Chimichangas. Pork rinds. Cool Whip. These naughty nibbles make you pay with higher cholesterol, rising blood pressure and soaring numbers on the scale. With snacks like these, who needs enemies? Still, none of us are dieting angels all the time. But if you're going to lapse, at the very least you can cut the worst offenders from your grab bag. Read on to see which foods need to stay on the forbidden list. Plus, substitutes you'll love…
More than half of all Americans actually believe they are in good or excellent health, according to a recent survey by Cigna HealthCare, a major health care company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
More than half of all Americans actually believe they are in good or excellent health, according to a recent survey by Cigna HealthCare, a major health care company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The other half thinks they could stand to lose a little weight, about 10 pounds.
Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese – and apparently slightly deluded.
The bottom line: Americans eat too much and exercise too little.
And the calories we eat tend not to be from foods that offer the most nutrition for the fewest calories, like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy foods.
Instead many of us flock to less-than-nutritious foods: processed cheese that squirts from a can, frosted pastries filled with sugary jam, anything deep-fried. We zip toward sugar, salt and fat like babies to their bottles.
The result: We eat, but we're not truly fed.
The solution?
Going into deprivation mode won't help your resolve. But knowing what the worst choices are – and their savory substitutes – can help you make lasting improvements to your diet… and waistline.
2. Non-Dairy Topping
Tasty as they are, these toppings are mostly corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil (stuff you don't want floating around in your arteries). One tablespoon is 32 calories – and who stops at just one? More than likely, you pile on the whip until you can't even see what dessert you started out with.
Substitute: Low-fat vanilla yogurt. The same amount has half the calories, plus a healthy dose of calcium.
3. Doughnuts
White flour, vegetable shortening, white sugar, deep fried. Need we say more? One glazed Krispy Kreme packs 200 calories and 12 grams of fat, including saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, all heart stoppers. An old-fashioned cake donut has 300 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrates and 19 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat and 4 grams of trans fat. The American Heart Association recommends that only 30% of our diet come from fat; that's about 65 grams in a 2,000-calorie daily diet. Throw down a couple of doughnuts with your coffee and your daily fat quota is sunk.
Substitute: Whole grain bagels. Half of a Pepperidge Farm multi-grain bagel has 125 calories, 3 grams of fat and 3.5 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber.
The 10 Worst Foods
1. Chips
One ounce of potato chips has 152 calories and 10 grams of fat (3 grams of which are artery-clogging saturated fat). If you munch on a one-ounce handful three times a week, in one year you will have added 23,400 calories to your diet and about seven pounds to your waistline. And remember, that's just one small handful – much less than most adults snack on at a time.
Substitute: Rice and popcorn cakes have come a long way. Now available in a variety of flavors, you can satisfy a salty craving without hitting the chips. Pick up Quaker's Quakes Rice Snacks or Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn Cakes instead – both have less than 100 calories per serving.
1. Chips
One ounce of potato chips has 152 calories and 10 grams of fat (3 grams of which are artery-clogging saturated fat). If you munch on a one-ounce handful three times a week, in one year you will have added 23,400 calories to your diet and about seven pounds to your waistline. And remember, that's just one small handful – much less than most adults snack on at a time.
Substitute: Rice and popcorn cakes have come a long way. Now available in a variety of flavors, you can satisfy a salty craving without hitting the chips. Pick up Quaker's Quakes Rice Snacks or Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn Cakes instead – both have less than 100 calories per serving.
For a more exotic crunch, try edamame (steamed soybeans with salt), which you can find in the freezer section of your local grocery store. One-half cup provides 11 grams of protein, 10 grams of carbs and six grams of filling fiber.
2. Non-Dairy Topping
Tasty as they are, these toppings are mostly corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil (stuff you don't want floating around in your arteries). One tablespoon is 32 calories – and who stops at just one? More than likely, you pile on the whip until you can't even see what dessert you started out with.
Substitute: Low-fat vanilla yogurt. The same amount has half the calories, plus a healthy dose of calcium.
