By: Robert Adams

Article Summary:

What are the foods that make you fat?

As Americans and other Western countries continue to struggle with obesity, we must ask ourselves some very important questions:

• What makes our life style different than other cultures around the world?
  
• Why do we suffer so much from diabetes and heart related diseases?
  
• How can we make better decisions in choosing the right foods to support a healthy lifestyle?

In my most recent trip to South America, I have learned about the eating habits that help support a much more healthy life style free; one free from prescribed medications and free from the struggles of obesity and weight related diseases, such as heart and diabetes. I observed some striking differences about how South Americans live their lives, both in their eating plans and how they approach life itself. I really believe we can learn many things from other cultures that we can pass on to our children in the form of healthier living and creating a life style change that will reduce the risk of obesity in this country. Here are some of my observations;

What you don’t see in South America :

• fast food chains on every corner,
  
• people eating tons of processed snack foods like potato chips and nacho chips that are loaded with bad fat, high sodium, high bad carbohydrates, and tons of preservatives
  
• donut shops or convenience stores everywhere

What you do see is people making lunch their main meal of the day and dinner the smallest meal of the day.

You also see are foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals, foods that are completely organic and eaten from their most natural state. The South American Culture consumes tons of organic and natural (and I might add unbelievably delicious) fruits and vegetables along with seafood and meats that support a natural healthy lifestyle.

The other key is they consume most of these rich in nutrient foods early in the day and reduce their food consumption later at night, as well as consuming 5-6 meals per day. This sounds familiar, with some of the latest advice from some of the current diet books out promoting smaller more frequent meals and reducing your food intake as you move towards bedtime.

Now that we have a place to start from, let’s talk about the foods that make you FAT! Foods that can make you fat have a few things in common:

• High in total calories
  
• High in total fat
  
• High in refined sugars
  
• High in calorie density
  
• Low in nutritional value
  
• High in Sodium
  
• Loaded with preservatives
  
• Loaded with artificial fillers and additives
  
• Come in a box from the middle aisles of the grocery store
  
• Have words that you cannot pronounce on the label
  

Of course over the years we have called these foods “junk foods” and in the United States, these “junk foods” have continued to grow in popularity for many reasons.

• They are ready to eat right from a box (convenient)
  
• They really tease our taste buds with tons of :
  
  • Salt
    
  • Sugar
    
  • Fat
    
• They make you want to eat more and more of them
  

Here are the Top Foods that help make you FAT:

• Ice cream, donuts, pastries, cakes, pies and cookies
  Typically high in:
  
  • Bad fats
    
  • Refined white sugars
    
  • Refined white flours
    
• All fried foods
  
  • High in fat
    
  • Refined white flours from the breading
    
• Soda and fruit juices
  
  • High in refined sugar and artificial additives
    
  • Look out for other forms of sugar
    
  • High fructose corn syrup
    
  • Corn syrup
    
  • Sucrose
    
• Snack foods, ie. potato chips, nacho chips, etc.
  Typically high in:
  
  • Bad fats
    
  • Refined white flours
    
  • Sodium
    
  • Refined white sugars
    
  • Artificial flavors and colors
    
  • Preservatives that you cannot even pronounce
    
• Processed meat items – Typically “fast food”
  Hot dogs, Hamburgers, Bacon, Sausage, etc.
  
  • High in bad, bad, bad, fat
    
  • High in Sodium
    
  • Usually served on Refined white flour breads
    
• High Sugar Breakfast cereals
  
  • High in Refined white sugars
    
  • High in Refined white flours

If your meal plans are made up of a high percentage of these foods, then you are probably not reaching your fitness and health goals and are struggling to keep the weight off.

Robert Adams is a Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach with NESTA (National Endurance & Sports Trainers Association) where he devotes alot of his time training One on One with Athletes and everyday Men and Women, helping support their Personal Fitness and Health Goals.
He is a Fitness Enthusiast and spends part of his days dedicated to helping stay in Great Shape, while training at the local Gym.
He is also a graduate with Honors from the Culinary Institute of America with an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts, where he utilizes his culinary talents on Healthy Eating, Balanced Nutrition as well as Personal Meal Planning for all his Fitness Training Clients.

For more information and training advice

You can contact your Fitness Coach at:
My Personal Fitness Trainer
Your Complete Personal Fitness Training and Healthy Meal Planning Solution.

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