How to Lose Weight Fast: Eliminate the Four Food Demons

The four food demons that ruin your health and your figure are fat, sodium, sugar and additives. Reduce these demons and you will reduce your weight and improve your health.

• Fat is an easy demon to spot. You can detect it on foods by looking and feeling. Slice off the visible fat on meats and say no to foods that look or feel greased up like hamburgers, bacon, and greasy sauces. I’m not suggesting you never eat fat—your body actually needs some fat. I’m suggesting you keep your “fat feasts” to a minimum level.

• Sodium itself causes temporary water-retention weight gain. But it’s the foods in which you typically find high levels of salt that are the culprits. High levels of salt in our diets usually come from calorie dense, fiber poor, processed foods like fast food and restaurant meals, supermarket packaged/canned foods including those labeled low and no fat. Conversely, if you adhere to a low salt diet, it will likely consist of the lower calorie, healthier foods associated with weight loss. By the way, a high sodium diet is a fast track to high blood pressure.

• Sugar is another demon that permeates our food. Everyone expects high sugar content in sweet desserts like cakes, puddings, and cookies but it may surprise you to know how much sugar is in other foods. How can you attack this problem? First, plan on sugar in most packaged/canned foods and limit your intake of these foods. Now think about the per-serving sugar in: fat-free yogurt (27 grams), sports drinks (28 grams), pasta and barbecue sauce (12 grams), Vitamin and Energy Drinks (32 grams) to mention a few. You can unlock the sugar dilemma by simply reading the package labels.

•Additives with unpronounceable names are typically found in almost all processed, packaged and canned foods that are high in calories and cause weight gain. Many of these additives are actually harmful. Again, read labels and only choose foods that contain ingredient names you can pronounce—not unknown chemicals.

Simple isn’t it? Your most important attack weapon is willpower.

Photo: arizonamarathonnutrition

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