10 Worst Snack Foods for Weight Loss
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Avoid These 6 Fattening Snack Food Ingredients
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, it’s time to talk about the 10 worst snack foods for weight loss, including the 6 fattening snack food ingredients to avoid.
In the last episode, I covered the 8 worst breakfast foods for weight loss.
Now it’s time to talk about snacking.
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How many of these unhealthy snack foods are you eating?
Let’s find out.
The Benefits Of Snacking
When done correctly, snacking can keep:
- your blood sugar balanced
- you satiated until your next meal
- you energized
- your fat burning hormonal switch turned on, 24 hours a day
The Drawbacks Of Snacking
When done incorrectly, snacking can:
- make you store more body fat
- make you feel more hungry
- cause more energy crashes throughout the day
Most people snack on at least 600 calories a day, and sometimes more.
Let’s put that into perspective.
If your goal is 2,000 calories a day, those 600 calories from snacking, make up 30% of your daily calorie requirements.
Based on this, you better make sure you are snacking correctly.
But let’s face the truth.
When it comes to snacking, we’re mostly bombarded with convenient processed snack foods options.
That means these 600 calories from snacks are typically made up of low quality fattening ingredients, that are taking us further away from our weight loss goals.
Watch Out For These 6 Fattening Snack Food Ingredients
These processed snack foods are essentially always comprised of 3-6 fattening ingredients.
Before I share those ingredients to avoid, I want you to scroll to the comment section below, and tell me at least 1 of the 6 fattening ingredients to avoid.
All right, let’s get into it.
The 6 fattening snack food ingredients to avoid are:
- Artificial flavors
- Processed vegetable oils
- Refined grains
- Refined sugars
- Salt
- Processed dairy
These 6 processed snack food ingredients are found in almost 70% of all foods consumed in the US diet.
Isn’t it interesting that almost 70% of the US population is also classified as overweight?
Before I share the 10 worst snack foods for weight loss, if you want to see the different types of snacks that Jessica and I eat every day, we share these on my 2nd YouTube channel called Brad Gouthro TV.
This is where we post “day in the life” style daily vlogs, showing you the foods we eat, our workouts, and the behind the scenes of how we Live Lean 365 days a year.
Here is the link to subscribe to Brad Gouthro TV.
The 10 Worst Snack Foods for Weight Loss:
Here are the 10 snack foods to avoid for weight loss, in random order.
#1. Potato Chips, Pretzels And Popcorn
Not only do these snack foods contain nasty vegetable oils, they are also are loaded with salt, refined sugars, and artificial flavors.
This means they are bad for your heart, bad for causing more bloating and puffiness, and even worse when it makes you grab for a sugary fruit juice or diet soda to “re-hydrate” you.
This is a good segue to worst snack food number two.
#2 Fruit Juice, Pre-packaged Fruit Smoothies, Soda, And Diet Soda
Let’s start with the pre-packaged fruit smoothies.
Next time you pick up a pre-packaged fruit smoothie, just take a look at the sugar content on the nutrition facts label.
In most cases, fruit smoothies have more sugar than soda.
Next up is fruit juice.
Since the fiber is removed, your blood sugar spikes, then fat storing insulin production increases, and then the body stores fat.
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Drinking soda does the exact same thing.
When it comes to diet soda, even though it is zero calories, the artificial sweeteners have been known to increase hunger, making you eat more, and actually slows your metabolism.
One step forward, three steps back.
#3. 100 Calorie Snack Pack Crackers And Cookies
Even though these 100 calorie snack packs are portion controlled, the refined grains, refined sugars, salt, and vegetable oils won’t fill you up.
In fact, it’ll actually make you more hungry.
It’ll also increase the production of the fat storing hormone insulin, to remove all the sugar from your blood stream.
![Turn Your Body Into A Fat Burning Machine For Life [Improve Insulin Sensitivity]](https://liveleantv.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/24113352/LLTV-thumbnail-become-a-fat-burning-machine.png)
This hormonal environment creates a fat storing body, that burns sugar for energy, not your stored body fat.
Let’s keep going.
#4. Trail Mix with Candy
You know those versions of trail mix that include M&Ms and chocolate covered raisins?
This snack food is just another sugar bomb in disguise, that also has a lot of salt, and in most cases vegetable oils.
Let’s be honest, how many of you actually eat the recommended portion serving size of ÂĽ cup, and then stop?
Not many.
This type of trail mix can quickly blow out your calorie requirements.
#5. “Fruit” Sweetened Yogurt
You know those yogurts that have the “fruit” on the bottom of the cups?
Yeah, in most cases, that “fruit” flavoring is just a sugar bomb in disguise.
Some varieties of yogurt have up to 30g of sugar, in one serving.
Or in other words, the same amount of sugar that is in 3 chocolate chip cookies.
