5 Foods to Avoid if You Want to Lose Weight

What is it about alcohol that you like? Is it the euphoric feeling or the taste? Drinks are used to toast good tidings like holidays, births, and weddings. Alcohol is also seen as a soother during difficult life circumstances.

Some people are social drinkers. They consume alcohol with friends or over dinner at home. If this sounds like you and you've tried losing weight in the past with little or no luck, your alcohol consumption could be affecting your weight loss.

People are careful to study what they eat as a way of lowering calories and losing weight, but many neglect what they drink. As you know, water doesn't have any calories, but sometimes you want to drink something with a bit more taste than water. And, didn't somebody say that drinking wine was good for you?

Yes, red wine contains a chemical called resveratrol that comes from grape skins. It works to help lower cholesterol, but there are other ways to lower cholesterol besides drinking red wine. The wine is okay in moderation (one glass a day) when you have reached your weight loss goal, but before then you could be doing yourself a disservice.

The reason not to drink alcohol during dieting is because it is metabolized slowly by the body. . If you drink a lot and eat very little, you will feel it for some time (especially the morning after). Alcohol contains calories just like anything else that you eat or drink. The body doesn't store alcohol because it doesn't need it. So, your body uses it as fuel until all of the alcohol has left your system.

Basically, if there is still alcohol in your bloodstream, the body will burn the alcohol and use it for an energy source instead of the stored fat. The stored fat is what you want to get rid of if you are looking to lose weight. The best way to get rid of this stored fat is to burn it off.

So far we've talked about wine, but don't forget about beer too. Don't let the hops fool you. Beer contains a lot of calories and drinking more than one or two at a time adds to the waistline and rather quickly. It's not called a beer gut for nothing.

If you have a drink, don't forget to eat also. Try to limit intake of alcohol to one beer (preferably a light beer) or a half to a full glass of wine a day at most. The energy needed to burn that alcohol is cutting into your fat burning potential and ultimately your ability to keep the weight off once you've lost it.

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In the time between lunch and dinner you might have a snack to keep that growling tummy and the hunger causing it at bay. If you choose to eat a candy bar, your hunger may stay away, but unfortunately the fat will not. Candy bars stick to your hips and slow you down.

Some women say that certain foods go straight to their hips. Imagine all of those foods attached to the outside of your clothing as you jog on the treadmill. When you get off, it's still there. That's not good.

When we lose weight, it's because our calorie intake is less than our calorie output. Depending on how much less, your body begins to use stored fat as fuel and the weight you have on you begins to melt away. Okay, it might not quite melt away, but you get the picture.

It's okay to treat yourself when you are on a healthier eating plan, but not with food. Most of the foods we consider to be "treats" are things we might actually want and need to stop eating altogether in order to get the weight off. Candy bars? Yes, they fall into this category.

Let's face it no matter how hard you try you can't rationalize eating a candy bar. It doesn't represent any major food groups you need to eat but does represent the ones that can and should be limited. Milk chocolate doesn't count as dairy any more than peanutty nougat counts as protein.

What is it about candy bars that you love? It is the sugar of course. Eating sugar makes you crave more sugar. Candy bars are so small, that eating one might not satisfy your appetite even if it is filled with peanuts. If you read the nutrition label, your candy bar snack could contain more than one serving which means if you eat the entire bar, you are ingesting double the fat and calories listed on that label.

Candy bars also contain a lot of saturated fats. These are bad fats that you want to do your best to minimize when on a healthy eating plan. Saturated fats raise our bad cholesterol levels (LDL) which can lead to atherosclerosis, stroke, or heart disease. The word "bad" is being used often here but LDL cholesterol and saturated fats are known health offenders. There is a daily intake guideline for saturated fat (less than 20 grams for those on a 2,000 calorie diet) but one candy bar can push you close to that limit. That's not good considering it doesn't take into account any saturated fat included your other meals throughout the day.

The bottom line: Avoid candy bars and lose more weight. Even if you exercise, eating foods high in calories and saturated fat will make all of your hard work for nothing. You'll be like a hamster on in his wheel - going nowhere fast. The only difference is that the hamster actually enjoys his exercise because it keeps him fit. Then again, he doesn't eat candy bars either.

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If you are a woman, you know all too well that bloated feeling every month during your menstrual cycle. It's unfathomable how a pair of jeans that fit yesterday won't fit today. It's a curse, but water weight gain affects everyone. The main culprit is sodium.

We are talking about salt. The chemical name of the salt compound is sodium chloride. It is used as a preservative in many foods. Salt increases shelf life. Derivatives like monosodium glutamate (MSG) are used to tenderize meat and add flavor to our food, but it is also ruining our health.

Even when you opt for low-fat chips, fat free cookies, light soups and low fat cheeses there is still that sneaky ingredient that keeps you feeling bloated. It is caused by the sodium and it is everywhere. Learning to avoid sodium in excess can save your life.

Your body only needs about 2,400 milligrams of salt per day. That is about the equivalent of two teaspoons. A bowl of canned soup can provide that much and more. You don't think about the foods that contain sodium because you have been programmed to be worried about and concentrate on things like fat and calorie counting when it comes to weight loss or healthier eating habits. These are not the only things you should be cautious about. Beware of the amount of sodium in your foods as well.

