To build muscle & lose fat, 90% of your diet must consist of whole unprocessed foods. That’s anything that doesn’t come out of a box like meats, veggies, eggs, fruits, etc. Eating 6 meals/day leaves room for 4 junk meals per week.
You’re already doing that but not getting results? Maybe you’re not eating that healthy. Here are 10 foods you might think are healthy because they’re labeled as such, but which in reality are anything but healthy.
1. Breakfast Cereals. Cereals are labeled healthy & nutritive and recommended for weight loss. Read the labels: cereals are often high in sugar & salt and their vitamin/mineral content is chemical based. Drop that spoon.
Healthy alternative: one of these 7 breakfast recipes.
2. Granola Bars. Granola bars consist of healthy oats & nuts. But they’re glued together with blood sugar raising ingredients like corn syrup. Some bars even contain chocolate chips, making them as bad as candy bars.
Healthy alternative: homemade protein bars.
3. Yogurt with Fruit at The Bottom. Fat free doesn’t mean healthy. Labels tell you they contain added sugars, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. Same with fat free frozen yogurts which can contain 20g sugars per 1/2 cup.
Healthy alternative: plain unflavored yogurt mixed with fruit cut into pieces.
4. Bread. Convenient and tastes good, but not as healthy as you think. Whole grain or whole wheat means nothing. Dark bread can still contain corn syrup & trans-fats and eating too much bread will make you fat.
Healthy alternative: Ezekiel Bread, but lower your bread intake.
Bread
Bread is also not as healthy as you think. Image credit: Harald Schmid
5. Sandwiches. Often labelled “fitness” or “light”, but containing sugar-laden salad dressings, little veggies & proteins and too much white bread. Freshness is questionable and you need the foot-long to fill your stomach.
Healthy alternative: make your own sandwiches.
6. Fruit Juice. Even 100% fruit juice has added sugars, usually fructose. Cans of fruit juice contain up to 38g sugar per 8oz. Excess fructose causes obesity, bad cholesterol, poor appetite control, etc.
Healthy alternative: home-made fruit juice or eat fruit.
7. Sport Drinks. Supposed to help you replenish electrolytes, carbs, etc. But it’s actually sugar water, with up to 30g sugar/serving. If you eat healthy and don’t drink 2 gallons water in 1 setting, you don’t risk water intoxication.
Healthy alternative: water during workout, protein + carbs post workout.
8. Fast Food Salads. Contain sugar-laden salad dressings, croutons made from refined white flour or white floor pasta. In many cases you’re better off ordering a double cheeseburger than a chicken salad.
Healthy alternative: make your own salads.
9. Frozen Meals. Nothing is wrong with frozen veggies/fruits. But a lot is wrong with frozen meals often labeled “light” or “healthy”. They’re processed, high in sugar, and come with sauces & sodium. Avoid.
Healthy alternative: cook all your meals for the day in the morning or evening.
10. Diet Soda. Contain artificial sweeteners like the controversed aspartame. Do your research and decide if you want to take the risk. Start with this & this thread on diet soda in StrongLifts.com Forum.
Healthy alternative: water, water with squeezed lemon, green tea.
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