One of the most important tips for weight loss is to cut down on calories. The fewer calories you eat, the faster you burn the body’s stored energy. However, that is only half the information you need on calorie counting. Not many people know that there are two types of calories – empty calories and nutrient-dense calories. As the name suggests, empty calories are pretty much worthless. Nutrient-dense calories, on the other hand, offer nutritional boost as they can promote good health. The key is to restrict empty calories and replace them with nutritious calorie foods. You will feel healthier and achieve your weight loss goals faster.

In this article, we have listed down seven common foods that might be stopping you from losing weight.

Potato Chips

One of the go-to snacks for most people is a pack of chips. These may seem light but they are loaded with empty calories and have zero nutritional value. Potato chips are high in carbohydrates, fats, and calories. Additionally, seasoned or flavoured potato chips do more damage as these have fats and sodium in excess. Consuming potato chips and wafers regularly would only make you gain weight and affect your health in other adverse ways.

Also Read: 6 Vegetables To Add To Your Weight Loss Diet

French Fries

Just like chips, fries are also  high-carb and high-fat foods. French fries  are guilty pleasures for almost all of us . If you make this a habit, it won’t help you lose weight. People who eat French fries regularly are at a greater risk of developing obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart diseases.

Diet Soda

Do you think diet soda or diet coke is healthy? We’re sorry to break your bubble, but diet sodas are still quite unhealthy. They claim to be sugar-free but these do have a certain amount of artificial sweeteners and carbon dioxide gas that gives them their distinct flavour. If you wish to lose weight, you must completely cut down on soda drinks and have non-carbonated water instead.

Also Read: Is Diet Soda Harmful For Our Health? Know The 5 Main Risks

Packaged Fruit Juices

Fruit juices are healthy and nutritious but only when fresh. Packaged fruit juices (no matter how much they claim to be natural) are unnatural. These have artificial sugars, colours, flavouring agents, and preservatives that make these fruit juices last for months. In order to sell these juices, companies advertise them as healthy but you must check the contents before consumption. It is best to consume whole fruits or fresh fruit juice to avail maximum benefits.

Flavoured Yoghurt

Yoghurt is a probiotic food which increases the concentration of good gut bacteria to promote digestive health. However, if you are aiming at weight loss, do not consume flavoured yoghurt. If you want, you can add fresh fruit puree to your yoghurt to make it flavoured. Packaged flavoured yoghurt is high in sugar content. Go for unflavoured Greek yoghurt instead as it is healthy, low-calorie, and nutrient-dense.

Also Read: Eating Yogurt Daily Can Cut Down The Risk Of Breast Cancer

Ice Cream

We all love ice-cream and there are thousands of flavours to treat our palates. But well even ice creams are not weight-loss friendly. These have dairy, sugars, and fats that can obstruct the weight loss process. People who habitually eat ice cream (almost daily) must cut down their intake. Instead, make fruit popsicles at home that would satiate your cold and sweet cravings.

Chocolate

There are mainly two types of chocolate – milk and dark. While dark chocolates are healthier, milk chocolates are not, especially for weight loss aspirants. Milk chocolates contain dairy and sugar, which is not good for weight loss as well as overall health. If you like eating chocolates, have dark chocolates instead, and in moderation. These are made up of cacao, which is excellent for weight loss as well as overall well-being.

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