The Dirty Dozen- So Called ‘Healthy’ Foods To Avoid To Lose Weight

So many people struggle every day with diets that do far more harm than good to lose weight and get themselves in shape. Thanks to the multi-billion dollar bonanza created by the public need for weight loss solutions companies spend an enormous amount of money to influence what we think is healthy. From public relations campaigns where their products and foods are touted in the press and endorsed by celebrities and at times government organizations to studies funded by food lobby groups to find healthy attributes in foods with questionable health properties.

Never before has it been harder to get unbiased information on what you should and should not eat if you want to lose weight, stay healthy and avoid diet related diseases. The misconceptions are so numerous that I thought I might help a bit by going over the definitive no-no’s to keeping your tummy tight and your body in the best shape possible. Remember that words like ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ are marketing terms that refer to the foods ingredient but have no bearing on whether the food is actually good for you or not. Nightshade berries for example are organic, natural and are high in vitamins anti-oxidants – but it doesn’t make it a good idea to eat it as it is the most poisonous plant in the Western Hemisphere! The same applies to our foods- don’t be mislead by hype about the great properties a food product is supposed to have- in fact I would venture to say that the more of a health food it is supposed to be the more you should avoid it! We are today eating more ‘organic’ and ‘health’ foods in the United States than ever before but our rates of obesity and diet related ailments continue to climb so obviously there is something fundamentally wrong with Western processed foods. Here is my definitive dirty dozen of hidden dangers in what most refer to as healthy foods:

‘Healthy’ Foods To Avoid To Lose Weight

12. Bran Muffins 

It always amazes me that people still think that there is some inherent good in having bran muffins for breakfast. Trust me, there isn’t, even though they do contain some fiber, bran muffins are notoriously high in sugar and have a very high glycemic index. It is are refined carbohydrate and often also contains a fair amount of partially hydrogenated oils- (trans fats)- exactly what you want to stay away from if you want to get into shape. Carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index will give you a nice sugar rush, followed by a nasty crash. Whenever your body consumes a high glycemic rated food your insulin levels will go up dramatically. Increased insulin levels make your body store fat– which I am sure is not your goal nor are they healthy for your body as over time it can lead to pancreatic problems and the onset of type 2 diabetes. The key is to eat only complex carbohydrates that are naturally occurring foods not their refined cousins that are man made.

11. Juices

“You must drink orange juice everyday to be healthy and get your Vitamin C!” is what most of us grew up hearing. Oddly enough, fruit juices are devoid of almost all naturally occurring vitamins as the refinement process destroys them and thus vitamins have to be added back into it. Basically when you drink a glass of orange juice all the vitamin C that you are getting comes from a dissolved vitamin tablet (which explains the taste) which our body cannot use as efficiently as a naturally occurring source. Juices of all kinds should be avoided if you are really trying to slim down as they are high in simple sugars and low in fiber. As strange as it may seem but juices are very much a foreign entity to our bodies as we are not at all designed to drink them. In nature, sugar occurs in fruits in the presence of fiber. This fiber is a key factor in how our body processes the sugars and serves to reduce any severe spikes in insulin levels after consuming it. The naturally occurring fiber also helps tell our brain when enough is enough. Anyone can easily drink a glass of apple juice in a couple of seconds but it takes anywhere from 6-8 apples to make one glass of juice and our bodies are not made to ingest that many apples at one time. In fact I don’t know of too many people that could eat more than one or two apples at a sitting as the high fiber content would prevent you from overdoing it. Take away the fiber by juicing it and voila you have just transformed a perfectly healthy food into a refined food product that isn’t good for your health or your waistline.

Don’t fall for the nonsense marketing of the health benefits of juicing- it’s a great way to sell juicers but don’t think that you can get your servings of vegetables and fruits by gulping down a glass- even vegetable become refined food products if you use a juicer because the concentration is unnatural to our bodies. So if you want the nutrition of a fruit and vegetables just do what we’ve been doing for the past 150,000 years without any problems- just eat fruit and vegetables.  You’ll lose weight, save money and stay healthier.

