When people try to lose weight, they often steer clear of the obvious things like greasy, fried, and overly sweet foods. While this is a great first step, they often overlook some of the littler things in their diet that are causing them to either lose weight slower than they normally would, or not lose weight at all. There’s nothing worse than putting in serious effort in the gym only to make no progress because of a poor diet.
Often times, people don’t even realize that the little things they eat on a regular basis add up over the course of a week, month, or year. When you put a lot of little things together, you get big things. Big things are what you want to avoid when trying to lose weight. A scoop of ice cream here or there isn’t going to affect your progress, but pounds of sugar consumed each month or year, certainly will.
Sugar is one of the things in our diet that we want to be very mindful of. Sugar is a simple carb which causes the body to release insulin upon ingestion. Insulin results in retained fat and makes it much harder to lose the weight we desperately want to get rid of. Take a look at some of the foods below that many of us eat on a daily basis. After doing a little math, you will see the consequences of these diet killers.
*Calories and pounds are from sugar alone. 1 pound = 3,500 calories.
- Daily cup of coffee with two packets of sugar = 8 grams of sugar. 1 cup x 365 days = 11,680 calories. 11,680 calories adds up to 3.3lbs of body fat a year.
- Slice of bread = 6 grams of sugar. Three sandwiches a week x 52 weeks = 1,872 calories. 1,872 calories = .53 lbs of body fat a year.
- 3 Tablespoons of an average salad dressing = 13 grams of sugar. 13 grams of sugar x 3 salads a week = 2, 028 calories. 2,028 calories = .58 pounds of body fat a year.
- 1 can of soda = 39 grams of sugar. 4 cans a week x 52 weeks = 8,112 calories. 8,112 calories = 2.31 pounds of body fat a year.
- Dannon fruit at the bottom yogurt = 26 grams of sugar. 2 cups a week x 52 weeks = 2,704 calories. 2,704 calories = .77 pounds of body fat a year.
- Weight Watches Ice Cream Cup = 22 grams of sugar. 2 six-ounce cups a week x 52 weeks = 2,288 calories. 2,288 calories = .65 pounds of body fat a year.
- Mott’s Original Applesauce (4 oz.) = 25 grams of sugar. 2 cups a week x 52 weeks = 2,600 calories. 2,600 calories = .74 pounds of body fat a year.
- Quaker Instant Oatmeal = 12 grams of sugar. 3 bowls a week x 52 weeks = 1,872 calories. 1,872 calories = .53 pounds of body fat a year.
- Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars = 12 grams of sugar. 3 bars a week x 52 weeks = 1,872 calories. 1,872 calories = .53 pounds of body fat a year.
- Generic “Organic” store brand fruit juice with no sugar added = 25 grams of sugar. 2 glass a week x 52 weeks = 10,400 calories. 10,400 calories = 2.97 pounds of body fat.
You may have noticed a lot of these foods with hidden sugar are marketed as healthy, or supposed to be healthy. Always read nutrition labels and look for sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or other derivatives of sugar, i.e. syrups, honey, sugar cane juice, etc.
As you can see, the sugar content ALONE in the above-mentioned foods contribute to over 13 pounds of body fat that must then be burned off. If it isn’t being burned off it’s being stored on your stomach, hips, legs, back, etc. Make it easier on yourself and just avoid this stuff to begin with. There is no point in taking one step forward and one step back; you end up going nowhere. Instead of working out to burn off the extra calories you’re taking in, eliminate the extra calories, continue working out, and burn off fat that is already there. You do that, and you will unlock the key to weight loss.
Matt
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