In your quest to get a better body, you’ve started watching what you eat. You know the obvious offenders — creamy pasta dishes, cakes, cookies, deep fried foods, and the like — but do you know the not-so-obvious offenders that could be setting you back?
If you want to get serious about reaching your goal weight and getting healthier, you need to know where to look.
Often sugar and saturated fat sneak into foods without us realizing it and can turn an otherwise healthy meal into a diet nightmare.
Let’s look at four such foods that you should begin cutting from your diet immediately.
Bran flakes
Bran flakes seem like an innocent enough food — they’re high in fibre and natural. However, don’t be fooled.
Often these do have added sugar and even if they don’t, check the sodium content. You will be amazed at how much sodium some bran flake brands have.
Opt for oatmeal instead. It’s a far better choice for starting your day off right.
Tomato sauce
Next, also consider tomato sauce. You might think it’s healthy, but make sure that you read labels. Here again, you’ll find both sugar and sodium — often in high amounts whenever purchasing commercially prepared tomato sauce.
To safeguard yourself, prepare this one yourself. It’s easy enough to make and then you know exactly what you are putting into it.
Yogurt
Yogurt is another food to be careful about. While you can definitely find some healthy varieties out there, many yogurt varieties are high in sugar and/or saturated fat.
You’ll want to opt for one that is all-natural and doesn’t contain any added sugars or added artificial sweeteners either. You’ll find with this requirement in place, it really knocks out many options from consideration.
Commercial nut butters
Finally, also think twice about commercial nut butters. While natural nut butters are definitely a healthy source of fats for you to consume, these commercially-prepared nut butters often contain preservatives along with added sugar for flavour.
If you opt for a chocolate-flavoured hazelnut butter, for instance, you’ll often be not much better off than you would eating a candy bar.
The best way to prevent unhealthy foods from sneaking into your diet plan is to get into the habit of reading labels.
Make sure that you not only check the table on the label, but also take into account the list of ingredients that make up the product as well.
If you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce any of these ingredients, chances are it’s not the best option for you to consume.
Cabel McElderry is a local personal trainer and nutrition coach. For more information on fitness and nutrition, visit the Fitness F/X website at www.fitnessfx.com.