You may be doing your best to lose weight by eating healthy and exercising, but food packaging could be deceiving you and keep you from your goal. Here are 5 additives to ditch and avoid the weight-loss plateau.
1. Canned Goods
Canned foods are a great way to keep non-perishable basics around the house, but did you know that some chemicals and materials in canned goods could be making you sick? Many canned foods contain a chemical known as Bisphenol A or BPA. This has been linked to increased incidences of heart disease, breast cancer, and diabetes.
Buyer beware, You can’t always trust a corporation to have your best interests in mind. Even if a product says “BPA free,” Consumer Reports has found BPA in most major brands of canned goods. To reduce your risk of ingesting BPA, choose fresh, natural ingredients or purchase pre-made soup mixes in paper pouches. Never microwave in plastic containers, because BPA can leak into your food when plastic is heated. Microwave with glassware instead, or ditch your microwave altogether in favor of a toaster oven.
2. Extra Salt
Watch out for extra salt! Too much salt in your diet can create a weight loss plateau by causing you to retain water and bloat. A healthy diet includes 1500 to 2300mg of sodium a day, but average American’s consume around 3400mg. This is because sodium is a flavor enhancer added to most savory foods and even some baked goods. The worst offender is often salad dressing, which can pack 400mg of sodium in just 2 tablespoons. You can make your own low-sodium salad dressing by mixing oil and vinegar in a carafe and adding your own spices. Vinegar will help you blast fat and you can avoid fatty, creamy dressings like ranch and blue cheese altogether.
3. Fructose and refined sugars
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you’re probably consuming too much fructose. Sweet treats and fruit juices contain lots of added fructose and refined sugar. Soda, worst of all. But don’t turn to diet drinks and artificial sweeteners. Ultimately,these can cause brain damage and weight gain in the long run, plus they don’t taste as good. Instead, choose natural sweeteners like agave nectar, bananas, or honey. Consuming raw local honey may even help you curb your allergies!
4. Hormones in milk
Non-organic milk and dairy products can contain tons of antibiotics. These antibiotics kill off healthy digestive bacteria, which makes it harder to digest your food. If your food is poorly digested, you may bloat up or start storing belly fat. To avoid this, choose only organic dairy products, when possible. This helps support a happy, healthier dairy industry and keeps your body’s natural bacterial balance in order.
5. Monosodium glutamate, also known as “Natural flavors”
Our final, sneakiest ingredient is the dreaded MSG. Going under many misnomers, including “Natural Flavors” and “Yeast Protein,” MSG has a host of ill effects, including increased appetite. Flavored chips, salad dressings, soups, and many processed, packaged goods are chock full of Monosodium Glutamate. Don’t be fooled by the term “No added MSG.” This simply means that they didn’t put any MORE in, but not that they are MSG free. To avoid MSG, look closely at labels. MSG goes by many names, to avoid detection. A sure-fire way to avoid MSG is to eat whole, unprocessed foods and focus on naturally savory flavors, rather than artificial ones.
The moral of this story is to read labels on the processed products you do buy, but try to focus on whole, unpackaged foods to keep you and your family at a healthy weight.