Some foods can cause you to gain weight, and hence you need to watch the frequency of which you eat these foods. These foods can disrupt the body’s metabolism and interrupt the weight loss process.
Food intolerance or allergy can also result in weight gain, make you feel crummy and look years older than your actual age. A wise choice of food can accelerate the weight loss process along with adequate exercise.1 The list of foods that you need to cut down from your diet to lose your body weight is explained below.
1. Gluten-Based Foods
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and many processed foods. It is the stabilizer and thickening agent that gives the soft and spongy texture to flour. Most of us tend to think these flours are healthy proteins but the proteins in gluten are among the worst culprits that can impair your immune system. Sensitivity to gluten can damage your intestinal lining and produce leaky gut. It can vastly increase your chance of gaining weight and make it nearly impossible to lose. Gluten causes inflammatory responses in the body and triggers autoimmune conditions like asthma, allergies, thyroid issues, arthritis, and lupus.
The gluten-containing grains also contain lectins, and phytates which can create insulin resistance and your blood sugar rises making it harder to burn fat. It can bind to your intestinal lining and alter the gut flora causing you to store more calories from the food you eat and store it as fat. It also puts you at risk for metabolic syndrome and increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and blood pressure. If you want to include grains in your diet for protein intake, consider gluten-free oatmeal, millets, and grains like buckwheat and amaranth.2
2. Soy-Based Foods
You have possibly heard the hype that soy is the new miracle food for your heart’s health. On the contrary, there are many health risks related to soy. Soy and soy-based foods can disrupt your hormones and impair your thyroid function. Also, they are overly processed and genetically modified. Soy is rich in phytates which block the absorption of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc. It is also full of trypsin inhibitors which can interfere with protein digestion and cause pancreatic disorders. It is bad for bone health and can increase the body’s need for vitamin D.
Genetically modified soy tends to be more allergenic, anti-nutritional, carcinogenic, and toxic. This can impair the function of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine functions making you gain more weight. The estrogen-like compounds in soy products can stimulate fat cells to grow and multiply causing the body to make more fat tissue. If you want to safeguard your health from the mentioned risks and also lose your body weight, stay away from soy and soy-based foods.3
3. Processed Fast Foods
Almost 90% of what you eat is processed food. Processed foods are stripped of essential nutrients and minerals and hence are not beneficial for your health. They usually contain corn, soy, or gluten which individually is associated with its own health risks. Processed foods are also laden with artificial preservatives and colors which are carcinogenic. Many processed foods are high in fat and sugar and are energy-dense.
The energy density of foods and insufficient calorie expenditure can increase the accumulation of fat in the body making it hard to lose weight. It tends to increase insulin resistance and promote the onset of diabetes and heart disease. Choose healthy unrefined foods over processed ones to lose weight the natural way.4
4. Sugar And Artificial Sweeteners
Consumption of sugar, sweetened beverages, and carbonated drinks can be a key contributor to obesity. Sweet and starchy foods can raise blood sugar which increases insulin and causes inflammation. Artificial sweeteners are bad for you and have no place in a healthy diet. They might cause a phenomenon called calorie dysregulation using which your body loses the ability to correlate the degree of the food’s sweetness to the number of calories it contains thus making you ingest more of the food.
They also induce metabolic derangements that cause weight gain. Large quantities of sugar trigger your body to produce stress hormones that cause weight gain. Sugar is not the only sweetener that goes by many names. Many additives like corn syrup are high in fructose content. If you see a label that includes any item relating to sweeteners or other agents that contain sugar, you need to put the food down if you want to achieve weight loss.5
5. Trans-Fat Rich Foods
Avoid damaged trans-fats to lose weight. Any oil that is rancid, refined, or hydrogenated is damaged fat. Damaged fats change the structure of your cell walls and make you more resistant to the messages from your hormones including insulin and leptin, setting you up to put on weight and keep it on. Trans fats are also associated with the increase in bad cholesterol, the risk of heart disease, and high blood pressure.6
A diet high in trans fats can lead to weight gain even if the total number of calories consumed remains the same. Trans fats cause increased weight gain around the abdomen, a major risk factor for heart disease. They are found in nearly all packaged or commercially baked or processed foods. Avoid refined oils, fried foods, pastries, candy, packaged snacks, chips, donuts, and cookies. These f0ods are high in trans or hydrogenated fats which are harmful to your health.7
Instead of consuming inflammatory fats from processed foods, soy, gluten and the like, switch to anti-inflammatory fats that can aid weight loss from wild fish, raw nuts, and seeds, extra virgin olive oil, fruits, and veggies. Get rid of sugar, artificial sweeteners and high glycemic foods from your diet for effective weight loss and optimal health.
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