An Excerpt From The Weight Loss Habit
This list of healthy foods that make you fat is excerpted from The Weight Loss Habit: The No BS, No Gimmick (Sort Of) Easy Way to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever, available now.
So-called “healthy” foods are making you fat
Do you struggle to lose weight even though you force yourself to only eat the things you “should” eat?
There are a lot of reasons for this. But one of the biggest may be that the foods you think of as healthy aren’t as healthy as you think.
There are quite a few foods that people traditionally think of as “good for you,” which are shockingly high in calories.
This makes it extremely easy to overeat them, even if you’re doing the right thing and thinking before you eat. (Or if you’re dieting the wrong way, and relying on willpower.)
Anyone can mistakenly eat too much “healthy” food
Let me tell you about a health-nut I know. He’s the kind of guy who insists that processed sugar is literally poison and was terribly offended that his son’s daycare occasionally gave the kids candy.
Now, this is a really smart guy. He got a job at Google, and skipped the sodas at the free vending machines, opting for fruit juice instead. After all, he’s a health nut and would never drink soda.
Then after a month or two, he was shocked to discover that he had gained quite a bit of weight.
Why?
Because fruit juice is extremely high in calories.
And that’s the problem.
There are a lot of foods that people think of as healthy – that Shape Magazine, Men’s Health, Buzzfeed, or food gurus tell you that you should eat – which contain a massive amount of calories.
These can be a huge pitfall if you’re trying to monitor your calories in order to lose weight.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat these foods.
Just that you shouldn’t go nuts and assume that because they’re “healthy” it’s okay to eat as much as you want.
You still need to pay attention to calories and portion size, and most importantly, think before you eat.
In other words, still practice the Weight Loss Habit even with “healthy” food.
Except for celery. You can eat as much of that as you want, so feel free to abandon all moderation there. As long as you’re not dipping it in anything or putting something on top.
Here are some foods to be wary of:
[Note: Calorie counts here are approximate, based on representative versions of these. They may vary slightly from product to product.]
1. Fruit Juice
Apple juice, orange juice, and cranberry juice all have 110 calories per 8 ounce (235 ml) serving. That’s more calories per ounce than Coke.
Note that Tropicana makes Trop50 orange juice that only has 50 calories, which is an improvement, though you still shouldn’t go nuts with it. Ocean Spray has a line of 5 calorie cranberry juice cocktails that are okay to go nuts with.
2. Nuts
Speaking of nuts, there’s:
- 170 calories in every ounce (28 grams) of peanuts. (And if you’re eating peanuts, you’ll probably have several ounces.) That’s 11 calories per peanut.
- 165 calories in an ounce (28 grams) of almonds.
- 185 calories in an ounce (28 grams) of walnuts.
- 195 calories in an ounce (28 grams) of pecans.
- 160 calories in an ounce (28 grams) of pistachios.
3. Peanut Butter
A serving size of peanut butter is listed as 2 tablespoons (30 ml), which is 190 calories. But realistically, a sandwich-worth is at least double that.
4. Dried Fruit
An apricot is a healthy snack that’s under 20 calories.
Twenty apricots, on the other hand, is not such a healthy snack. That’s what you’re eating when you mindlessly munch dried fruit.
The calories don’t go away when the fruit dries out, but it does make it a lot easier to eat way too much.
In fact, dried fruit often has added sugar, making it higher in calories than the original fruit.
5. Pita Bread
Pita is just a denser form of bread. That doesn’t make it healthier. One pita has 165 calories.
6. Hummus
Two ounces (55 g) of hummus, which is the size of a Sabra single-serving cup, has 150 calories.
And if you’re eating your hummus from a larger container, you’ll likely have far more than that.
Hummus and Pita
Basic addition:
- One pita and a single-serving cup of hummus are 315 calories.
- Two pita and four ounces (115 g) (of hummus are 630 calories.
- Three pita and six ounces (170 g) of hummus are 945 calories.
This quickly adds up.
7. Avocados
An avocado has about 325 calories.
Yes, people will tell you that it’s good fat, and heart healthy.
And I’ll tell you it’s delicious.
It’s still a lot of calories.
8. Restaurant Salads
Lettuce is low in calories, so it’s natural to think that a salad, which is mostly lettuce, must be low in calories.
