START eating, let’s reverse this idea and focus on cutting out what we SHOULDN’T be eating. Below is a list of foods to avoid if you are looking to lose weight.

The list mom is NOT a doctor, nutritionist or registered dietitian. For more information, click here.

To see a list of foods to avoid, see the list at the end of the blog!

1. Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners need to be cut out completely. Just the name itself scares me. There are virtually no benefits from artificial sweeteners and not to mention they don’t even taste good.

2. Flavored Coffees

The best way to drink coffee is without adding anything in it. Just drink it black. Now, for those of you who need some sort of flavor, I would add some Almond Milk. It will take a little getting used to but it is healthier than creamer or sweeteners.

3. Processed Foods

Most foods are processed in some way or another but the key is whether or not they are mechanically processed or chemically processed. I could write a whole blog about processed foods and what to look out for but  this website does a good job of explaining why processed foods are bad for you.

4. Refined Oils

Refined oils are just that, they are refined. They have chemicals that are added to them to dilute the color and the odor. In some cases the chemicals include acid. Not good. Try to stick with oils that are filtered or naturally refined. This means that they were refined mechanically instead of chemically.

5. Saturated Fats

So, I think everyone knows that a high amount of saturated fat is bad for you. There are so many “diets” that will argue that fats are okay, or they are better than carbs. The idea here is to try to stick to the good fats. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated  fats are the good fats that are known to actually lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

6. Pop (Regular and Diet)

I have never been a pop drinker because my throat is just not good with carbonation and I also just don’t like the after taste. Pop is just not good for you period. For all you diet drinkers, get the idea out of your head that diet is better for you. Yes, the calories may be less but the other ingredients added are terrible for you. If you are a regular pop drinker and cut pop out of your diet, chances are you may loose weight from cutting out this alone.

7. Sugar

Limiting your sugar intake is a good practice to get into. Everyone should have an idea what their sugar intake should be in a day and it’s a good idea to watch this daily. There are a lot of calories in sugar and eating foods that contain high amounts of it are simply not good for you. The other thing to note with sugar is that it is often disguised because that there are about 69 different names for sugar that you need to look out for.

8. Sweets

Again, everything in moderation here. I go back to the 80%/20% rule. A little something sweet here and there is fine, but the problem is that it is easy to over consume sweets because it takes a lot to get you full. For some alternatives that are healthy check out my blog post, List of Healthy Snacks.

9. Trans-Fats

Trans-Fats just like saturated fats are the bad fats. They are good to stay away from. These fats are found in small amounts naturally in some foods but they are know to increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. The Mayo Clinic has this article which does a good job of breaking down the different types of fats and how they affect your body.

10. White Foods

White foods include white bread, white pasta and white rice. These food all have one thing in common, refined carbs. Refined carbs indicates all of the nutrients were removed during processing. There is virtually no nutritional value and not to mention the fact that they are high in carbs.

Summary

There you have it. These are 10 foods to avoid or eat in moderation if you are looking to lose weight or get healthy. Eating healthy is more of a long term fulfillment rather than a short term happiness. It takes time and practice to live a healthy lifestyle but it is the best thing you can do to better your self and your life.

For a list of foods to avoid, see the list below!

1. Artificial Sweeteners
2. Flavored Coffees
3. Processed Foods
4. Refined Oils
5. Saturated Fats
6. Pop
7. Sugar
8. Sweets
9. Trans-Fats
10. White Foods

 

For more lists on all things “mom,” subscribe to my blog!

Get all the lists for moms you need. Mom lists are the best lists!