If you’re exercising regularly and still not seeing results then it’s time
that you look closely at your diet.
One of the biggest obstacles that prevents you from losing fat and getting
into awesome shape is all that processed food that you’re still eating.
And I can’t blame you, with the way more and more processed foods are being
marketed as healthy, even the health savvy are being fooled.
Take a walk through the local natural foods market and you’ll see nearly
every form of junk food that you’d find at the supermarket – only with
things like ‘gluten free’, ‘organic’ and ‘zero trans fats’ on the packages.
Those are all great – being gluten free, organic and trans fats free. Fresh,
organic veggies, fruits and meats could all boast the same. But when those
words are stamped on a package of cookies, chips or the like, then eating
them is going to seriously slow your fitness results. Gluten free or not.
Here are the top 5 ‘healthy’ processed foods that you’re eating that are
killing your results and keeping you from attaining your goal weight:
Healthy Cereal
Have you seen the cereal aisle at the natural foods market? Its shelves are
lined with dozens of cereal boxes, all with bold health claims. There are
gluten free cereals, cereals with no corn syrup, cereals with heart healthy
grains, cereals with whole grains and even cereals with added vitamins.
Those all sound healthy, right? Well, sure those cereals are technically not
as harmful as the brightly colored cereals from the supermarket, but as far
as your fat loss results are concerned, the two are really about the same.
Cereal is a dense source of calories, which means it’s almost impossible not
to overdo it when enjoying a bowl. If your goal is to lose fat, then cereal,
even organic, gluten free cereal, should stay off your daily menu.
Healthy Packaged Snacks
There is a brand of ‘healthy’ popcorn that literally has fit in its name.
With branding like that it’s no wonder people are getting confused and
eating food that destroys their fitness results.
Popcorn, and other crunchy, packaged ‘health’ food snacks are filled with
carbohydrates and calories. Two things that you should be cutting back on
when working towards a fitness goal. These snack items are habit forming, so
you may tell yourself that it’s just a once-in-awhile treat, but soon it
becomes a daily occurrence.
Here’s the simple, unchanging fact about packaged snack foods: No matter
what benefits are broadcasted on the package, it’s always going to promote
fat storage. Yes, even if it has fit right in its name.
Healthy Energy Bars
The energy bar aisle at the health food store is a colorful, wonderland of
beautifully packaged, seemingly healthful snacks. The bars contain nuts,
fruits, protein and even goji berries. What’s not to love?
All that sugar, for starters. Manufacturers are clever enough to call sugar
‘evaporated can juice’ or ‘natural cane sugar’ or even ‘rice syrup’ but that
sugar reacts in your body just the same as any other sugar. It encourages
fat storage.
The next time that you reach for an energy bar, consider all of the calories
and sugars. Look for bars that are low in sugars and high in protein, and if
you’re eating it in between meals consider eating just half the bar.
Healthy Bread
Have you ever spent time in the bread aisle, reading labels and trying to
figure out which is the healthiest? It can be pretty confusing. There’s
wheat, whole wheat, gluten free, and sprouted grain. How can you tell what’s
the healthiest?
The unfortunate news, for all you bread lovers, is that when it comes to
losing inches all bread is a problem. You see, gluten free bread is filled
with just as many calories and carbohydrates as wheat bread or sprouted
grain bread.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have a free pass to indulge in
bread when it’s the ‘healthy’ kind. Your body will convert that healthy
bread into fat quicker than you can say burpee.
Healthy Trail Mix
Trail mix is a tricky one for healthy food shoppers. It’s made with nuts and
seeds, which we know to be healthy. It’s also often dotted with chocolate,
sweetened dried fruits or other treats.
Nuts can belong in a fat loss diet, within certain parameters. For example,
a small handful of raw almonds makes a wonderful in-between-meals snack.
It’s filled with fiber, protein, good fat, vitamins and minerals.
A half a cup of trail mix, on the other hand, is packed with two or three
times the calories in addition to having added sweeteners and extra salt.
Not to mention, trail mix is hard to stop eating once you've started. When
working towards a fat loss goal, it’s best to stay away from even the
healthiest of trail mixes.
Never take a packaged food item based on the claims and benefits printed on
the labels. When you’re looking to transform your body, you must guard what
goes into your mouth. Packaged foods, even those from the health store, are
going to derail your results ever single time.
Speed your fitness results by becoming one of my clients. I’d love to get
you to your goals using my results-driven method.
Simply call or email me today to set up your first workout.
