Get Motivated
By Nutrition Team
When trying to lose weight, an occasional slip off your diet wagon is perfectly fine. No one is perfect and a little indulgence is good for keeping you from slipping down that dark alley known as Binge Street. But some foods not only have no nutritional value, they also aren’t worth the damage they do to your diet.
If you’ve been around the dieting block, you probably know that giving up certain foods can make you want them even more. For this reason, nutritionists agree that a healthy, sustainable eating plan allows you to eat practically anything in moderation.
However, there are some foods that just aren’t worth the damage they do to your waistline. (Don’t despair, there’s always a better alternative.)
Here are 10 foods that we recommend kissing goodbye:
1. Doughnuts These are true diet busters because it’s loaded with sugar – and then deep-fried. One ring doughnut packs almost 240 calories and 13 grams of fat. Opt for some jaffa cakes or plain biscuits instead. At around 40 cals a pop, your waistline will thank you!
2. Real mayonnaise Thanks to the eggs and oil that comprise this favourite salad spread, just one tablespoon of the real stuff contains 11 grams of fat and 100 calories. The reduced-calorie version has half the calories and half the fat but you can go lighter still by spreading mustards, relishes, horseradish and low fat salad dressings on your sandwich.
3. Ciabatta Style Pizzas Ciabatta is a type of bread made with olive oil so it’s much higher in fat than your average pizza base. Add to this a topping of cheese and pepperoni and you could be approaching 1000 calories for just one little pizza! Choose thin-based pizzas and avoid stuffed crusts, deep pan style and pepperoni.
4. Hot dogs These bonfire night favourites can get up to 150 of their 180 calories from fat. It makes you wonder whether they qualify as meat at all. The nitrites contained in hot dogs have also been linked to increased rates of cancer in some studies. For a tasty, low-fat replacement, choose grilled veggie sausages or chicken kebabs instead.
5. Deep fried cheese This popular starter option in many restaurants should carry a health warning! Full-fat cheese already contains more than its fair share of fat, most of it saturated. Deep-frying boosts the fat and calorie content even higher, making this gooey concoction a serious nutrition no-no!
6. Fizzy drinks While technically not a food, fizzy drinks are often included among the list of culprits in the nation’s increasing weight problem. With no nutritional value and as many as 12 teaspoons of sugar in each can, most nutritionists see no reason to keep them in your diet. If you can’t give them up, at least choose diet soft drinks, which are calorie free.
7. Cinema popcorn A super-size bag of this snack, typically popped in vegetable oil and doused in butter, is enough to turn your tummy into a double feature! Believe it or not, some sweets are actually less calorie- and fat-laden than popcorn. If you must munch at the movies, opt for liquorice or jellies (stick to one serving) – or smuggle in some air-popped popcorn.
8. Crisps and Dips “Once you pop, you can’t stop!” rings true for many of us! A few handfuls of Pringles or Doritos in front of the TV of an evening usually turns into a whole bagful! Already heavily laden with calories and fat, scooping on some creamy dip will double the damage and you could easily crunch your way through your entire calorie allowance for the day!
9. Full fat salad dressing With around 120 calories and 12g fat per 1oz (28g) serving, full fat dressings like Thousand Island and Ranch dressing are just not worth the weight you can gain by eating them – even if it’s carrots and celery you’re dressing. Fortunately, there are plenty of perfectly tasty lower-cal alternatives around.
10. Bacon Cheeseburgers Anything that combines two forms of meat with full-fat cheese is not likely to be diet friendly. This heart-stopping favourite at Burger King packs a whopping 400 calories and 22 grams of fat. A Bacon McDouble Cheeseburger from McD’s has 478 calories and 24 grams of fat.
With thanks to Tescodiets.
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