10. Soda.

There is no getting around it, soda is evil. Every year Americans guzzle over 15 billion gallons of it and I cannot understand why. Simply put, soda is loaded with empty calories and simple sugars. One can of soda exceeds your USDA recommendation of sugar requirements for the entire day! What about diet soda, you ask? That couldn’t be too bad,  right? Wrong! Diet sodas contain high amounts of phosphoric acid, which can destroy your teeth and gums. The phosphorous in soda also weakens bones by interfering with calcium absorption. Additional studies have found that diet soda also can lead to weight gain.  So don’t fool yourself at the checkout window by thinking that you are doing yourself a service by having the diet soda instead of the regular kind. Having a diet soda instead of a regular one like jumping from the 70th floor instead of the 75th. The only healthy choice is a little known beverage called water but thankfully it isn’t that hard to find.

9. Processed Meats.

Lunch meats and cold cuts are among the most disgusting and revolting foods on the planet and I intrigued by the fact that they are allowed to get away with labels that proclaim some form of health benefit. You’ll see tags saying that they are ‘99% fat free’ and such but it is still junk and really bad for you. Pregnant women are advised to avoid cold cuts and deli meats and for good reason. Keep in mind that these meats have only a quarter of the protein value of real meat per serving size. The other 75% is made up of preservatives and nitrates designed to keep them ‘fresh’ as well as fillers and binders made from questionable animal parts to make up the extra weight. Consider how old the meat that you are eating might be– do you really think eating meat that is several months old is a good idea? The extremely high sodium levels also won’t help your blood pressure and your physique. But there is more cause for alarm,  according to a recent study in the journal Circulation- eating just one serving a day of processed meats like bacon, sausage and deli meats was associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and 19% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Interestingly enough, there were no risks at all associated with eating the much maligned red meat as long as it was unprocessed. Remember our forefathers ate red meat for hundreds of thousands of years without any problems- it’s the processed meats that will kill you.

8. Cereal.

Here’s the deal, if you start your day with cereal, resign yourself to end it without looking and feeling great. Most cereals claim to be low in fat and that may be so, but they are still highly refined and processed, which means that most of the inherently good nutrients are lost. Refined carbohydrates also have a high glycemic index, which we talked about earlier which will make you ‘crash and burn’ as well as help put on some unwanted pounds. All cereals are bad, and many are high in sodium as well even the so called ‘organic cereals’. Be smart and stay away and keep your kids away from it as well. You are better off eating something like oats as a carbohydrate source in the morning for breakfast. Read my article on oatmeal as a breakfast food here.

7. Alcohol.

Quite often I my clients whether or not they drink and the answer is often “Only a little on social occasions.” I have been able to catalog the effects of alcohol consumption on the weight loss progress of my clients over the past fifteen years and my notes clearly show that as little as one drink a week reduces the rate of weight loss by as much as 50 to 75% when compared to non-drinkers on the same diet and training program. This holds true for all ages and levels of fitness and comes with a significant decrease in performance during training as well. There is a great deal of media coverage given to to research about the benefits of moderate alcohol intake in reducing your chance of heart disease (thanks to a lot of money spent by wine and alcohol lobbies). Granted there may indeed be benefits, but there other, safer ways to reduce your likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease, like good nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight. Last time I checked alcohol didn’t help too much with the latter two categories and the risks far outweigh the benefits. Alcohol contains 7 empty calories per gram. It can also wreak havoc on your hormone levels, damage your liver, dehydrate you, depress you, impair your judgment, addict you and leave you with an always fashionable beer belly. Keep in mind as well that the positive studies were underwritten by the wine industry and aren’t by any means conclusive. Read my article on alcohol and weight loss here.

Read part 2 of Healthy Foods To Avoid To Lose Weight

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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Contrary to popular belief natural carbohydrates like rice eaten in moderation will not make you fat.

Carbohydrates & Weight Loss- Low Carbs Are Not The Answer

Part 2 of 2- See the first post here: Carbohydrates & Weight Loss- A Low Carb Diet Isn’t The Answer

Mention the word weight loss and most people think of cutting their carbs. The truth is that carbohydrates are not a food group to be severely restricted if you are trying to lose weight as carbohydrates are necessary for so many metabolic functions in our body. Carbs are broken down into glucose which is the primary fuel source of the cells in your body, including your muscles and your brain. Without adequate consumption you will feel fatigued and  experience a noticeable loss of energy. You will also have a difficult time concentrating since your brain will  literally be low on fuel and your body will be forced to burn off valuable muscle to fuel itself. Not a good thing at all. So we have established the importance of carbs as our body’s primary fuel source and thus negated the idea of taking too many of them out of our diet. Now we are going to look at where the problems can arise.

