5 ‘Healthy’ foods that could be making you FAT…

Alot of people are now conscious about their diet and being healthy, but is what your eating really healthy. With all the clever marketing and advertising that goes into food these days I totally understand how and why you find it difficult.

Below I am going to crush 5 ‘Healthy’ foods which you may be eating and have been led to believe are healthy.

Breakfast Cereals

The so-called “healthy” cereals are one of the worst things you could eat for breakfast and to start your day.

They are usually packed with sugar and refined carbs, which are some of ingredients I would recommend you try and cut out your diet completely.

Starting your day with a processed cereal will spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. When you get that ‘blood sugar’ crash a few hours later, your body will call out giving you a craving for another sugary snack. This will just continue like a rollercoaster and people who eat high carb diets will be familiar with the cravings.

Seriously…….READ the ingredients label. Most breakfast cereals, even those with health claims like “low-fat” or “whole grain” on the pack, are usually packed with sugar.

Try a breakfast that is healthy and going to keep you full until lunch without those cravings. Try something unprocessed and that has protein in it, like eggs and vegetables.

LOW Fat Yogurts

Yogurt always pops up on health foods lists, and for good reasons. IT IS!

But the problem is that most of the LOW FAT yogurts you find in supermarkets are highly processed garbage. When manufactures remove the fat from foods they taste awful this is the reason they fill them with a whole bunch of crap to compensate.

In the case of yogurt they normally add sugar, high fructose corn syrup or some artificial sweetener, all of which you body can really do without.

There is also no evidence that dairy fat contributes to obesity. In fact, one study showed that people who ate the most high-fat dairy products were the least likely to become obese. (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00394-012-0418-1)

So….Eat real, full-fat yogurt, but avoid the low fat versions. I recommend Total Greek Yogurt.

Fruit Juice

Fruit juice must be healthy right? It’s made from fruit?

This is not always the case, some of the worst fruit juices are nearly just water and sugar. Sometimes there might not even be any actual fruit in there; it may just be water, sugar and some chemical that tastes like fruit.

But even if you manage to find 100% fruit juice, you still shouldn’t be drinking it (or at least not much).

Whole fruits do contain some sugar, but it is bound within the fibrous cell walls, which slows down the release of the sugar into the bloodstream.

But fruit juice is different… there’s very little fibre, no chewing resistance and nothing to stop you from drinking massive amounts of sugar in a matter of seconds.

So… eat whole fruit, or make your own homemade smoothies if you are trying to lose weight.

Gluten Free Junk Food

Gluten free has become very popular over the past couple of years and don’t get me wrong it can be excellent.

BUT manufactures have jumped on the bandwagon and taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge when it comes to gluten.

They are now bringing out all sorts of gluten free foods (cookies, biscuits), which to be honest are normally just as bad as there gluten free counterparts. Again they are usually made up of highly processed carbs, sugars and various chemicals.

If you are going to eliminate gluten from your diet, then choose foods that are naturally gluten free NOT processed gluten free foods.

Junk Food with gluten free on the label is still JUNK FOOD.

Organic Process Foods

Organic foods are excellent and I highly recommend them if you can fit them into your budget.

BUT when I say organic foods I mean one ingredient organic foods, such as meat, vegetables etc.

Processed organic foods however I wouldn’t recommend at all.

When you look at the ingredients labels for many of these organic, “healthy” processed foods, such as meal replacement bars, crackers, snacks, etc… then you will realise they really aren’t that much different.

Yes, they might contain organic cane sugar instead of regular sugar… but organic sugar is just as bad as regular sugar. Your body won’t tell the difference.

So…. Eat whole foods one ingredient foods as much as possible and when it fits your budget choose organic. STAY AWAY from all processed foods, organic or not!

TAKE HOME MESSAGE – ALWAYS read ingredients labels. KNOW what you are eating and base your diet around whole and one ingredient foods.

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank You!

—Chris ‘Healthy’ Morris

P.S Looking out the window right now and it’s lashing down, BUT I will be getting my gym gear on now and heading out. Don’t use the weather as another excuse. If you really want it, you have to work for it no matter what!