How to Tell Which Foods Make You Gain Weight

Eating just about the same number of calories as you are burning off is essential to avoiding weight gain. Have an approximate idea of how many calories you eat when you are at your ideal weight before you start looking at food packaging, because that's the number you want to aim for to avoid gaining weight. If a doctor has told you that you are overweight or obese, the American Dietetic Association warns that you are at a higher risk of coronary disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even liver disease.

Instructions

• 1

  Know how to read a nutrition panel. Nutrition panels tell you what's in the food you eat. There are a few things on the panel that make up the calories in food, including total fat, carbohydrates and protein. For weight maintenance, it doesn't matter which one donates the highest ratio of calories as long as you stay within your total daily number of calories. However, you will notice that foods with high fat content often have high calories; that is because an ounce of fat has more calories than the same amount of protein and carbohydrates. For that reason, nutritionists suggest eating foods with less fat so that fewer overall calories will be consumed. Eating lower fat and lower sugar foods generally means that you can eat larger portions for fewer calories, making weight loss more satisfying.

• 2

  Look at calories per serving. The number of calories is always listed at the top of the nutrition panel, along with a serving size for the product. To determine how likely it is that you'll gain weight eating a certain food, measure out the suggested amount into a serving cup and dump it into a bowl. Marketing that plays a product off as "healthy" can be deceptive. For instance, some granolas that are high in sugar and calories have a serving size of 1/2 cup. Look at the amount and decide whether it is satisfying to you. If not, those portion sizes can add up and quickly cause weight gain.

• 3

  Use foods with low fiber content sparingly

  Look at fiber content. Being hungry is a sure deterrent to losing weight, so try to avoid foods which will fill you with calories without filling you up. To stay fuller longer, look for foods with lots of fiber. In addition to filling you up, the fiber itself is not digested when eaten and will never be stored as fat. The American Dietetic Association has determined that thinner people eat approximately 33 percent more fiber than those who are obese. Overall recommendations are to consume 25 to 30g of fiber per day.