The Link Between Modern Refined Carbohydrates & Weight Gain

As I mentioned earlier in my previous post refined carbohydrates are usually made from white flour products and have a high glycemic index. This means that they cause huge spikes in insulin levels. The body then tends to over compensate for this spike so you experience a sugar-high followed by a sugar low that creates a sense of urgent hunger causing you to gravitate toward similar foods that elicit the same response. (Sound familiar).  The pancreas then has to work overtime making insulin to store glucose and triglycerides and depending on your genetics; this can set the stage for adult onset diabetes. This up and down experience with blood sugar levels also gives rise a condition known as hypoglycemia. One of the unfortunate side effects of hypoglycemia is again that urgent and unbearable hunger and a need to eat much more calories than the body needs. The  result- you get fat.

Eating too many carbohydrates is so easy with today’s low fiber refined carb sources it can indeed make you fat. When you ingest excess amounts of carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels increase triggering your pancreas to release insulin, like we said before. Insulin controls where blood sugar is stored. Some of it is used for energy, and some is stored in the muscles as glycogen (the stored form of sugar). Since your body can store only a certain amount as glycogen, the excess is stored as fat. Insulin also prevents existing fat from being used as energy.  Having continuously high insulin levels means  continually storing the carbohydrates as fat while keeping the fat you already have. These two aforementioned factors are the among the main reasons  two thirds of the population of the US is overweight!

The Refined Carbohydrates-Trans Fat Link

Note also that most of the refined carbohydrates today are made with trans fatty acids. There is a great deal of research that has shown that trans fatty acids (usually listed as partially hydrogenated oils) can elevate your bad cholesterol levels and increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease. There are also some studies that suggest that it may damages blood vessels. Crafty manufacturers don’t list it but fortunately legislation is being passed to force them to do so. What carbohydrate sources contain trans fatty acids you ask? You may not like the answer- French Fries, donuts, potato chips and even crackers. You can find them by reading the ingredient listing, if you see partially hydrogenated oil listed put it down.

The Dangers of Refined Carbohydrates Like Soda & Juices

The other reason carbohydrates is given a bad rap is the other deadly sinful indulgence of the average American- soda and fruit juice. We all know (I hope) that soda is bad but so are ‘100% natural juices’. Again here you have a large amount of carbohydrate in the form of  corn syrup and table sugar with no fiber- so you can drink it forever whereas you could never eat the dozens of fruits used to make one bottle of fruit juice because of their fiber content. I should also mention the relationship between simple sugars and mucus formation. The biochemical name for mucus is mucopolysaccharide which means “mucus of many sugars.” Mucus  is basically formed through the linking together of sugar molecules. If you have a condition, such as asthma in which mucus is part of the problem, you can do yourself a lot of good by minimizing your intake of simple sugars and refined foods.

Some Useful Carb Strategies for Weight Loss

Here’s what you need to do to keep your carb intake form affecting your waistline:

• Educate Yourself. Get a book or chart detailing the glycemic index of the foods that you eat along with their macronutrient and fiber makeup.  

• Eat only fruits and vegetables with a relatively low glycemic index of under 50- (all fruits are not created equal).  

• Avoid processed and refined carbohydrates

• Check labels for high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, and partially hydrogenated oils.– and stay away from them!

• Make sure that the carbohydrates that you eat are in as natural a state as possible .

• Eat only carb sources that are high in fiber -(since fiber is not digested if you eat a food with 15 grams of carbs and 8 grams of fiber you are only really getting 7 grams of carbs.)

• If you have to eat things like cold cereal pasta or a bread product make sure it has over 3 grams of fiber per serving and is low in simple sugars- (that eliminates a lot on the market but if you look hard enough you can them out there)

• Remember that milk contains a significant amount of sugar.– and stay away from it! You also don’t need it for its calcium. Milk is also a poor source of calcium in comparison to foods such as kelp and sardines. Trust me– you don’t need it!

• Don’t eat a lot of carbohydrates and a lot of fats at the same time. Fettucine Alfredo, donuts and French Fries are all exercises in weight gain.

• Consume an adequate supply of water at all times.

