10 foods that is making you fat

The journey to successful weight loss can be quite difficult. But at Skinnyjane.com, we make the process of weight loss fun and informed. We offer the best advice on the best weight loss foods and the worst food for a diet. By completely eliminating these foods, or just limiting consumption of these foods, you increase your chances of losing weight and not piling it up again.

• 1.Yogurt

I know this will definitely shock you. Plain yogurt naturally has around 16grams of sugar in every cup. But flavored yogurt has an extra 15 or even more grams of sugar so if you eat it, it will be the same as shoveling in an additional four teaspoonfuls of sugar.

This can be one of the best diet foods for picky eaters as long as you choose plain yogurt that is low in fat and sugar. If you want to sweeten it, stir in a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup. You can also opt for fat free Greek yogurt which is very lower in sugar than even plain yogurt and has lots of protein to keep you satisfied for longer periods of time.

• 2.Veggie chips

Although most people think this is among the best weight loss foods, these rainbow colored chips are no better than potato chips. They may contain some extra vitamin A or C, but your waist won’t notice the difference. These salty snacks contain about 150 calories per handful. Sometimes, manufacturers just add food coloring to the regular potato chips, so they are just tricking you into thinking you are eating something healthier!

How to eat right:

Make sure the chips you purchase have vegetables listed as the first ingredient and not corn flour or potato flour. Also, look for 100% whole wheat or better yet, stone ground as the first ingredient and make sure they are cooked in healthy oil such as Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Canola Oil.

• 3.Sugar free candies and cookies

Don’t easily fall into the “no sugar trap” present in some manufactured foods. When producers remove the sweet stuff, they add fat. Some popular brands of chocolate chip cookies have 160 calories and 9 grams of fat. Ultimately, it is best to eat desserts that have low fat and low sugar. And of course, fruit is always a better alternative than any processed, high calorie dessert.

How to eat right:

Graham crackers have less sugar in every serving than most packaged cookies, so you are better off getting your quick cookie fix with them.

• 4. Bacon

We cannot deny that bacon is finger licking good. But it’s also one of the worst diet foods for women. An average serving of bacon (3 slices) has 435 milligrams of sodium about a fifth of the average woman’s daily allowance.

A healthy woman should eat a 2,000 calorie diet each day but these calories should be obtained from unrefined carbohydrates.

How to eat right:

Have a slice of whole wheat toast with low or no sugar jam with your eggs in the morning.

• 5.Trail mix

This is a very popular hiking staple and quick snack. Store bought versions of trail mix contain an handful of banana chips which are usually deep fried, and raisins which are covered with yogurt and coated with hydrogenated palm kernel oil, which is full of saturated and trans fats.

How to eat right:

Make your own trail mix with dried fruits (apricots or raisins), mini pretzels, nuts, whole grain cereal and some bits of chocolate chips. Take a small portion of one cup. This can be great food for a diet especially when done in the right way.

• 6.Soda

This is one of the worst diet foods for women. In addition to increasing your waist size due to sugar and a lot of calories, it contains flame retardants that may fatten up your organs. Diet soda or not, you should completely eliminate soda from your diet if you are trying to lose weight or not.

• 7.Red meat

This can be healthy only when taken in moderation. If you choose to eat it, avoid any fatty cuts such as T-bone, Steaks and New York Strip. Opt for the healthier cuts such as sirloin tip.

• 8.Processed meats

Processed meats contain nitrates and are very high in saturated fats. This is one of the worst weight loss foods, so if you really must have that lunch meat, look for a low sodium and nitrate free version.

• 9.Beer

Whether you drink regular beer or light beer, it contains about the same amount of alcohol. Either way, you are still adding empty calories to your diet. This, coupled with the fact that alcohol significantly slows down your metabolism, is a strong reason why you should stay away from beer.

• 10.Swordfish

A lot of fish and shell fish can be part of a weight loss program. They are full of healthy proteins and excellent sources of fats. Some contain mercury but others, such as Swordfis, contain much higher levels than others. Choose wisely when picking your fish. The right fish can be one of the best foods for a diet, but don’t consume too much due to mercury content.

