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
Your posts are always excellent and very helpful.
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By: Loreen Lee on July 26, 2010
at 11:21 am
Sugar is the worst, by far. And all the additives. 😦
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By: csd on July 26, 2010
at 12:16 pm
Sugar is in everything. By the way, thanks for your advice about titling a blog post using the word, How.
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By: nancycurteman on July 26, 2010
at 2:47 pm
*looks at cheeseburger, fries and Coke*
*shudders*
*closes eyes and dives in*
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By: aardvarkian on July 26, 2010
at 12:56 pm
Ooooh! Sounds scary good.
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By: nancycurteman on July 26, 2010
at 2:48 pm
Will power = the ability to ignore the chocolate cake devilishly whispering, “Eat me.” : )
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By: nrhatch on July 26, 2010
at 1:11 pm
Women need chocolate. Maybe it’s okay to accept the chocolate cake’s devilish invitation.
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By: nancycurteman on July 26, 2010
at 2:49 pm
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sal Pou, Nancy Curteman. Nancy Curteman said: How to Lose Weight Fast: Eliminate the Four Food Demons: http://wp.me/pNbRC-ck […]
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By: Tweets that mention How to Lose Weight Fast: Eliminate the Four Food Demons « Global Mysteries -- Topsy.com on July 26, 2010
at 4:29 pm
I read Dr. Perricone’s book on weight loss, became very much convinced I should stop eating sugar. I did that and lost weight steadily. I didn’t give up anything else, yet the pounds rolled off. Not to give your bloggers the wrong impression, I have to add that I had already stopped serving processed foods favoring fresh vegetables. You may think you quit sugar and high salt, but if you consume a lot of processed or restaurant food, you are eating more sugar, salt and chemicals than you may think. Thank you for sharing this information. I put those pounds back on when I began to relax my standards. Ah, yeah, but there is hope. I’ll be back.
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By: Carol Ann Hoel on July 27, 2010
at 7:25 am
You are so right about sugar. You find it in almost all foods. I read a book titled Sugar Blues that stated sugar could even be found in some salt substitutes.
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By: nancycurteman on July 27, 2010
at 8:39 am
[…] 10 Steps to a Healthier Future July 28, 2010 Posted by nrhatch in Awareness, Book Reviews, Embrace Change, Exercise & Fitness, Fabulous Food, Go Green, Go Vegetarian, Guest Blogger, Happiness, Health & Wellness, Less is More, Life Balance, Meditation, Sage Advice, Serenity, Sustainable Living, Yoga. Tags: Awareness, Book Reviews, Consumer Reports, Embrace Change, Exercise & Fitness, Fabulous Food, Go Green, Go Vegetarian, Guess Blogger, Happiness, Health & Wellness, Less is More, Life Balance, Meditation, Nancy Curteman, On Health, Sage Advice, Serenity, Sustainable Living, The Best of Health, Yog trackback Nancy Curteman posted an informative article the other day, How To Lose Weight Fast: Eliminate the Four Food Demons. […]
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By: 10 Steps to a Healthier Future « Spirit Lights The Way on July 28, 2010
at 5:30 pm
How very true. I cut out sugar and processed foods out of my life and lost about 20 lbs because of it.
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By: Agatha82 on July 29, 2010
at 1:14 am
This is one of the most informative articles on this particular subject I
have ever read. Thanks to the writer and publisher of this awesome content.
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By: YouTube.com on May 17, 2014
at 1:23 pm