Are these ‘health’ foods making you fat? 

Are these ‘health’ foods making you fat? 

Avocado
Dried fruit
Nuts 
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Dark chocolate
Hummus
Gluten free anything
Salads covered in dressing
Flapjacks
Granola

Some of these foods have many benefits to offer but they could also be the reason that you are not losing fat.

You may have decided to make a change to your nutrition, you switch the milk chocolate for dark chocolate, salads for lunch, nuts & ‘all natural’ energy bars as snacks along with a slice of gluten free cake ( because its gluten free it’s fine)

While this may be a big improvement in ‘better’ food choices from your previous nutrition regime, you could actually be consuming more calories than previously hence the reason for a lack of results.

The issue that may arise with these foods is that they can be easily over consumed due to the high calorie content per serving or the food label may be misleading with a recommended serving size that is so small, at quick glance it seems like a good choice.

Let’s use Almonds as an example.
Almonds are a ‘natural’ food that contain protein,carbs and fats they also include sources of vitamin E, iron, calcium, magnesium, niacin and zinc.

Nutritional values Per 100g
Calories – 425
Protein – 15g
Carbohydrate – 15g
Fat – 37.5g
Fibre – 10g

A packet (42g serving) of Almonds from Pret
Calories 242
Protein – 9g
Carbohydrate – 9g
Fat – 21g
Fibre – 5g

I like Pret as a on-the-go food option, the food tastes nice and they have a good variety of choices. So let’s use them as an example:

An individual decides to go into Pret for their lunch, they pick up a chefs Italian chicken salad (385kcal ) w/ optional dressing (the dressing is an extra 232kcal) a banana (62kcal), pack of almonds (242kcal) and a latte (188kcal)

We now have a meal that totals 1,109 calories!

Using a basic formula for a 80kg male that wants to lose fat, Bodyweight in lbs x 12 = 2,112. This single lunch time meal, that seems a pretty healthy choice is over 50% of his overall calorie target.

Is it just the almonds that contribute to this? No. Is it just the salad dressing? No. Is it just the latte? No. By becoming aware of how easy it is to over consume calories even when you are making ‘better’ food choices you stand a better chance of getting where you want to be.

Even if your all nutrition comes from ‘healthy foods’ ( what is healthy?) too much, is still too much, you can’t defy the laws of energy balance.

Not everybody needs to track calories, I understand that, for those who are not interested in tracking calories, I would advise to start being aware of what foods contain, read labels, understand serving sizes and take the time to think about the choices you are making.

None of the foods listed above are bad, just be more aware of what exactly you are putting in your mouth.