Foods You Should Avoid To Lose Fat
Which foods should we avoid when trying to lose fat? Is there such a thing as a bad 'food'?
The answer is no. But there are certainly foods that will make reaching your goal more difficult.
Calories in versus calories out is still the rule that applies. IIFYM ('If It Fits Your Macro's') has been a popular style of dieting for long time. This means that you can eat whatever you want, as long as you hit your daily calories and macro numbers. But when you are on a fat loss plan is certainly optimal to avoid eating foods that are low in volume but high in calories, low in micronutrients and low in protein. Eating clean certainly has more benefits than eating junk food while staying in your calorie budget.
Eating 'junk foods' will keep you hungry and unsatisfied as you can only eat a very low amount of it before you reach your calorie goal for the day. Usually these foods are hyperpalatable and will leave you craving for more!
A good alternative would be to take your favorite dishes and swap the high calorie ingredients for low calorie ones. Preparing with less oil and butter is also a good way to save calories. This way you cure your craving for that dish while staying full and getting the important macronutrients in.
Examples of Foods to generally avoid or to find alternatives for:
- Anything that is deep fried. The frying process add extra calories to the food. Instead, use an air fryer or oven.
- Regular soda's. Contain a lot of extra calories from sugar. Try to avoid drinking calories in general, unless you enjoy your ocassional protein shake!
- Anything that has too many high calorie toppings or too much sauce on it. Examples are mayonaise and cheese. Swap your high calorie sauces and toppings for their lower calorie versions!
- Calories from alcohol. 1 gram of alcohol already contains 7 calories!
- Foods that are high in sugar but not low in volume. An example would be a chocolate bar.
- Processed meats. Usually very high in saturated fats, meaning you can only eat a small portion before you reach your calorie budget.
Remember: as long as you stay in your calorie and macro budget, any type of food can fit in your meal plan. However, you have to decide for yourself whether the foods you are consuming keep your cravings and hunger away, or not!