The 10 Worst Foods for a Diet

The 10 Worst Foods for a Diet

You are trying to lose weight, you will have to burn more calories than you consume. Even if you exercise, you will still have to cut down on calories. Rather than missing meals, substituting low-calorie foods for high-calorie foods is an ideal way to lose weight. Foods that are high in calories from saturated fat or sugar are the worst foods you can eat if you are on a diet. The Harvard School of Public Health notes that trans fat is particularly bad for your external appearance and internal health.

Fried Foods
Regardless of the specific food, you should avoid consuming fried foods. Unlike grilling or baking, frying your food will add significant calories. Commercially fried foods are often deep-fried in partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is a major source of trans fat.

Fast Food
Eating fast food will significantly hurt your weight loss efforts because it is so high in calories from fat. Fast foods such as cheeseburgers, French fries and fried chicken are all fried and high in saturated fat. Fast food is generally high in trans fat as well. Prepare healthful snacks before you go out so you are not tempted by fast food.

Commercial Baked Goods
Commercial baked goods are among the worst foods you can eat if you are trying to loss weight. Grocery store-prepared cakes, brownies, cookies and cupcakes are full of trans fat, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Frozen Desserts
You should avoid most frozen desserts, such as ice cream and frozen yogurt, when you are dieting. Low-fat versions of ice cream or frozen yogurt are not usually much more healthful than full fat versions and often have more sugar to compensate for the reduction in fat. If you have a sweet tooth, eat fruit.

Regular Soda
Do not drink regular soda when you are on a diet. Although soda in general has no fat, it is high in sugar, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, which encourages your body to store belly fat, according to researchers at Princeton University.

Traditional Snacking Foods
Snacking on foods that are high in fat or sugar can hinder your weight loss effort and add a significant amount of calories to your diet. Snacking foods, such as potato chips, candy bars and crackers, should not be on your grocery list.

High Sugar Breakfast Cereals
Despite marketing that suggests that cereal is a "part of a complete breakfast," many cereals have large amounts of added sugar, which is often in the form of high fructose corn syrup. You will have to check the nutritional facts on your cereal to see how many grams of sugar you are consuming. According to AskDrSears, the total carbohydrate-to-sugar ratio should be no less than 4 to 1. This means if the total carbohydrates are listed as 24 g, the "sugars" should have a value of 6 g or less. Oatmeal is usually a better option because it is sugar-free and high in fiber.

Red Meat
While red meat is does not have trans fatty acids or sugar, it is high in calories from saturated fat. In comparison to equal amounts of chicken or fish, red meat is significantly higher in calories and fat.

Fruit Juice with Added Sugar
You should avoid fruit juice that has added sugar or fruit "drinks" that are not 100 percent fruit juice. Many fruit drinks are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. While whole fruit can assist you in your dieting efforts, fruit juice has less fiber than whole fruit.

Butter And Margarine
Cooking with, or using, butter or margarine on your bread will hurt your dieting efforts. Butter is high in saturated fat and margarine is high in trans fat. Cooking with healthful oils, such as olive oil, grapeseed oil and canola oil, which are high in unsaturated fat, are preferable.