While it’s commonly frowned upon, snacking can assist you in achieving your weight loss objectives if done properly! It sustains your metabolic rate and suppresses cravings until your next meal. However, consuming the incorrect foods around snack time can seriously hinder your efforts to lose weight. Carbs, fats, and sugars like to hide in foods that are labeled or presented as “healthy.”
Here is a list of 12 snacks to avoid when trying to lose weight:
1. Rice cakes
Due to their low calorie and fat content, rice cakes are sometimes thought of as healthful snacks; nevertheless, they also have a very high glycemic index. The rating for pure sugar is 100, whereas the grade for rice cakes is 82. For a healthy option, try air-popped popcorn rather than microwaved popcorn. Moreover, you can top popcorn with a wide variety of healthful toppings!
2. Bottled smoothie
Smoothies in bottles could appear like an excellent low-calorie option, but closer examination reveals that there are typically two or three servings in each bottle. The best approach to making sure you know precisely what’s going into your smoothies and how much you should drink to stay on track is to make your own. See which smoothies are the best for losing weight here.
3. Pretzels
One serving of pretzels provides about 20 percent of your daily salt intake, making them a high-sodium snack. Excessive sodium causes water retention, which can cause puffiness and bloating. Over time, excessive sodium can also cause heart disease. Instead, try some shelled and salted pistachios. They’ll keep you full for a lot longer than pretzels since they have three times the fiber and nearly twice the protein of pretzels.
4. Chocolate pudding cups
Although the calories in a chocolate custard cup aren’t that excessive, why not just get the real thing? Dark chocolate has more fiber, less sugar, and fewer carbohydrates than a cup of chocolate custard. It also contains antioxidant-rich cocoa. Take advantage of this as a justification to include chocolate in your diet!
5. Trail Mix
The minuscule quarter-cup serving size of store-bought trail mix is something that almost anyone will follow. Furthermore, the chocolate made with processed milk isn’t helping you either. Alternatively, choose nut and fruit bars such as KIND bars, or even create your own. The fruit and nut bars will guarantee that you’re not consuming empty calories that won’t even satisfy your hunger, but rather the nutrients your body needs.
6. Diet soda
While artificial sweeteners might suppress appetites and help you feel full, they also negatively impact your metabolism. Although giving up diet Coke and caffeine can be challenging at first, but it is well worth the effort in the end. Instead, try sipping detox drinks or sparkling-flavored waters.
7. Granola and skim milk
There are 360 calories in just half a cup of granola and one cup of skim milk! This is because granola is mostly made of sugar and fat, despite its healthful reputation. It’s acceptable to need a second breakfast before lunch if it’s 10 a.m. For a more wholesome and filling dinner, replace one cup of quick oats with the granola cereal.
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8. Cheez-Its
Cheez-Its and other cheese crackers are heavy in simple carbohydrates, which do the exact opposite of what you want from snacking—spike blood sugar and cause cravings. Avoid using simple remedies, such as cheese crackers.
9. Banana chips
Because banana chips are essentially made of bananas, they can also seem like a decent idea. Correct? False. Since they are typically fried, they contain a lot of saturated fat. Here, however, the obvious replacement is in order: a banana! A giant banana has 121 calories and no saturated fat, but it does have plenty of fiber and vitamins B and C! If you’re truly searching for a healthy chip substitute, consider kale chips.
10. 100-calorie packs of cookies
Research has indicated that when it comes to weight loss, the 100-calorie boxes of cookies like Oreos and Chips Ahoy make things worse. Even though they are still cookies, people prefer to eat more of them because they think of them as nutritious. Try substituting those with roasted pumpkin seeds; we know it’s not the same. They fill you up far faster than cookies, with only 94 calories in a third of a cup.
11. Flavored yogurts
Since artificial flavoring is used in all flavored yogurts, the sugar content is considerable. Choose plain Greek yogurt over a cup of strawberry yogurt instead; it has more beneficial proteins to keep you full and is lower in sugar.
12. Baby carrots
Although baby carrots are a common diet food, they don’t satisfy your hunger for very long. If your stomach is growling, try dipping them into a couple of teaspoons of hummus or another protein source to tide you both over until the next meal.