• Eat 5 to 6 small meals daily,  always eating before you get hungry! If you wait until you are starving you are going crave  everything that is bad for you!
Now everyone is different based on activity levels and body composition, and as such each individual must determine exactly how much carbohydrates that you need. If you feel sleepy after a carb meal- you’ve eaten too much.  Remember this is not a natural process and feeling sluggish after a meal isn’t something to enjoy, it’s a hint that you are doing something wrong. Spread out your carbohydrate intake throughout the day, taking in most of it earlier in the day and eating less and less as the day winds down. Keep in mind the adage,

“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.”

Even though carbohydrates are an essential part of a balanced diet the idea is not to overdo it and if you stick to only natural sources, you’ll find that it really isn’t that hard!

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

Carbohydrates and weight loss- not an either or proposition

Carbohydrates and Weight Loss- You Don’t Need Low Carb Diets

The era of the Atkins type low carbohydrate diets for weight loss are mercifully over, however many persist in the belief that dropping their carbohydrates is still a viable way to lose weight. It is important to acknowledge that even the most dedicated among us cannot diet strictly by severely restricting their carbohydrate intake for a prolonged period of time- our body simply is not designed for such long term deprivation of an important fuel source and as many who have tried it can attest- you will eventually succumb to overwhelming food cravings, overeat and regain all of the weight lost if not more. There are no secrets nor are there any magical ways to lose weight safely and efficiently. Proper weight loss must follow a sensible and realistic progression towards lifestyle change and must incorporate a comprehensive exercise plan that is both practical and possible in the long run. That being said contrary to popular opinion, you can indeed eat an adequate supply of naturally occurring high fiber carbohydrates and still lose weight the problems start when we substitute modern refined carbohydrates for natural ones.

Our Weight Loss Problems Come From Refined Carbohydrates

When it comes to the refined carbohydrates of today, our bodies still have yet to come to terms with the changes in food supply brought on by the industrialization of our food supply and our bodies are not designed to handle a large influx of carbohydrates at one time. You see in nature, all carbohydrates are very high in fiber and thus you really can’t consume too much of them at a time. However with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 19^thCentury to support an ever growing population we found a way to refine naturally occurring carbohydrates and to stretch the supply and in the process we were able to make once fibrous carbohydrate foods ‘light and tasty’ by removing significant amounts of the naturally occurring fiber during the refinement process. In doing we changed the glycemic index of the naturally occurring carbohydrate and created a product that our body does not really recognize. By changing the glycemic index of  carbohydrate food source not only does this affect the way that it is processed metabolically in our bodies, but it also makes it ridiculously easy for us to consume large amounts at one time.

Modern Bread As An Example Of A Healthy Carbohydrate Source Made Into An Unhealthy Food Product

Consider the eating habits of the average human before the coming of refined carbohydrate foods such as doughnuts, boxed cereals, packaged cookies and the host of refined flour products of today. Bread for example has been a staple in the diets of many cultures for thousands of years, however with the development of steel milling, the flour of today isn’t the stone ground flour of old, filled with fiber and much needed omega-3 and protein from the wheat germ. The combination of a higher fiber content, the healthy fats and interestingly enough, the larger surface area of stone ground flour served to slow the processing of the sugars in our body and thus there were no unhealthy insulin spikes from eating products made from these forms of stone ground flour. Today’s flour is so finely refined that the fiber content is significantly lower or non-existent even in the so called whole wheat varieties and the wheat germ and healthy fats are removed.

Bread Isn’t The Problem- Our Refinement Process Is The Problem

This is done to extend the shelf life of modern flour as the oils contained in wheat germ quickly spoil. The finely ground powder is also far more appealing than the course yellowish flour that our forefathers consumed, but sadly the increased surface area exposed to our digestive enzymes from such finely milled flour products increases the rate of conversion into glucose thus giving us an unnatural spike in our insulin levels as a consequence. Add to this the fact that breads were made mainly of only water, yeast and flour and you can see clearly that the multi-ingredient products that we see on the supermarket shelves are not in any way related to the breads that we have eaten without health problems for the past several thousand years- no matter how much they label it as ‘healthy’, ‘organic’ or ‘all natural’.

Before our food industrialization, and the slew of junk food carbohydrates that it spawned, metabolic diseases were nowhere near as prevalent as it is today. In non industrialized societies type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are very rare indeed and we can thank our modern technology for our current state of affairs.

Continued here in Carbohydrates and Weight Loss-  You Don’t Need to Be Afraid Of Carbs

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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There are no advantages to using sea salt over refined salt- both are equally bad for you!

