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You’ve been making healthy food choices, opting for the salad over the burger wherever you can. But still, your waistline hasn’t budged. It’s enough to make you give up, to make you go back to ordering pizza, pasta and chocolate croissants. “It doesn’t make a difference anyway!” you think to yourself, exasperated. But before you “throw in the napkin” and order a ham calzone, read on. Because what you may not realise is that a lot of your healthy food choices, while healthy, are surprisingly high in fat and calories.
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AVOCADO
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Avocados are packed with nutrients and antioxidants. But if your goal is to lose weight, you'll need to watch your intake. Avocados are high in fat and calorically dense. A single avocado can deliver more than 350 calories. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of a bowl of oats.
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NUTS
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Nuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin E, and fiber—but they're also high in calories. One serving of almonds, which is just a total of 23 tiny nuts, has 162 calories. Which is the equivalent of half a bowl of oats. So, when it comes to nuts, portion control is key.
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DRIED FRUIT
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A lot of people don’t actually know what the difference between normal fruit and dried fruit is. In one word, the difference is = sugar. Dried fruits are normal fruits that have had the water taken out of them. This means more space for sugar. A cup of dried fruit packs five to eight times more calories and sugar than a cup of fresh fruit. To put that into perspective, a cup of fresh grapes is 60 calories, while a cup of raisins is a shocking 460 calories.
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GLUTEN FREE FOOD
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“No come on, surely gluten free is as healthy as you can go?” We thought the same thing. But as it turns out, gluten-free products, while good for gluten intolerances, are not necessarily good for your diet. You see, gluten-free foods often replace regular flour with cornstarch and brown rice flour, which are more calorically dense. Don’t fear though, there are many very nutrient dense, whole, gluten-free grains such as amaranth, millet, quinoa and buckwheat. Rule of thumb: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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TOFU
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TOFU?!! Yes, it’s healthy, it’s packed with iron, calcium, and protein. And a half-cup of raw tofu contains just 94 calories. Score! Problem is, it can also sponge up the oil you're cooking with, turning your healthy meal into a fat bomb. So, the cooking method is important. The healthiest way of cooking tofu and maintaining its naturally low-calorie state is to steam it. Boring huh? But you know what’s not boring, dropping a dress size and fitting into those high waisted Zara jeans. Nah, that’s not boring at all.
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The purpose of the above list is to not for you to remove these foods from your diet. They are healthy nutritious foods that your body wants and needs. But knowing their calorie content allows us to be a bit more aware when eating them, and not assume we can have as much as we want, just because they’re “healthy”. Because remember, healthy doesn’t mean the same thing as low fat. And it shouldn’t. Our body needs fat, in fact, the healthy fat content is what makes a lot of these foods healthy. But in excess, as with anything, they go from being healthy to excessive and unnecessary. And you know what’s unnecessary? Not fitting into those high waisted Zara jeans.
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