3. Doughnuts
White flour, vegetable shortening, white sugar, deep fried. Need we say more? One glazed Krispy Kreme packs 200 calories and 12 grams of fat, including saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, all heart stoppers. An old-fashioned cake donut has 300 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrates and 19 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat and 4 grams of trans fat. The American Heart Association recommends that only 30% of our diet come from fat; that's about 65 grams in a 2,000-calorie daily diet. Throw down a couple of doughnuts with your coffee and your daily fat quota is sunk.
Substitute: Whole grain bagels. Half of a Pepperidge Farm multi-grain bagel has 125 calories, 3 grams of fat and 3.5 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber.
What's not to love: long strips of fettuccine drenched with butter, cream and parmesan cheese. Eat a forkful of that comfort food and all your worries disappear – until your next physical. A three-ounce serving (think the size of your fist) has 543 calories and 33 grams of fat (19 of which are saturated).
Substitute: Whole-wheat fettuccine with marinara sauce. One cup of whole-wheat pasta has 197 calories and almost 4 grams of fiber. Add half a cup of marinara sauce for only 92 calories and just three grams of fat (one saturated).
5. Sausages
Most of us have never met a sausage we didn't like. Drench them with maple syrup at breakfast or boil them in beer for the big game and you've got a crowd-pleaser every time. Unfortunately, a single pork sausage link packs 217 calories and 19.5 grams of fat – definitely not a waistline whittler.
Substitute: Chicken or turkey sausage. Five links of Aidell's chicken apple sausage have only 100 calories and 8 grams of fat (2.5 saturated). Or go vegetarian: Boca Italian sausage made from soy protein has 130 calories per 2.5 ounce serving, six grams of fat and 13 grams of lean protein.
6. Fried Chicken
A fried chicken breast has nearly 400 calories and 22 grams of fat. The Colonel wouldn't be happy to hear this, but those heaping platters of fried fowl have got to go.
Substitute: Grilled, skinless chicken breasts. Rub chicken breasts with a fiery spice rub like a green chile-lime seasoning, throw them on the grill and you've got great flavor for 189 calories per four-ounce breast.
7. Imitation Cheese in a Can
Hard as it is to believe, some people really love this stuff. But they ignore their protesting hearts: Two tablespoons – about the amount you'd put on two crackers – pumps in 276 calories and 21 grams of fat (13 grams of which are saturated).
Substitute: Blend a can of chickpeas with one fourth cup of tahini (a sesame seed paste available in any grocery), a few garlic gloves, some lemon juice, olive oil, a little ground cumin, and scoop the hummus up with warm pita bread. Hummus couldn't be better for your heart; it's full of fiber and protein – and a quarter cup has only 60 calories and five grams of fat.
8. French Fries
One large order (six ounces) of fast food fries has 570 calories, half of which are from fat (which is why, of course, we love them). If your restaurant order also includes 8 or 9 onion rings, add 276 calories and 16 grams of fat to your burgeoning waistline.
Substitute: Okay, this may sound weird, but saut̩ed tempeh, a fermented rice and soy mixture you can find in the refrigerated health-food section, can be used to make healthier French fries. Just slice, sprinkle with soy sauce and saut̩ in a little olive oil until brown. A half cup Рabout three or four half-inch slices Рhas 197 calories, is loaded with protein and offers a good source of iron, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6.
9. Spongy White Bread
You might as well have a candy bar. It offers little other than 65 calories per slice of white flour, a simple and rapidly digested carbohydrate that causes your blood sugar to rise and crash, like any simple sugar.
Substitute: Whole grain bread. For the same number of calories, a slice of whole-wheat bread offers nutty flavor, two grams of heart-healthy fiber plus protein and nutrients like selenium, magnesium and potassium.
10. Fried Wontons
These delicate little triangles, often filled with meat, shrimp or cream cheese, are deep-fried to a crispy crunch. Unfortunately, just four crab and cream cheese-filled wontons pack 311 calories and 19 grams of fat, too greasy a treat for anyone trying to stay fit.
Substitute: For a little crunch, try brown-rice sesame crackers. Five have just 140 calories and six grams of fat, one gram of fiber and a hefty dose of calcium. Just don't eat the whole bagful.
How Calorie-Conscious Are You?
One of the great secrets of weight loss isn't such a secret after all - limit the number of calories you consume each day and you'll lose weight. While calorie counting can be tedious, gaining a basic knowledge of which foods will send you into a diet trap is easy.
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