Sea Salt Is Not Better Than Regular Salt And You Should Avoid Them Both

There are no advantages to eating sea salt nor is sea salt better than regular salt. Sadly it all comes down to marketing- and the fact that most processed foods today are extremely high in sodium and there is a great need to make them appear to be as healthy as possible. Today sea salt is one of the latest in the fraudulent game of let’s-make-some-money-by-labeling-this-product-as-healthy a game that unfortunately has pushed as further and further down the path to poor health. Never before in history have we had so many foods labeled ‘healthy’, ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ and yet never before have we had so many food related illnesses. The mantra of modern advertising is based on the idea that if a piece of information is continuously presented as being factual- it will be publicly accepted as truth. This strategy, used by such iconic figures in history such as Joseph Goebbels, works wonders for marketers to encourage us to label certain foods as healthy and thus steer sales towards their products, but does little to address public health. The truth is that chemically and nutritionally the main ingredient of sea salt and table salt are exactly the same- sodium chloride. There is and cannot be any differences since they are pretty much identical chemically and have the same effects on your body. The only difference is in taste and texture. Sea salt comes from sea water through the process of evaporation, whereas table salt comes from mined mineral deposits of rock salt. Table salt may also have additives to prevent it from clumping together and sea salt has other minerals that give it a different flavor. Table salt is usually ground down to a fine texture and iodine is added to it, whereas sea salt which is less processed retains its natural levels of iodine- which is key to proper thyroid function. Salt is most people’s main source of this important mineral but it is also found in seafood, mushrooms, spinach and other greens and before the advent of high sodium processed foods this is is where we got most of our iodine from. 

You Don’t Need Added Salt of Any Kind In Your Foods- Sea Salt Or Otherwise

A central argument used to promote sea salt over regular salt is that the iodine in sea salt is naturally occurring whereas it has to be added to refined salt products. As great as this may sound, as far as your body is concerned there is no difference in the way it is processed and any minerals found in sea salt can be easily found in other natural food sources. Now should you choose sea salt over table salt since table salt may have some artificial additives, the answer is no, since you should not use either form in your everyday life if you are serious about taking care of your health. Although your body needs some sodium to function properly, most people consume far more than they need to. Some experts recommend an intake for healthy adults of anywhere from 1,500 milligrams to 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily which works out to just about 1 teaspoonful. (The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has no official sodium recommendation.) Most people here in the United States take in anywhere from 2,700 to as much as 7000 milligrams a day and over three quarters of that comes from eating processed foods. Most people who have high salt intakes don’t realize it as many sodium laden foods don’t taste salty. These include sweet snacks, breakfast cereals and many low fat foods. 

The Less Salt You Eat- The Lower Your Risk Of Disease

Many disagree with the figures recommended for adequate sodium intake and the  American Medical Association  has estimated that 150,000 lives could be saved each year if Americans cut their salt intake in half. There are also cite observations of ‘primitive’ hunter gather societies where their daily intake is far lower at about 690 milligrams a day from meat and plant sources. In these societies their low sodium, high potassium and calcium diet seems to keep their blood pressure constant over the years while here in developed countries blood pressure tends to rise with age. Hypertension in these societies is also very rare and salt is not a regular part of their diet. The detrimental effects of a high salt intake are well documented and it makes no difference whether the salt ingested is refined or sea salt. High sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease and the evidence between dietary salt intake and high blood pressure continues to increase. Interestingly enough a large scale study published in the British Medical Journal found that people with high to normal blood pressure who significantly reduced the amount of salt in their diet decreased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 25% over the course of 10 to 15 years. Additionally their overall risk of dying from heart disease also dropped by 20%. A high salt intake has also been linked to higher incidences of osteoporosis, gastric cancer and fluid retention. 

Cutting Salt Out Of Your Diet Isn’t As Hard As It Seems

It would be great to think that by consuming only sea salt that somehow you would be able to avoid the ill effects of a high sodium diet, but the reality of our biological history seems to point in the direction that salt of any kind should not be a food additive and that we should avoid processed foods with added salt- be it sea salt or its refined cousin. The good news is that while switching to a low salt diet intake can appear to be a daunting task after a period of only two to four weeks your taste buds will adjust and you lose the taste for salted foods. Over time foods with even trace amounts of added salt will be overwhelming to your senses and you will find yourself naturally gravitating towards foods with no added salt. You will be surprised how great foods can taste without salt and how better you will feel overall. 

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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