In the quest to eat healthier and lose some extra pounds, you are possibly, unknowingly destroying your efforts by overeating foods that are considered healthy. Just because a food is deemed healthy, does not mean you can throw caution to the wind, and eat an unlimited amount of that food and expect to have a healthy diet.
Portion control is a major consideration when choosing to follow a healthy eating plan. For instance, grapes are a fruit, and fruit is a healthy food, so logically I can eat as much as I want. Not true, because grapes, in particular have a very high sugar content.
Some Healthy Eating Plans To Try Out
A granola bar and some yogurts are so high in sugar content that it is the same as eating a candy bar, and that will certainly derail your attempt at choosing healthy foods.
You must learn how to properly read labels, and see for yourself, how much sugar and sodium is put into foods that are marketed to be healthy for you.
Smoothies are all the rage, but some can be as unhealthy as a milkshake, because they are made with frozen yogurt, peanut butter, chocolate and/or flavored syrups. The only way to know if your smoothie is truly healthy is to make it yourself, and add only fresh fruit or unsweetened frozen fruits, plain yogurt and ice.
Yogurt can be a healthy food choice, but it is mostly marketed as a healthy item, but in reality, it is as unhealthy as a piece of chocolate cake. The small-type yogurt cups, that advertise fruit on the bottom, may be less than 100 calories, but it will pack on a whopping 25 grams of sugar. This huge sugar intake certainly outweighs any minimal healthy calcium intake. VAT pasteurized yogurt, which is made from raw milk, is recommended as a truly healthy choice. Even better would be to make yogurt yourself, and to know exactly the ingredients that went into making the food.
You may think that choosing to wrap-up your lunch is a better choice than two slices of white bread, but in reality it can be worse than two slices of whole grain bread. Mission Spinach Wraps, for instance, are over 200 calories each, plus 5 grams of fat, and a whopping 440 mg of sodium, to make you feel bloated all day. Remember, these numbers are for the wrap alone – start adding toppings, and you can be looking at a “healthy” sandwich that is over 800 calories. It is advised that you read the labels, as many sandwich wraps say that they are made with vegetables, but in reality, there is just a pinch of real vegetable powder, and a whole lot of food coloring, fake flavors and other harmful additives.
Agave is found on store shelves as a healthy sweetener choice, but it is a laboratory generated fructose syrup void of any valuable nutrients. Depending on how it is processed, there is anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of fructose in agave.
Fructose, when consumed in large quantities, is a dangerous sugar to consumer, as it will raise uric acid in the body. Uric acid is directly linked to insulin resistance, hypertension, diabetes and diseases of the liver and kidneys.
Veggie Chips sound like a healthy food choice, but when you grab a bag of these in your local food market, you are picking up nothing more than a glorified potato chip. There may be a touch or two of vegetable powder added to the mix, but certainly nothing will justify calling this type of chip healthy. In addition, many of these types of snacks are baked at high temperatures, which results in a tasteless product. For a truly healthy snack, chop fresh vegetables, such as celery, radishes, carrots and bell peppers.
Nuts are indeed packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They also carry a very high caloric count. Just a quarter cup of almonds (which is less than 30 nuts) contains more than 130 calories. Unless, these little treasures are portion controlled, it is very easy to over indulge in this treat.
Cheese is an excellent source of calcium and protein, but cheese is also full of calories and fat. An ounce of cheddar cheese is more than 110 calories and almost 10 grams of fat, with more than 6 of the grams being unhealthy saturated fats. Goat cheese and fresh feta are the best cheeses for dieters.
This may surprise many of you, but store-bought ketchup is loaded with sodium and sugar. Yes, it is low in calories and has no fat, but when considering what to eat it is important to read the entire food label, and then make the best food choice for a healthy daily eating plan. Remember, a serving size is one tablespoon, so think about that before you dump a pile of ketchup on your plate.
