There seems to be a healthy version of everything these days. From sandwiches to water and desserts, everything is low fat, low calorie and apparently, perfect for keeping your body in shape. Some health foods are worse than their full fat equivalent! So apart from triple chocolate cake, what else should you be avoiding?
Photo Credit: Bill Adams
Sushi is a fantastic food. Not only is it easy to find, it’s got all the nutritional value of fish, and is a perfect diet food. Right? Well, most sushi is low calorie, but comes served with a spicy topping or cream cheese which are full of calories. And as sushi can taste quite bland on its own, the dips are necessary to add flavor. That’s not to mention the misleading menus which only state the calories in the sushi itself…
Many of my friends swear by granola when they are trying to lose weight, but is it actually as good as it sounds? Nuts and oats are very good for you, and will give you a great complexion too, but manufacturers also pack it with oil to add crispness and sugar for flavor. Meaning a bowl can have 500 calories, without milk or topping…
Dried fruit is a great snack. It’s easy to carry around in your handbag, and quick and tidy to eat. And as it's fruit, it’s low calorie, and full of goodness… or so I thought. A quick glance at a few packets shows that dried fruit contains 5 to 8 times more calories then hydrated fruit, as it has been compacted. So that raisin? 460 calories a cup. And fruit like peaches? Well, after sugar has been added to preserve them and keep them sweet, I wouldn’t want to look…
Photo Credit: elana's pantry
I always see bran muffins included in diet plans. Full of good carbs, they keep you going all morning while reducing your waist line, and they taste good too! But don’t look at the packaging… with 20g of fat, 420 calories and 34g of sugar in an average muffin, they are just as healthy as a slice of cake.
I’ve never really understood wrap sandwiches, but have friends that swear by them. Less calories and you don’t notice, apparently! Ever wonder why? Unroll a wrap, and the average area is one foot. Thats 300 calories of bread alone, and smothered with much more mayo or dressing then you’d ever need in a normal sandwich, and you’ve easily doubled that. 600 calories? Wow.
Have you ever noticed that dieters suddenly have next to no milk in their coffee, and start using ‘diet milk’? Well, the two or three drops per cup quickly adds up, and by the end of the day could be as much as 300 calories! Which equals just a few less cups with normal, creamy milk, or a big dollop of butter.
I’ll admit, I was very shocked to discover this, after swearing by rice cakes. While their claims of being fat free are true, the ones about being diet friendly certainly aren’t... they lack fibre and protein, the substances that make you feel full, and so do nothing but add extra calories to your daily intake. Flavoured ones are even worse, being full of sugar and salt. I’m shocked!
Tea is great, and the invention of ‘ready made’ teas to drink while out and about was brilliant to those dieters who are bored of just drinking water. Be wary, though, ready made teas contain lots of sugar to keep it sweet and honey for its preservative values. Added to the fact that the calorie information is sometimes just for a fifth of the bottle, and you could be consuming many more calories than you think.
I can’t believe some of these foods... my friends and I have pored over our diets and weight loss plans from previous years and spotted where we were going from... no wonder rice cakes, sushi and iced tea wasn’t making me drop the pounds like I’d hoped! Have you spotted a health food that's not so healthy? Please let me know!
Top Photo Credit: axehd