But while a salad is mostly lettuce, often the remainder is very high in calories – enough to render the whole thing unhealthy.
For example, the Chili’s Santa Fe Chicken Salad is 940 calories, the Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad is 1020 calories, and the Quesadilla Explosion Salad is a whopping 1410 calories.
Maybe you’re not foolish enough to think that something with “Quesadilla Explosion” in its name is going to be healthy.
But the California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch salad with avocado is 1290 calories, the Waldorf Chicken salad is 1320 calories, and the BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad with Mustard Herb Vinaigrette dressing is 1350 calories. Even the Roasted Veggie salad can be up to 830 calories depending on the dressing you get.
9. Salad Dressing
A lot of salad dressings have a shocking amount of calories, stemming from their high fat or sugar content.
Be very careful to check the nutrition labels.
Look for the low-cal/low-fat versions, even though they aren’t as tasty.
Aim for dressings that are 35 calories or fewer per listed serving.
And remember that what they call a serving is probably a lot less than you’ll actually use.
Though if you start eating your salads with less dressing, that’s an improvement.
10. Vegetables dipped in stuff
Carrots, celery, zucchini, etc. are great.
But when you dip them in peanut butter, cream cheese, ranch dip, etc., usually the things you’re dipping them in have a ton of calories, and you have no idea how much you’re consuming.
11. Sports Drinks
The sports drinks’ marketing departments try to convince you that it’s vital to consume their product in order to replenish your precious bodily fluids after exercise.
However you can also replenish your fluids with water, which is zero calories and free.
As for all the other stuff in sports drinks, you’re not an elite athlete and you don’t need it.
If you really really want it, Gatorade and Powerade both make zero calorie versions, so buy those.
12. Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Paleo Foods
Oreos are vegan.
Ice cream is gluten-free.
And technically, a five-gallon bucket of pure lard is paleo.
Just because something fits into one of these diets doesn’t make it healthy.
If you go to Veggie Grill and get their Nashville Hot Chickin’ Sandwich with a side of Sweetheart Fries, that’s 1,270 calories.
Add in some 110 calorie ranch dressing to dip your Sweetheart Fries in, a 270 calorie Pineapple Ginger Beet Agua Fresca, and a 550 calorie Choco-Churro Sundae for dessert, and your lunch at the “healthy” vegetarian restaurant is 2,200 calories.
13. Dark Chocolate
A trendy piece of food advice is to eat dark chocolate, because it’s supposed to be healthy, for, uh, reasons.
A bar of Hershey’s Special Dark has 200 calories, which is only 20 fewer than a regular Hershey bar.
If you’re only having a 1/12 bar piece each day, that’s 17 calories, which isn’t a big deal.
But if you’re having a whole bar or even half a bar a day, that 200 or 100 additional daily calories will add up.
14. Milk, Non-Fat Milk, and Milk Substitutes
Milk: It does a body good. It also does a body 160 calories per 8 ounce (235 ml) serving.
You can switch to skim milk to reduce calories, but it doesn’t eliminate them. Skim milk is still 90 calories per 8 ounce (235 ml) serving, which is more calories per ounce than sugary soda.
Almond milk is 60 calories per 8 ounces (235 ml), or 80 calories for vanilla almond milk.
Unsweetened almond milk is 30 calories, which is in the range where you don’t have to worry so much.
And remember to pay attention to portion size. All these numbers are per eight ounces (235 ml) or one cup. If you drink more, you have to multiply appropriately.
15. Frozen Yogurt
Many people think of frozen yogurt as a healthier alternative to ice cream. But it’s often loaded with calories.
In many cases, even more so than ice cream.
Especially when you start mixing in toppings.
You can try to get the sugar-free yogurt, and mix in fruit instead of Nutella and candy to limit the calories.
But even so, check the nutrition info and make sure you understand what you’re eating.
16. Regular Yogurt
Yogurt is loaded with probiotics, which the health nuts insist is good.
But a lot of yogurt is loaded with calories as well.
It’s typically around 150 calories per serving, but some flavors can get up to 300 calories, while light yogurt is usually more like 90 calories.
