It’s not a secret that there are countless ‘healthy’ foods out there that are not really all that healthy, am I right? I mean there are literally so many foods in the supermarket’s today claiming that they are good for you when in reality they’re not.
You must be wondering where I’m going with this. Well, I’m trying to inform you on what ‘fake’ healthy foods to avoid. And, I gathered my advice from many nutritionists engaged in the matter, so I think it’s pretty safe to say the information below should be taken seriously.
Alright, enough babble from me. Let’s get started!
Oatmeal
I caught your attention with that one, didn’t I?
Okay, so don’t avoid oatmeal, just avoid a certain type of oatmeal. Specifically speaking, stay away from oatmeal that’s instant and flavored. Why? Because those little packets have a TON of unnecessary sugar.
If you do want something quick and simple to make in the oatmeal department, be sure to pay attention to the packets ingredients listed on the back. Make sure the first ingredient listed is ‘oats.’ Also, don’t purchase any packet that has more than 6 grams of sugar in it.
What’s my recommendation? Forget about the instant packets entirely. Make some steel-cut or rolled oats and flavor it the natural way using fresh fruit or cinnamon.
Pretzels
I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but pretzels are horrible for you; they’re basically made out of sugar.
Why is this so bad? This is so bad because it means that pretzels have no nutritional value. And remember how every time you eat pretzels you just keep eating, and eating, and eating? There’s a reason for that, unfortunately. Pretzels do not satisfy your hunger, they just postpone it for a little. What happens when you start to get hungry for another snack in 15 minutes? You reach into that bag of pretzels again.
Peanut Butter
I tricked you again.
Peanut butter is great for you. The protein and the fat in it keep your energy levels up. However, the same does not go for reduced-fat peanut butter.
Trust me when I say this: Reduced-fat peanut butter is not worth it. It’s not worth eating something that doesn’t taste good and it’s not worth spending your money on. Why is that? That’s because reduced-fat peanut butter has almost the exact same amount of calories in it as regular peanut butter does. What’s the only difference? Instead of keeping the fat in the peanut butter, the reduced-fat peanut butter replaces the fat with sugar and a bunch of unnecessary additives that you don’t want in your body.
Check out some nice natural peanut butter next time you go to the market. You know, peanut butter with no added sugar, oils, or trans fats.
Frozen Diet Meals
Frozen diet meals get you thinking you’ll lose weight in no time. Well, let me tell you something, that’s not possible. It’s not possible because frozen diet meals are almost always 300 calories or less. And, if a meal is 300 calories or less, that meal will typically lack the necessary vegetables and whole grains, two foods that give you energy to function throughout the day.
So, what happens when you run out of energy in an hour or two? You get hungry again. If you get hungry again, you’ll reach for more food. Basically, you’ll be consuming the same amount of calories you would with a normal meal.
What can you do instead? Make one of your favorite healthy meals, but make a lot of it. Freeze a few servings and take them out of the freezer when you’re ready for a delicious, yet healthy, meal.
Fat-Free Dressings
Salads are full of greens. Greens are full of fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help you stay healthy and fight off disease. However, if you don’t have some healthy fats in the mix when eating a salad, you’re body won’t be able to absorb all those great nutrients, only some of them. Don’t be afraid of those few extra calories.
Diet Soda
I understand your thought process behind diet soda: Cutting out regular soda and replacing it with diet soda will cut a bunch of calories out. However, zero calories does not mean that the liquids have zero effect on your body.
In fact, the sugar substitutes that diet soda’s use are sometimes worse than the normal sugar in regular soda. The sugar substitutes cause bloating and gas build-up. Some research goes as far as to say drinking diet soda promotes overeating, which can, in turn, lead to weight gain.
Stick with regular soda or cut it out of your diet entirely.
Whipped Topping
Whipped cream has a lot of ingredients in it… a lot of ingredients that people can’t even pronounce. Some ingredients are as follows:
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Hydrogenated oils
- Artificial flavors
And most of the ingredients listed above are disgusting, in theory. Instead of loading your ice cream with whipped topping, I recommend getting real whipped cream or Greek yogurt. I still advise you to make your portions of these products small, but at least you won’t have all those nasty ingredients floating around in your stomach.
Protein Bars
Protein bars are not filled with just protein; they have a lot of sugar in them, too. Specifically speaking, protein bars are loaded with ingredients like beet syrup, cane syrup, and brown rice syrup. Sure, beets and brown rice are healthy, but not when they’re in syrup form!
Protein bars also have a lot of unneeded fats, such as palm kernel oil and sunflower oil. Even still, these little bars contain gas-causing compounds like sucralose and chicory root. All these ingredients sound foreign, don’t they?
If you really want to eat a protein bar as a quick snack, be sure to pick ones that have real food ingredients, not foreign language ingredients that you don’t recognize.
Stay away from these ‘fake’ healthy foods and you’ll be on your way to a better diet!
By Jenny Lyn
