By Nicolette M. Pace MS, RD, CDE, CDN, CFCS
Watching what you eat and then blowing the hard work on the foods below? Double density diet don’ts defeat your diligence. These items pack a super high punch in calories from fat and sugar and due to low volume, water and fiber content will not make you feel as full as some other choices that can give you a better bang for your calorie buck.
1) Nibbles and Noshes: Super seasoned starters are a sneak preview of the critical mass that will kick in for the rest of the meal. Meal mistakes can begin before your entrée arrives and are especially troublesome for a hungry palate. Kick out the 4 digit calorie tidbits like fried cheese, meat fingers and piled on high nachos. Instead, look for a light soup or salad to take the edge off your hunger not saturate your taste buds with grease and salt.
2) Stacked, Packed and Ready to Attack: Pull the trigger with a sizzling 3-way jumbo combo or a quadruple overload for as much collateral damage as you can get. Melted meals or stuffed sides take you way out of the calorie world. Dense and concentrated, a one meal splurge will leave you with a hard to recover rehab for the rest of the week. Instead, go for meals that are jammed with high volume, high fiber veggies and are based on lean proteins like fish or chicken. You will feel full and satisfied and stay on your mark.
3) Heavy Munchie Suicide: Crunchy cravings lead to sticks and chips that blow your hips. These light-as-a-feather bags of carbs have the natural water content of the food replaced by fat from frying. Couple that to the “I can’t eat just one” seasoning to inflict maximum carnage in the impossible to put down bag of heavy calorie air. Between meal eating is a time to bridge the hunger gap until the next sit down not smuggle in calories and wreck your routine. Go for crunch in raw veggies and use low fat dressing to hold you until mealtime.
4) Lethal Liquids and the Beverage Blues: Suck up and slurp any of the most trendy toasts or bubbly boozes for a belly bomb and a widening waistline. Cozy coffees and fabulous frappes lead to a liver clogging river craving for the liquid plumber. Creamy coolers and swirled smoothies also top the list of weighty ways to stay hydrated. Go for the royal flush with pure water with any number of infused ingredients like citrus or berry juice for added flavor. Herbs like mint and ginger refresh and tone your system and are calorie free!
5) Sweet Emotion: When the going gets tough, sugar gets going. Feeling fatigued or stressed signals sweets making it easy to reach for the giant delights and donut bites that can finish you off. Stepping into a pothole of morsel madness or crusted clusters can coat your blood cells with sticky sugar and cause chaos. No matter how full you feel your brain will override this when sweets are in the picture. Try to work with nature and finish your meal with fruit or a small piece of chocolate for a lift and some health benefit…better yet try a power nap.
Be Healthy, Be Happy!
Nicolette M. Pace MS, RD, CDE, CDN, CFCS
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