12 Foods You Think are Healthy but Are Making You Fat (You Won’t Believe #7)

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1. Processed Meats

The New England Journal of Medicine found that processed meat caused subjects to gain weight over a 4-year period of time. Of course, the fewer vegetables the subjects consumed, the more weight they gained, and that was no surprise, but researchers don’t really understand why this seems to be true. Processed meats are loaded with tons of carcinogens and other unhealthy additives, and if you saw the way hot dogs were made, you would never eat one again! Some speculate that the high amount of sugar in most processed meat is where the problem lies. No matter how you slice it, processed meats are bad news.

2. Diet Frozen Dinners

Some of the great things about these “diet” dinners are that the portions are already set out for you, and they are really convenient. The problem with these meals is that this is all you are getting: controlled portions and convenience. Frozen diet dinners are so highly processed that they have virtually all the nutrients removed from them. In order to make up for the lack of flavor from being low fat, manufacturers add tons of salt and sugar or artificial sweeteners to these foods to make them taste better. This causes you to gain water weight if nothing else. Also, most people find these meals unsatisfying, and within a few hours, they are looking for unhealthy snacks. Do yourself a favor and make yourself a satisfying meal out of real food.

3. Pasta

Believe it or not, most people think that pasta is healthy. It really isn’t. Yes, it is an alternative to meat, but there are better alternatives than pasta. Pasta is made from dough, which means that it has been highly processed. Yes, even whole wheat pasta. That makes pasta a simple carb, which your body will quickly turn into glucose or sugar. Imagine trying to diet and eating tons of sugar. That is exactly what you are doing when you eat a big meal of pasta. One of the biggest problems with pasta is serving size. A healthy serving is no more than ½ a cup. Most people find that they are eating 2 to 3 cups per meal. If you love pasta, no problem, just be sure that you measure out how much you are eating. You might want to start eating pasta as a side dish instead of the main meal so that you feel satisfied.

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