If you are really serious about losing weight, make sure to avoid these foods. 

My Diet Plan - Fourth Step - A Little Help From The Apps

Till now we learnt about our BMI , Calories Required for our body ,next step is to find how much calorie we must eat (more or less ) to reach our weight goal.
Already overwhelmed with lot of calculation ,still lot of calculation to do , but wait dont get frustrated, there are already a lot of Apps which do this job for us.
Just search for weight watchers app or any word with weight management app in your iphone or android or using your laptop.
You can find lot of Apps from this ARTICLE.
The App which i used "Samsung Shealth" and "Lost it" App.I didn't like Samsung app that much so i stayed with "Lose it " App which is my personal recommendation.
But trust me guys there are lot of beautiful app out there you can use which ever you feel easy and comfortable.

So what does this Apps Do?

Basically when you login to this App first time,it will ask
1.Your height,weight and your activity level.
2.Next there are options for losing weight , gaining weight and maintaining weight.
3.Then there are frequency for how fast you can lose or gain weight.The max is 2 lb a week more that that is not healthy,because they say it may come back unless you figure out how to maintain that weight.
4.There you can input your calorie intake from breakfast,lunch,dinner and snacks (Get from nutritional Info Label).If you don't know how check How to calculate Nutritional Info .
5.You can also input the amount of exercise you do each day.There are also option for various types of exercise.

Basically all APPs must have all these features.Some special Features may differ from other which you can get from premium plan,but i used the free one only,i was able to do whole diet plan with the free version itself.

So what you should do?

Basically when you input all these info and give your weight reducing frequency it will tell you how much calorie is allowed for your BMI.So all you have to do is eat within the calories.
EXercise is your option you can as much exercise more or less you want.If you spend calories on exercise your total budget of calories will be saved.If in occasion you can use that calorie but i never used it , i always try to stay under my budget.
Here is an example,

Take my calorie intake is 2000 ,that means my daily budget ie,my food intake should be 2000 calories.
If i do exercise for 500 calories (you can find how to calculate calories spend on exercise by inputting amount of time you spend on particular exercise in the app).
Then must total budget is under 500 calories ,ie, means i spent 500 calories of my energy i ate by exercise , so my calorie intake for the day is 1500 even though i ate 2000 calories because exercised 500 calories count.So you have eaten your recommended calories but by spending 500 calories the calorie you took for the day is less than recommended calorie(2000 - 500 = 1500 ) .So that may help you reduce weight faster.
My personal suggestion is "EXERCISE" is the key thing for any weight reduction plan.
If you do a lot of exercise you will definitely see weight reduction faster .
Initially my recommended calories was around 1800 , i used to take food around 1700 calories saving 100 calories and exercise for 1000 calories and i used to keep this up for 90 % of my days ,some exceptional days like weekends or day i am tired.
First it may seem difficult but once you keep doing exercise within three days you will feel it more fun and you can feel energetic , glowing and focussed.
We will see about all those in another topic.

My Diet Plan - Third Step - Knowing about calories

You must have heard everywhere the word calories relating to topics of weight loss.
That's loaded with calories!"
"Are you counting your calories?"

When people talk about the calories in food, what do they mean? A calorie is a unit of measurement — but it doesn't measure weight or length. A calorie is a unit of energy. When you hear something contains 100 calories, it's a way of describing how much energy your body could get from eating or drinking it.

Why are calories important for human health?

The human body needs calories (energy) to survive, without energy our cells would die, our hearts and lungs would stop, and we would perish. We acquire this energy from food and drink.

If we consume just the number of calories our body needs each day, every day, we will probably enjoy happy and healthy lives. If our calorie consumption is too low or too high, we will eventually experience health complications.