Even some dishes you normally wouldn't think contain salt have a measure of sodium in it. Pasta mixes, hot dogs, deli meat, and pizza all contain sodium, even the diet varieties.

Your body needs sodium to help it maintain water balance, but not in the amounts that are typically consumed. Our bodies are 90 percent water so the amount of sodium we take in is very important. Sodium also assists in absorption of nutrients within the body and the function of muscle fibers and nerves. While you lose weight you are also working to build muscle and get stronger and leaner. As your body reaches age 40 and beyond, you begin to actually lose muscle.

Excess sodium causes fluid to collect in the tissues. You feel puffy and bloated all the time. More water is drawn into the blood leading to increased blood volume and high blood pressure. Everyone's heard of high blood pressure. You exercise to lose weight so you won't become afflicted with such conditions as high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease, but your food choices are making it a possible reality, regardless of your physical activities.

Your taste buds are so used to the high content of sodium in foods that they may not even taste salt anymore. Think about that. Even when sodium has already been added to food, how often do you reach for the salt shaker.

Sodium is needed by the body, but only in small amounts. Avoid buying foods with high sodium content. That means processed foods especially. Opt instead for all natural foods prepared at home and throw out the salt shaker.

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What is the first thing that a nutritionist talks about when a person wants to lose weight? He mentions portion control. Watch what you eat and you will lose weight. Yes, food portions are important but how many times do you hear mention of anything about what you drink?

Here's the scenario: You go out to a restaurant and order a salad. When the server asks you what you want to drink, you ask for a Pepsi. There were probably more calories in that drink than there is in the entire salad you're about to enjoy.

Extra calories can hide in the darnedest places. You limit your portions, but not the portion of your drink. In today's society, everyone wants more for their buck and that includes food and drink.

A large drink is not ten or twelve ounces but a whopping 20 or more ounces. Go to a fast food restaurant and you'll see the difference. One large drink could fill three eight ounce glasses. It doesn't matter though, because only you will drink that Pepsi and besides it's only one.

If you drink sodas you could be consuming over half of your daily caloric intake in your cup. A can of soda contains about 120-180 calories. And, let's not get started on those 20 ounce bottles of soda you get from the vending machine or convenience store. Did you know that they contain more than one serving? A quick glance at the label and you think that entire soda only has 120 calories. How about 120 calories per serving? That changes things a bit.

Now you're probably asking about diet sodas. Diet sodas are lower in calories but they contain a lot of sugar which is also not good for you but that's a story for another time. Suffice it to say, you'd rather spend your calories on food than on drink.

If you have a hard time giving up sodas, try limiting yourself to one soda per day. You can lower your food intake by 120 calories or so to compensate. Even better than that is flavored water. It is a process that takes time, but it is important to take note of what you drink and how it can contribute to your weight gain.

Sodas contain empty calories. If you drink a soda to help fend off hunger, ten minutes later you will still be hungry and also craving more soda. The sugar in soda makes you want more and more. Those empty calories go straight to the hips if they are not taken into account and strategically placed in, or better yet removed from, your diet.

If you aren't seeing results on the scale, examine what you are drinking as much as what you are eating. There could be some soda sabotage going on.

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There is never a right time or wrong time to lose weight. The beginning of the year is a hot time for getting the treadmill out of mothballs and revving up the exercise program. Part of losing weight also involves watching what you eat.

The one part of losing weight that is hard for anyone to manage is changing food intake. It's not that you can't give up all those foods that are on the quote "naughty list" but the thought of deprivation makes you want to eat them every day. The mind is funny that way.

A good rule of thumb is to remember to eat everything in moderation. In small amounts, some foods that would normally be restricted are okay to eat. Your body and your mind don't feel deprived and those treadmill workouts start paying off in lost pounds.

Now, there are certain foods that everyone can cut out of their diets. These foods are not good for the body even in small amounts. One such food is trans fat. You've heard a lot about these greasy offenders over the last several years. They can do far more damage than just making you fat.

Trans fats appear everywhere from fast food restaurants to processed foods to your own kitchen. No one knew just how bad they were or that there was any problem at all until our eyes were opened. Since 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required that food labels list the amount of trans fat in a serving size. Many fast food restaurants announced that they were going "trans fat" free.

So, what exactly is trans fat? You might be surprised to know that trans fat can be naturally occurring or artificially made. Some trans fats are created in laboratories. The ones that occur in nature come from dairy products and beef.

Artificial trans fats are made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. It's like a stick of margarine. The trans fats can be shaped into solids. They are created when hydrogen reacts with these vegetable oils. If you ever look at food labels, most of the prepackaged food we eat like donuts, chips, crackers, and cookies all contain some amount of artificial trans fat.

Why should you be concerned? Well, trans fats are bad fatty acids that cause your bad cholesterol (LDL) levels to rise and lower your good cholesterol (HDL) levels. Bad cholesterol forms the sticky plaques that adhere to our artery walls and narrow our vessels leading to heart disease, hypertension, and strokes.

Eating trans fats increases your chances of developing heart disease and associated conditions. Do yourself a favor. The next time you are in the supermarket, check the food labels. Eliminate any foods that contain trans fats. You'll be healthier for it.

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