Foods to Stay Away From When Trying to Lose Weight

Dieting is challenging for many people. A healthy diet does not have to eliminate all your favorite foods, but you should limit foods that do not provide nutritional value and do provide a great many calories. To lose weight effectively it is necessary to reduce calories from the diet. A healthy diet contains a variety of foods that provide the body with nutrients, while keeping the total amount of calories low.

Processed Foods

• Processed foods such as those made from white flour do not have the same nutritional value as those with whole grains. A healthy diet limits the amount of processed foods and replaces them with whole grain foods.

High Calorie Beverages

• Beverages such as soda and coffee drinks with cream and sugar add extra calories to the diet without providing any nutritional value. It isn't necessary to give up the coffee drinks or soda completely to lose weight, but it should be reduced. Dieters should examine the number of coffee drinks or the amount of soda they consume in a day and make an effort to reduce them. The reduction in calories can result in weight loss.

Deep Fried Foods

• Deep fried chicken and fish add unhealthy fats to the meal, which increases the total amount of calories. Baked and grilled foods do not add as much high calorie fat, which reduces the number of calories in the meal.

Sugary Foods

• Sugary foods add empty calories to the diet without any healthy benefits. Low calorie sweeteners and natural sweeteners such as fruit juice add fewer calories to baked goods. Dieters should limit the amount of high calorie sugary snacks in the diet such as cookies, cakes and candy.

Fast Food

• Fast food is high in calorie with little nutritional benefit. Dieters can often find healthy choices on fast food menus such as salads, fruit slices and grilled food. These foods offer better alternatives to the usual burger and fries. The dieter should check the calories in salad dressing and toppings for the healthier choices.