The number of calories foods contain tells us how much potential energy they posses. Below are the calorific values of the three main components of the food we eat:

• 1 gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories
• 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories
• 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories

Lets look at where the calories in one cup of large eggs (243 grams) come from:

• Fat 24 grams.
  24 x 9 = 216 calories.
• Protein 31 grams.
  31 x 4 = 124 calories.
• Carbohydrate 2 grams.
  2 x 4 = 8 calories
• 243 grams of raw egg contain 348 calories, of which 216 come from fat, 124 from protein and 8 from carbohydrate.

Now you can look at, find out the calories in foods by looking at the calorie label or the nutrition facts panel on packages of processed foods. They will all have the number of calories per serving and the portion size per serving. And using these tools, you can help yourself estimate how many calories you're taking in per day and help you achieve your weight loss goals.

If you buy any item just check the back label, you can find nutritional info

For example, 

Here 1 slice of bread which is 47 g has 120 calories. So it doesn't mean all breads are 120 calories, it may differ from company to company. So that's how you check calories for packaged items. 
And Portion size is one slice , so recommended slices to eat is one.

But for fresh produce there may not be nutritional info , so use Google to find their calories

Here is an example of nutritional info of banana from Google search, 

1. Nutrition Facts
   BananasBananas
   
   

   Amount Per 1 extra small (less than 6" long) (81 g)100 grams1 small (6" to 6-7/8" long) (101 g)1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) (118 g)1 NLEA serving (126 g)1 large (8" to 8-7/8" long) (136 g)1 cup, sliced (150 g)1 extra large (9" or longer) (152 g)1 cup, mashed (225 g)1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) (118 g)

   Calories 105

2. % Daily Value*

   Total Fat 0.4 g	0%
   Saturated fat 0.1 g	0%
   Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g
   Monounsaturated fat 0 g
   Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
   Sodium 1 mg	0%
   Potassium 422 mg	12%
   Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9%
   Dietary fiber 3.1 g	12%
   Sugar 14 g
   Protein 1.3 g	2%

   Vitamin A	1%	Vitamin C	17%
   Calcium	0%	Iron	1%
   Vitamin D	0%	Vitamin B-6	20%
   Vitamin B-12	0%	Magnesium	8%

3. 
   
   

   *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

   
   
4. Now you know about calories  ,next step is how much calorie we must consume?
5. The number of calories the body consumes in a day is different for every person. You may notice on the nutritional labels of the foodsyou buy that the "percent daily values" are based on a 2,000 calorie diet -- 2,000 calories is a rough average of what people eat in a day. But your body might need more or less than 2,000. Height, weight, gender, age and activity level all affect your caloric needs. There are three main factors involved in calculating how many calories your body needs per day:

   • basal metabolic rate
   • physical activity
   • thermic effect of food

   Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to function at rest. This accounts for about 60 to 70 percent of calories burned in a day and includes the energy required to keep the heart beating, the lungs breathing, the eyelids blinking and the body temperature stabilized. In general, men have a higher BMR than women. One of the most accurate methods of estimating your basal metabolic rate is the Harris-Benedict formula:

6. Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years) Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

   The second factor in the equation, physical activity, consumes the next highest number of calories. Physical activity includes everything from making your bed in the morning to jogging. Walking, lifting, bending and just generally moving around burns calories, but the number of calories you burn in any given activity depends on your body weight. Click here for a great table listing the calories expended in various physical activities and for various weights.

   The thermic effect of food is the final addition to the number of calories your body burns. This is the amount of energy your body uses to digest the food you eat -- it takes energy to break food down to its basic elements in order to be used by the body. To calculate the number of calories you expend in this process, multiply the total number of calories you eat in a day by 0.10, or 10 percent. 

   • CalorieKing: Food Data (includes fast-food options)
   • Calorie Counter (includes vending machine snacks)
   • NutritionData: Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter

   The total number of calories a body needs in a day is the sum of these three calculations.
7. To make all these calculations easy there is already many calorie calculator apps ,If you need some help determining how many calories you eat in a day:  use this CALORIE CALCULATOR and find

1. You can also find you total energy spend from energy calculator

Now you must have clear idea about calories and how much calorie you should consume for your height and weight.

