Foods to Avoid if You Want To Lose Weight

Moreover, many of these foods are not just bad for your weight, but too much of them will also cause health risks in the long run.
Sugars - Generally, sugars are found in sweet preparations that use table sugar as their sweeteners. Chemically speaking, there are many types of sugars. Table sugar is just one of them. There is also another type of sugar, which is found in honey and fruits. A different type of sugar is found in milk. Each of these types of sugars varies in glucose content.
It is the glucose content of these sugars that determine how much calories you will need to burn. Not burning the calories in the food that you take in will lead to weight gain.
Carbohydrate-rich foods are also sugar-rich. This is because carbohydrates are, chemically, large forms of sugars.
Salt - is needed in the diet in order to add flavor to foods. Its chemical components, sodium and chloride, are also necessary for proper cell functioning. However, too much salt in the diet counters one's health goals.
Salt causes the body to retain too much water, thus, leading to weight gain. Too much salt is also dangerous for the circulatory system and the kidneys.
Fats - are classified as saturated and unsaturated. Many people who go on a weight loss diet choose to limit both their saturated and unsaturated fat intake.
While this is a good step, there are certain types of fats that are good for one's body. Mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats help in lowering the levels of bad cholesterol in the body. Good sources of these fats are canola oil, corn oil, olive oil and soybean oil.
Cholesterol - Like fats, there are two types of cholesterol, the good and the bad. Good cholesterol are also known as High Density Lipoproteins. On the other hand, bad cholesterols are known as Low Density Lipoproteins.
Because cholesterol are needed in normal body functioning, it is the bad cholesterols that a person should take out from his or her diet. The causes of increase of LDLs are consumption of saturated fats and trans-fats, and certain meat products.
Although these food contents are not good for the health, consuming small amounts of these will not lead to dramatic changes, especially if the person also consumes healthy foods.
12 reasons you're not losing weight
Here are the 12 common diet mistakes that can play a role in why the scale isn't showing lost pounds:
1. Not exercising enough - calories burned equals duration and intensity. Weight-bearing exercises like running, walking and aerobics burns more calories than non-weight bearing exercises like cycling and swimming because the gravitational stress on muscles is less.
2. Not getting enough sleep - lack of sleep can affect the proper sequence of hormone release and staying up late can lead to extra calories in late night snacks.
3. Skipping meals - leads to food cravings and overeating later in the day
4. Eating too many calories - portion intake plays a role in counting calories
5. Stress - a study by Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, and the University of Pittsburgh found stress can lead to weight gain in women, particularly middle age women. Why? Possible altered sleep patterns and fat conservation, both possibly hormonally related, and the fact many women manage their feelings by eating.
6. Drinking too many calories - beverages contribute significant calories to daily caloric intake. Sodas range between 150 to 200 calories, no sugar added fruit juice up to 180 and sweet tea about 150, while sports drinks are 100 calories or more. Switch to water to save calories.
7. Sabotaging choices - healthy salads loaded with high calorie dressings and toppings; burning 300 calories walking and then eating a 300 calorie muffin
8. Slipping on weekends - indulgences on weekends can add up quickly like dessert and alcohol splurges.
9. Impatient - Dieting results take time
10. You've reached a plateau - a common occurrence. In time weight loss will resume
11. Medical conditions - conditions that lead to decreased mobility and some medications can affect attempts to loose weight. Talk to your physician about exercise in the form rehab activity, adjusting medications and working with a dietician to adjust meal plans.
12. You don't need to lose more weight - your body may be telling you your weight is appropriate for you height and size. Further attempts at weight loss might lead to muscle loss and a metabolism slowdown

Try following these seven strategies every day for a few weeks and see if you drop a dress size - or two.
Know your hunger.
Your best friend and magic pill to weight loss isn't a protein shake or even a dumbbell - it's the ability to distinguish genuine hunger pangs from cravings. If you're after something sweet or fatty, the chances are it's a craving, especially if you've recently eaten. Still in doubt? Give it time. Cravings will pass without being fed; hunger will get worse.
Don't give up chocolate.
If you have a food weakness, probably best to accept that your long term diet plan needs to include it. Whether your food fix is a chocolate biscuit (or two), a bit of Easter egg, salty chips, or a supersized curry, chances are you need to factor-in the occasional splurge.
Know your limitations.
If the biscuit tin, box of wine or another food or drink fix talks to you after a hard day, don't keep it in the house. You're only human and a Ben & Jerry's/Rioja bender will always seem more appealing than a bubble bath or glossy mag. But if you remove temptation, you'll survive... thrive, even. And be slimmer.
Don't kid yourself it's comfort eating.
Comfort eating is the biggest weight loss saboteur going. The comfort is short lived and usually comes from planning and buying high cal stodge; everything after that is anti-comfort: guilt, shame and remorse. These sounds like big emotions to attach to something as benign as a bit of cake eating but after a decade of working with people with a variety of food issues, I've come to believe one thing: comfort eating soothes very little.
Beware the office feeder.
Don't succumb to peer pressure to eat and don't snack mindlessly - two things that go on a lot in the workplace nowadays. It seems every birthday, pregnancy, resignation and redundancy is an excuse to dash to M&S and splash out on 'tubs to share'. Don't do it - even if you stop at just a couple of those mini flapjacks, that's still 15 minutes on the treadmill, while a slice of your colleague's homemade cake would take an hour on the cross trainer to burn off.
Lose the liquid cals.
Don't think drink calories count? Let me give you some numbers: if it's not factored into your daily calorie intake, a venti latte a day could mean a pound of weight gain in just 12 days. Yes, those liquid calories soon add up. Giving up just one glass of wine a day could mean weight loss of a pound in just over a month. Don't be clueless, don't be naive: know the connection between your belt notch and the glass in your hand.
Never eat your workout.
I'm nearly out of space so I'll be blunt here: you're probably not burning half as much as you think during your workout. If you think you've earned that 'little muffin break' after a good workout, be aware that you've probably just consumed every last sweat calorie. Eat to appetite only and then eat well: if you're looking to lose weight, that means unrefined carbs like pulses, brown rice and potatoes with their skins, lean protein and lots of high fibre veg and salad. And not too much of anything either.

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