17. Granola Bars, NutriGrain Bars, and Protein Bars
Protein bars, power bars, Clif bars, etc., are usually in the neighborhood of 250 – 300 calories.
That’s okay as a meal replacement, but not so great as a snack or part of a meal.
Granola bars and NutriGrain bars are in the 100 – 150 calorie range.
18. Coleslaw
Coleslaw is shredded cabbage. It must be healthy, right?
Not when it’s mixed with a bunch of mayonnaise and sugar.
Check the nutrition label. It’s shockingly high in calories. The exact amount will depend on the specific brand/recipe.
Just to give you an idea of just how bad for you coleslaw really is, KFC’s coleslaw has more calories than their macaroni & cheese.
19. Wheat Bread
Just because it uses 100% whole grains doesn’t mean the calories go away.
Each slice of Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat Bread has 90 calories.
20. Bagels
It’s breakfast time, and someone brought in donuts.
You decide you’ll be healthy and have a bagel instead.
Nope.
Bagels typically have as many or more calories as donuts.
About 250 to 350, depending on the size, type, and density.
Add another 100 calories or more if you put cream cheese on it.
21. Bran Muffins
Presumably you already know muffins are high in calories.
That doesn’t change if you add “Bran” into their name.
Since muffins vary so much in size, I can’t tell you exactly how many calories, but it’s probably between 300 and 600.
22. Smoothies
Smoothies can be all over the map, depending on how they’re made.
If they’re mostly fruit and vegetables, they’re usually fairly low in calories, especially if you’re having them as a meal replacement.
And obviously the size makes a huge difference.
A small McDonalds strawberry-banana smoothie is only 190 calories.
On the other hand, if they’re filled with ice cream or high-fat yogurt, peanut butter, Nutella, honey, and other calorie-dense foods, they can be incredibly bad for you.
A large Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d is 910 calories.
23. Beyond/Impossible Meat
If you’re a vegetarian for moral, ethical, or environmentalist reasons, or just because it makes you feel better, Beyond Meat and Impossible Meat are fine choices.
But they won’t help you cut calories.
The Carl’s Jr Beyond Famous Star With Cheese is 40 more calories than the regular Famous Star With Cheese.
24. Honey
Honey is an all-natural sugar substitute.
It’s delicious, unprocessed, and comes straight from a bee’s butt.
(Or is it mouth? Honey-udders? No, I’m pretty sure that’s wrong. Okay, full disclosure. I don’t actually know how bees make honey.)
Anyway, the point is that while it may be all natural and unprocessed, it is not a low-calorie sugar substitute. There’s 60 calories per serving of honey.
25. Rice (including whole grain and brown rice)
Some people have the idea that rice is healthy. I guess because it’s bland and unenjoyable to eat.
But it has 205 calories per cup (235 ml) of white rice or 215 calories per cup (235 ml) of brown or whole grain rice, and you’ll probably end up eating a lot more than a cup if you aren’t careful.
If you’ve ever eaten too much Chinese, Japanese, or Thai food, and then been laying around clutching your belly and regretting your life choices, excessive rice was probably the culprit. (Unless it was too many noodles, but you already knew they weren’t healthy.)
Note that you can save a huge amount of calories by switching to cauliflower rice, which is only 25 calories per cup (235 ml).
These “healthy” foods are making you fat, but it’s still okay to eat them
I hope reading this list hasn’t made you despair.
I wouldn’t want anyone to read this list of healthy foods that are making you fat, and think, “Oh no! Even more foods I’m not allowed. I might as well give up and eat an entire Chicago-style pizza.”
Don’t think that way! You’re still allowed to eat all of these foods.
In fact, as I explain in The Weight Loss Habit, you’re allowed to eat any food you want.
The important thing is to build the habit of thinking before you eat, making a rational choice about what and how much to eat, and then celebrating your good decisions.
But you can only make a rational choice when you really understand what you’re eating, and my hope is this article will allow you to do so.
Or to put it another way, with these so-called healthy foods, you should eat them in moderation and with sensible portions.
Just like with any other food.
If you found this excerpt from The Weight Loss Habit helpful, you might enjoy the full book The Weight Loss Habit: The No BS, No Gimmick, (Sort Of) Easy Way to Lose Weight and Keep It Off Forever. Available now on Amazon.
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