There’s indeed a long list of snacks to avoid when dieting that I can share with you but in this article, I will talk briefly about just a few of them.
When I was in my 20s, I wanted to try dieting but I failed miserably because a few of these snacks I’m going to mention, were such a big part of my life.
I gave up dieting and binged-eating my favorite snacks and started to put on more weight until I reached 76.7kgs, which was my heaviest.
Years later, I learned about the downsides of snacking and I finally lost almost 19kgs when I decided to stop with snacks.
Related: How I Lost 41 Pounds Without Exercise
What Is Snacking?
Snacking has become a multi-billion industry where manufacturers come up with hundreds if not thousands of new types of snacks each year.
These snack makers have their eyes not only on children and teenagers but nowadays we see an alarming rise in the consumption of snacks in young adults.
In fact, snacks are more harmful than they contribute to a healthy body.
Snacks have proven to be very addictive and this is due to the things they add into the snacks, such as high-fructose corn syrup, trans fat, added nutrients like sodium and more.
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These are indeed the reasons behind the fact that snacks are addictive and people can’t stop themselves from snacking.
As a result, this contributes to weight gain and in some people, health complications.
I used to adore eating snacks on a daily basis until I realize they were among the biggest hurdles in my weight loss.
Let’s see what snacks to avoid when dieting, especially if you’re in your 30s where weight loss can become a bit harder if not done well.
Fruit Yogurt
Did you know that fruit yogurts aren’t really fruit yogurts? It’s basically milk + fruit flavoring!
If you look at the “nutritional facts’ on a yogurt cup, you’ll see that it contains so much sugar that it’s almost equivalent to three Oreos.
While 12% sugar comes from the milk itself, the remainder comes from that fruit flavoring which can really hurt your weight loss efforts.
Alternative: Plain Greek Yogurt (help you feel full for fewer calories with their high rate of protein, calcium, and potassium)
Of course, plain greek yogurt might not be tempting for some of you. So you’re free to add in some slices of fresh fruit to make it more appetizing.
Pretzels
While it’s true that Pretzels have a low-fat content, they are also known to be empty of healthy nutrients.
They might contain lower calories and fats than regular chips but they are also not that healthy, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
Why is this?
Simply because they contain a pretty high percentage of sodium. It’s believed that one portion of pretzels contains a quarter of sodium that a person normally needs for one day.
Alternative: Plantain Chips (boost metabolism and burn fats)
Rice Cakes
Rice cakes are believed to be innocent diet snacks but in reality, they add no real benefits to your body because they are so low in fiber and other nutrients that they keep you hungry.
Many have testified that they always want to accompany their rice cakes with something else because they always want to eat more regardless of how many rice cakes they eat.
It’s true that they are low-calorie snacks but if they make you want to eat more, then they are subtly adding in calories.
As I said before, I was on a weight loss program a few years back and I must say that these low-cal rice cakes have slightly sabotaged my weight loss.
Alternative: Blue Diamond Nut-Thins (they have more protein and other nutrients)
Bottled Smoothies
It’s true that most of the bottled smoothies you’ll find in the grocery stores don’t contain too many calories.
But let’s take for example a 16-ounce smoothie bottle where the calories are 300 calories per bottle.
Will you risk your efforts for a little bottle with 300 calories? I wouldn’t! Adding these up to your calorie intake on a daily basis or even a regular basis will sabotage your weight loss results.
Alternative: Homemade Smoothie
Related: Smoothies That Boost Fat Burning
Banana Chips
Banana chips, at first glance, can seem OK but I wasn’t OK with them and I can tell you these are definitely snacks to avoid when dieting.
What I noticed a few times was that I felt hungry even after eating a good portion of banana chips.
Later on, I discovered that banana chips caused a disturbance in essential hormones that are supposed to regulate our appetite.
You see, the reason why you can feel hungry after eating banana chips is because of this factor.
Moreover, banana chips are mostly fried and contain a high value of saturated fats.
Alternative: A Fresh Banana
Canned Fruits
Canned fruits are surely real fruits but have you asked yourself what are they swimming into? In sweetened syrup of course.
They can be low in fiber but nevertheless, are not so healthy due to additional intake of sugar because of the syrup.
Alternative: Dried Fruits (they provide much more vitamins, fiber, and minerals)
100-Calorie Pack of Cookies
A recent study has shown that people tend to eat more of these cookies because it’s labeled under diet foods.
And you know what’s bad with these 100-calorie pack stuff?
Many have found that although they are considered diet foods, they are empty of important nutrients.
Diet Soda
During my weight loss journey, I was told I could drink diet sodas without any issues. But wait? There’s one issue! What about the artificial sweetener in those diet sodas?!
Many studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can have a bad impact on your weight loss efforts.
The effect is that it causes your brain to not be able to regulate your appetite. You can guess the results of this right?
Alternative: Sparkling Water (unsweetened)
Now you have a little knowledge of how snacks, although classified under “Diet Foods” can really alter your weight loss.
Let me know in the comments below which snacks have somehow negatively impacted your diet.
