When it comes to losing weight, it’s not difficult to find out what you need to do. Working out and avoiding eating too much are the main ways to try to stay fit. But guess what? There are specific foods out there that will make you gain weight faster compared to other foods if you consume them in excess amounts.
Surely, having a lean body is one of the best ways to be in touch with others and maintain a good social life, not to mention your health. Having extra pounds is unattractive, and it can make you prone to serious health problems, such as diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and more.
Therefore, learning which are the main foods that can make you gain weight is crucial, which is why we’re here proposing this article.
Fried foods
Surely, most of us are in love with french fries, especially if we dip them a bit in ketchup and a little mustard. Yummy! Once you feel them in your watering mouth, it’s difficult to stop devouring them. But as many of the great stuff in life come at a price, it’s also available here. Consuming high amounts of fried foods, including french fries, will generate high amounts of calories and unhealthy fats in your body.
Even if you’re a big hit with doughnuts or fried chicken, it can also make you more prone to become fat over time. Nobody says that such foods are bad by themselves, but the main point is that you don’t have to eat them in high amounts if you want to avoid becoming fat.
Sugary drinks
Unless you’ve been teleported to another planet until now, surely you know that sugar is bad for your health if you consume it in high amounts. The same applies to sugary drinks such as fruit juices, soda, or sweetened teas. These drinks often contain high amounts of added sugars and calories.
Since consuming liquid calories might not provide the feeling of fullness as solid foods do, it can lead to additional calorie intake from other sources.
Sweets and desserts
Did we say that foods high in sugar can make you become fat over time? Well, the same applies to sweets and desserts, whether we like it or not. Surely, it’s not nice to refuse that crush of yours when she offers you a piece of cake at her birthday party, but consuming the whole cake would certainly be a terrible idea if you care about your health. And it’s not just cakes that are too high in sugar, and that can make you fat over time! Cookies, candies, and pastries also qualify, as they have high amounts of sugar, calories, and unhealthy fats. Although such foods may often provide a quick source of energy, they may lack essential nutrients.
White bread and refined grains
Consuming white bread is something very common across the world, but did you know that this food is not really good for your health if you consume it in exaggerated amounts? White bread and even other refined grains undergo processing that removes the outer bran and germ layers, thus stripping away nutrients and fiber.
Such foods may even lead to a rapid spike in blood sugar levels and don’t even provide a feeling of fullness. They don’t even provide sustained energy.
Processed foods
A lot of processed foods, such as chips, sugary snacks, and fast food, are high in calories, added sugars, and unhealthy fats. Processed foods are basically foods that have been altered from their original form through methods such as milling, cooking, or refining. We can consider, for instance, frozen meals, packaged snacks, as well as fast food items.
A lot of processed foods have high amounts of sodium as well, and you got the point: these foods will make you fat over time.
High-calorie coffee drinks
There are specialty coffee drinks out there that contain added sugars, whipped cream, and syrups. These drinks can be dense in calories, meaning that consuming them in excessive amounts can make you gain extra pounds.
Alcohol
Being the lord of the drinks when you’re young and you live by the “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” motto might be cool for your friends who have the same habits, but it’s certainly not healthy. In fact, alcohol is a calorie-dense drink, as it contains about 7 calories per gram. Drinking alcohol in excessive amounts can cause a variety of health issues, including gaining extra weight. However, the bigger dangers of alcohol are far scarier: stroke, heart disease, liver disease, specific types of cancer (of the mouth, throat, breast, voice box, esophagus, liver, colon, and rectum), and more.
Alcohol even has the property to increase your appetite for food, which is another reason why it can make you gain extra weight.
Ultimately, the formula to having a healthy diet is balance and moderation, not a total lack of the foods mentioned above. Processed foods, sugary drinks, fried foods, and all those mentioned above can still be part of an overall balanced diet if you consume them in moderation.