1. 
   

My Diet Plan - Second Step - Knowing about your BMI

What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?

Healthcare professionals around the world often useBody Mass Index (BMI) when determining whether patients are underweight, healthy weight, overweight or clinically obese. People who are clinically obese have a greater risk of developing diabetes, stroke, some cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

BMI has its drawbacks however. It does not take into account the patient's body fat content versus lean tissue (muscle) content. A 6 feet 2 inch athlete may have a higher BMI than a couch potato of the same height - but the couch potato may be overweight while the athlete is definitely not.

How to calculate BMI - Adults

There are two methods for working out your BMI -metric and imperial systems.

Metric system - Divide the person's weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared.

For example:

• Weight 90 kilograms
• Height 1.9 meters
• 1.9² = 3.61
• 90 divided by 3.61 = BMI is 24.93

Imperial system - the person's weight in pounds, multiplied by 703, divided by the square of their height in inches.

For example:

• Weight 190 lbs
• Height 72 inches (6 feet)
• 72² = 5,184
• 190 multiplied by 703 divided by 5,184 = BMI 25.76

You can use our BMI calculator 1 , BMI calculator 2 help you work these figures out.

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How to determine your body weight status

Below are definitions recommended by the World Health Organization.

BMI less than 18.5 - Underweight
BMI between 18.5 and 25 - Healthy weight
BMI between 25 and 30 - Overweight
BMI between 30 and 40 - Obese
BMI over 40 - Very obese, morbidly obese

Now you know your BMI , you may know where your target should be .So your aim is to reduce weight to be in healthy weight range , which is 18.5 to 25.

My Diet Plan - First Step - things needed

Ok you decided to reduce weight but you don't know where to start , I was also in the same state ,so don't worry I can guide you through step.So first thing I did was I brought a food scale as I already have weighing scale for me.

To Buy:

1.Food scale and measuring cup:
To measure the food you eat,initially you may find it difficult to measure everything you eat, but once you are used to it ,you will find it easier and even fun(to see how much small amount of some food has so much calories with out we being not aware of it, and eating a lot). Now I can easily guess how much an item weighs even with out measuring in a scale. Bur trust me investing in a good quality food scale is going to help you a lot.
2.Body weighing scale:
 If you already have it well is good , but if you don't have it please get one.I have a digital one which is now accurate than regular one. But it's your choice.You have to weigh yourself at same time with same way ie. I weigh myself every morning after i use the restroom naked. I find that having clothing on makes you gain un-nessacarry weight.Just be consistent same time same clothes (or lack of), same place. Most people aim for the morning as it's easier to be consistent.

Why protein is important

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN IN YOUR DIET

Why should you care about making sure you get enough protein? Here are four good reasons:

• It is a component of every cell in your body. In fact, hair and nails are mostly made of protein.
• Your body uses it to build and repair tissue.
• You need it to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals.
• It is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.

Like carbohydrates and fat, protein is a "macronutrient,” meaning that you need relatively large amounts of it to stay healthy. (Vitamins and minerals, which you only need in small quantities, are called "micronutrients.")

Unlike carbohydrates and fat, your body does not store protein, so it has no reservoir to draw from when you’re running low.  Protein bars and shakes are a great way to supplement your diet to ensure you’re getting the right amount of protein.

Benefits of a Protein-Enriched Diet

 Consuming high-protein foods has many benefits, including:

• Speeding recovery after exercise
• Reducing muscle loss
• Building lean muscle
• Helping you maintain a healthy weight
• Curbing hunger

Different Forms of Protein

Protein comes from a variety of sources, including meat, milk, fish, soy, and eggs, as well beans, legumes, and nut butters. When proteins are digested, they leave behind amino acids, which the human body needs to break down food.   

Whey, a high quality protein source naturally found in milk, is a complete protein and contains all of the amino acids your body needs.  In general, proteins derived from animal sources (i.e. milk, eggs & meat) are complete, but your body’s ability to use the protein varies.