You’ve decided to buckle down, eat all the right foods, get healthy, and lose some weight.
Congratulations!
The problem is you’ve been eating all the right foods consistently for quite some time, and you’re not losing any of the unwanted pounds. You may have even gained a few.
What is going on here?
It is quite possible you are eating unhealthy versions of healthy foods! Healthy foods can be completely unhealthy when purchased in the wrong form.
When healthy foods are unhealthy!
A prime example of this?
Popcorn!
Hot air popcorn is low in calories and contains no fat, coming in at approximately 30 calories per cup while also providing a gram of dietary fiber.
Check out the labels on packaged popcorn and they offer a completely different nutritional breakdown. A popular brand labeled “natural” is composed of popcorn, salt and palm oil.
This popcorn contains 30 grams of fat (half of them saturated),
and 400 calories per bag.
Half a day’s sodium allowance or maybe even a whole day’s sodium allowance if you are following a restricted diet, is in this one snack. A concern for many of us ,as a bag is often better known as a single-serving.
Vegetables
Vegetables are a crucial element when it comes to being healthy — as well as key to losing and maintaining a healthy weight.
A plain box of frozen spinach, which by the way is really delicious when mixed in with skillet greens, contains only 60 calories with no fat.
Creamed spinach increases the amount of calories to 200, with over 7 grams of fat, 2.5 of them saturated, and over 1,500 mg. of sodium, 3 times more than the plain version supplies.
Check out the ingredient list!
Spinach, Water, Milk Non-Fat, Soybean(s) Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Salt, Corn Starch Modified, Color(s) Artificial, Flavor(s) Artificial, Non Dairy Creamer, Sodium Benzoate, Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Vitamin A (Retinol Palmitate), Whey, Color(s) Artificial, Flavor(s) Artificial, Flavor(s) Artificial, Butter, Corn Syrup Solids, Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Garlic Powder, Monoglyceride, Onion(s) Powder, Coconut Oil Partially Hydrogenated, Sodium Caseinate
The verdict:
- plain frozen vegetables, yes
- frozen vegetables in sauce, no.
Baked and reduced fat chips are tricky too.
The reason you are probably looking for this type of chip is because eating just one handful turns into eating a whole bag.
This snack food is still way too high in calories and fat to support a healthy lifestyle and a successful weight loss program.
The verdict?
These are just a few examples of what is lurking in “healthy” foods.
Be aware and read all labels.
Foods without packaging and healthy foods containing no added ingredients are neither deceptive nor sabotaging to your goals.