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Foods to Avoid
Too often, when "starting a diet" we feel like we are restricted on so many different kinds of foods, it sometimes feels overwhelming. If we focus on shifting the way we eat to improve our health, we don't have to give up on foods we love-just understand the ingredients that make the foods we love bad, and switch them to healthier versions. Understanding the ingredients that are bad is step one. See below the types of ingredients we should avoid.
Bad Fats
We often get confused which fats are good for us and should we intake good fats or bad fats. We know that we need "good fats" in our diet but we should really be conscious about avoiding the "bad fats". Two types of "bad fats" are Saturated and Trans fats. These fats are typically solid at room temperature. While trans fat should be completely avoided when necessary, Saturated fat is ok to eat in small quantities.
Trans fat is usually found in foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Foods such as baked goods (cookies, cake, pastries), fried foods (fries, donuts, anything "fried") , margarine, vegetable shortening, processed snack foods (crackers, microwave popcorn).
Saturated fat is ok to use sparingly. Most saturated fats are animal fats. They are found in high fat meats and dairy products. Examples of foods are fatty meats, poultry skin, dark meat, butter, full cream milk, cheese, ice cream.
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Added Sugar
Added sugar isn't NATURAL sugar. Added sugar is the kind of sugar your body can not digest. Having too much sugar in the body leads to weight gain, depression, diabetes, increased risk of heart disease, inflammation, higher risk of cancer, fatty liver disease, linked to acne, ages skin faster, lead to cravings, causes tooth decay, decreases energy, messes with your metabolism...do I need to keep going?
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Reading nutrition labels is the best way to know if your food contains added sugar. Once again, we want to AVOID added sugar and limit our intake on natural sugars. Our bodies need natural sugars-but only a small amount.
High Sodium
High sodium diets increase blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, strokes, kidney stones and osteoporosis. According to the American Heart Association, 9 out of 10 Americans consume too much salt. Most of which have no clue how much they are consuming and where they are consuming it from. In fact, 75% of the sodium Americans consume is found in processed food and restaurant meals.
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With that being said, salt IS necessary for the human body. It helps to control fluid balance and the functioning of muscles and nerves.
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It is important that we are aware of the amount of salt we are putting in our bodies without consuming too much.
Bad Carbs
Have you ever tried cutting out carbs completely and tried working out like crazy? Did you feel tired? So tired that you felt like you couldn't work out? One of the most common foods people avoid when trying to lose weight are carbs. People think carbs = weight gain, when in reality their lack of eating carbs might stop weight loss or worse make you gain weight...WHAT? Here's why, WE NEED CARBS! This no carbs diet trend is GARBAGE. Leave that shit for the birds...wait, birds need carbs too...
This is where quality verses quantity is so important. We need complex carbs in order for our body to work to its' full potential. Avoiding carbs leads to decrease muscle growth, lack of energy and potential plateau.
Stay away from simple carbs that have no nutritional value. Those foods are white bread, pasta, white rice, baked goods.
Chemical Additives
Here's a list of chemical additives in our foods we buy. A lot of these chemical additives when consumed in access leads to cancer, allergic reactions, headaches, rashes, fatigue, increase weight gain, stimulate appetite, damage organs and more!
All in all, it's safe to stay clear of pre-made foods and stick to clean, whole foods such as gains, fruits and vegetables.