Losing weight is a long process of creating a calorie deficit. However, saying to eat less is not enough. What we eat is also important.
Some foods may make it easier to lose weight, while others may make it more difficult. And the worst thing is that it is not easy to distinguish the former from the latter, because many myths have arisen around the topic over the years.
Dietitians have created a list of products that accelerate weight loss. It included, among others: citrus fruits, low-fat dairy products, green tea and cinnamon.
In fact, some of the ingredients in this food can make it easier to achieve your desired weight. What should we pay attention to if we want to lose excess weight?
Here is a list of products that may make it difficult for us to achieve our goal.
1. Nuts
They are undoubtedly very healthy. They provide valuable fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. It is worth including them in your diet, but when losing weight they may do more harm than good, all because of their high calorie content. If we want to lose weight, we can eat them in very small quantities, two to five pieces, depending on the type.
Unfortunately, most people have trouble controlling portions and often end up eating more. In the case of nuts, even a small surplus can negate the effect of a daily diet and exercise.
We are not saying that nuts are forbidden when losing weight, but you certainly need to be careful with them and strictly control the portions consumed. For some people, it will be easier to give up this snack altogether than to stick to just a few pieces.
2. Honey
It is considered a healthier sugar substitute and has fewer calories per 100g. Unfortunately, it is not such a good choice for weight loss. Honey contains certain amounts of microelements such as potassium, chlorine, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron and vitamins, but we would have to eat a lot of it to notice it. In fact, sweetening with honey is not much different from sweetening with sugar. What’s more, the former may be worse.
Not everyone is aware that a teaspoon of honey weighs more than a teaspoon of sugar, so we provide ourselves with more kcal, which may make it difficult to lose weight and, in extreme cases, even lead to weight gain.
3. Dried fruits
They will be a better choice than cookies, jellies or bars, but you definitely cannot eat them in large quantities. As in the case of nuts, we should stop at just a few pieces.
And if we have trouble controlling the amount of food we eat, it is better to skip it altogether and replace it with fresh fruit.
It is worth being aware that dried fruit contains a lot of sugar. They have an average glycemic index, but a high glycemic load.
4. Crispy bread and cereal wafers
They used to be very popular among people trying to lose weight. One slice of such a product provides approximately 20-40 kcal. This is much less than normal bread. However, this is not due to any unique properties, but only to its low weight.
Based on 100 g, traditional bread has fewer calories and it fills you up much better. To be full of wafers, you have to eat a lot of them, and this is not good for weight loss. Sometimes it’s better not to mess around and reach for plain bread.
5. Ice cream
Many years ago, a myth appeared that ice cream would help you lose weight because the body uses more energy to heat it than it provides. It sounds great, but unfortunately it’s nonsense. Dietitian, Michał Wrzosek, recently talked about this.
Ice cream is rich in sugars and fats, so the body uses little energy to digest it, he explains. Cold foods, such as ice cream, require more energy because the body needs to warm up.
However, they do not cool us down enough to burn more calories than we consume – he emphasises and explains that there is one exception and it’s ice cream made from… frozen water.
6. Flavoured waters
They provide little, about 20 kcal per 100 ml, so people who are trying to lose weight often do not include them in their caloric balance, and this is a mistake, because during the day you can consume up to several hundred kcal in this way and not even feel it. Plain water is a much better choice.
Of course, none of these products are prohibited on a slimming diet and do not have to make it difficult to lose weight. However, it is worth being aware of how many kcal it actually provides and how it affects the body.
