Surprising Foods and Beverages That Sabotage Any Diet

eatingDieting can be a challenge even without obstacles. Some of us try and try to loose that last 10 or 15 pounds, but just can’t get rid of it. We follow the right diet for our body types and exercise on a regular basis, so what is stopping us from succeeding? Well. there are a few obstacles that many of use fail to consider. That what we are drinking or consuming can actually slow down the weight loss process. Here’s a few diet busting food and rinks that might surprise you:

Protein Rich Yogurt

YogurtThis may shock you, but plain flavored yogurt is loaded with sugar at just 16 grams per cup. Now, if you like to eat flavored yogurt, add another 15 or more additional grams of sugar to the equation. That’s four extra teaspoonfuls per serving.

Cut your calories in half by choosing plain, low-fat yogurt and stir in a little bit maple syrup or honey for flavor. Fat-free Greek yogurt has even less sugar than regular plain yogurt and is packed-full of protein.

Not So Good Rescue: Trail Mix

Trail-mixIf you are in the mood to munch and decide to pick up a store-bought version of this treat, beware! A 1-ounce handful of banana chips contain 10 grams of fat and yogurt-covered raisins are slathered with a coat of hydrogenated palm kernel oil. This snack is chalk-full of saturated and trans fats.

Keep it healthier by making your own trail mix with whole-grain cereal, chocolate chips, nuts, dried and dried fruits and raisins. Limit each of your serving to one cup to keep calories down.

Pound-Packing Munchie: Veggie Chips

Potatoe-ChipsSo the bag says healthy veggie chip alternative, but is it really? These chips are no better than their salty, potato counterparts. They might pack a few more vitamins, but will also add inches to your hips. Each delightful bag has about 150 calories and 10 grams of fat per mouthful. Manufacturers sometimes mislead consumers and slip a few plain potato chips disguised in food color into the bag and call them veggie, so it’s best to ready the fine print.

The first step towards making sure your chips are truly diet favorable is to read the ingredients. Make sure that vegetables are the first ingredient. Another great alternative is baked tortilla chips with a 1/2 cup of salsa. Tortilla’s a made from corn and the salsa is loaded with veggies so it’s a no-winner.

Sugar-free cookies and candy

Cookies and CandySugar-free doesn’t mean that it won’t pack on the calories. Unfortunately to make things tastes good, you have to have a few indulgences or take the chance on ingredients such as sorbitol or saccharin. One popular brand sugar-free brand offers chocolate-chip cookies that only contain 160 calories, but a whopping 9 grams of fat. Not much of a trade off.

Graham crackers are a good choice for getting that sugar rush or try the smaller 100-calorie snack pack options that many of the popular brands such as Keebler offer. Certain candies are less packed with calories and sugar as well. Tootsie rolls offer a chocolate fix at half the calories.

Cereal Heavy Weight: Granola

Cerala-BreakfastEggs drowned in cheese and sauce and pancakes drowned in syrup are known diet fillers, but could a cereal do as much damage? Absolutely! Granola might seem harmless, but one cup contains more than 560 calories and 28 grams of fat; and that’s before milk.

If you like the taste but hate the calories try mixing a cup of whole-grain cereal in with some oatmeal and add your own almond slivers and raisins.

Misleading sushi

SushiSo, you think an American-style sushi roll is a healthy alternative to steak? We’ll unfortunately they are loaded with high-calorie ingredients such as mayo, cheese and cream cheese. Forget the tempura roll as well. That’s just a deep fried pieces of shrimp or fish that contains a whopping about 500 calories.

For a healthier version of this Japanese treat try ordering raw fish, seaweed, vegetables and stay clear of creamy sauces. Stick with a sashimi and nigiri roll paired with a side of protein-rich edamame instead.

Protein Packed Smoothies

SmoothieThis maybe the trickiest of the diet killing bunch. You order the master blaster strawberry smoothie thinking you are getting a healthy meal’s worth of calories. Some of these smoothies contain more than 17 grams of fat and weigh in at 500 calories.

Slim it down by ordering the small size and avoid mixers such as sorbet, frozen yogurt, sherbet and especially peanut butter. Keep it simple with a berry blend or choose one from lighter section.

Alcoholic Beverages

AlcoholWe all know that beer, wine and even mixed drinks can kill a diet, but what if you leave the mixers out? Even if you choose too have your vodka on the rocks or the skinny girl version of a mojito, alcoholic beverages can prevent you from loosing weight.

Not only do things such as beer and wine and liquor contain calories, but they also are broken down by the body into acetate. Your body will try to burn anything alcohol related you put into your body before anything else like fat or sugar. Basically your body is getting all the energy it needs from the alcohol, so anything else you put in your system is stored as fat. Another startling fact is studies show that alcohol temporarily inhibits “lipid oxidation”, which means it much harder for your body to burn off fat.

If you want to loose a few extra pounds, make sure to limit your alcoholic intake to a few drinks once or twice a week. Also try to eat prior to drinking, so that your food has time to be digested and burned off.