#6 Dried Fruit
Dried fruit sounds like a good option, right?
In most cases, it is better than the other refined snack foods on this list.
However, in some cases the fruit is fried in vegetable oils, and the processing to dry out the fruit significantly increases the rate at which your body absorbs the sugar.
This causes your blood sugar to spike and increases the production of the fat storing hormone insulin.
Just stick with real fruit.
Let’s keep the training moving.
#7. Granola
Granola is often thought of as a health food, but in most cases, it’s just sugar, vegetable oils, and artificial sweeteners.
This spikes your blood sugar, thus creating a fat storing body, rather than a fat burning body.
#8. Dairy And Sugar Infused Coffee
This is simply empty calories, causing more blood sugar spikes and hunger.
When drinking coffee, go black, or add a natural sweetener like stevia.
You can also make the calories count by making a coconut oil coffee.
The added calories from the coconut oil will actually give you sustained energy and make you feel full.
#9. Chocolate Bars And Chocolate Pudding
Anytime you’re having a chocolate craving, avoid the refined sugars and artificial flavors found in chocolate bars and pudding.
These unhealthy ingredients induce more hunger and fat storing.
I want you to go for a couple squares of dark chocolate, with a cocoa of 70% or higher.
Let’s move on to the last worst snack food.
#10. Fruit Cups
The syrup that is used in most fruit cups are filled with nasty sugars.
Stick with the real fruit.
Bottom Line On Snacking
Remember Live Lean Nation.
The snacks you eat can make or break your calorie deficit that you need to be in, in order to lose weight.
Snacks should:
- balance your blood sugar levels
- energize you
- keep you satiated until your next meal
Snacks should not:
- spike and crash your blood sugar levels
- lower your energy
- create more hunger
Keep Your Fat Burning Switch Turned On With The Eat Clean Live Lean Cookbook System
Eat snacks that keep your fat burning hormonal switch turned on, 24 hours a day, like those found in my best selling Eat Clean Live Lean Cookbook.
You’ll get access to over 200 paleo approved fat burning meals and snacks, that keep your body burning stored fat for energy, not sugar.
Go here to get my Eat Clean Live Lean Cookbook, which also includes an 8 week meal plan, with recipes, and grocery lists to supercharge your results faster.
It’s amazing how tasty your snacks and meals can be, when you learn how to use real healthy ingredients.
I pity those “dieters” ruining their sustainable chances of Living Lean by eating boring foods.
Get over 200 quick, healthy, easy, affordable, and delicious recipes here.
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Questions Of The Day:
- Can you name at least 1 of the 6 fattening ingredients?
- Do you eat any of these 10 worst snack foods? If so, which ones?
Share your experiences in the comment section below.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
So I am good for the nuts with the candy next time. The problem is I don’t
like really bitter dark choclate
Are in shell peanuts bad ?
Brad what about innocent cos you said smoothies
high fructose corn syrup
Yes. I tried your breakfast today, and I was full till 1pm. That’s unheard
of for me. Usually I eat low fat,high fiber,high carb vegan, and… its not
working fir me. I get hungry very quickly after eating. But oddly enough,
low carb meals are very satisfying with very little.food. very interesting
What about the “naked juice” It says no added sugar but is it still bad for
you?
You state that we should eat ‘Real fruit’.. But is there anything called
real fruit nowadays? Everything is processed, the tomato from the market
does not taste the same as in the village. It’s not easy being healthy, it
does not come cheap.
#askbgtv Brad and Jess, what are your thoughts on kefir? And have you
ever tried it?
Is coconut sugar good ?
Everything in moderation. Moderation is key.
Hey Brad, I have watched the majority of your videos and have been
implementing the paleo diet approach you have talked about for the past two
weeks. I am 6’4 285 and am trying to lean down to 255. I have been lifting
heavy the past two weeks and doing cardio for 40 minutes after my workouts.
The first week I post 5 pounds, but last week I actually gained 1 pound. I
have been keeping my carbs under 100g, and I was wondering should I be
doing something different to burn fat faster? And why do you think I gained
weight while working out and eating nothing but protein and vegetables,
cutting all bread,sugar, and processed foods out of my diet? Its just
frustrating to work hard all week in the gym and gain a pound when I am
trying to lean down. Any feedback would be great!
canned Tuna all the way! Spicy flavour & Garlic flavour are the bomb ahah!
Macdonalds
Peanut butter and honey crisp apples. Totally addicted and was waiting for
to name peanut butter. I held my breath each time you were about mention
another bad snack. Felt like Selection of Tribute. LOL!
Her brad just want to say I’ve been getting healthier the last couple of
months and am seeing great results by eating better and working out smarter
and your videos have helped a ton 🙂
Ice cream??
I don’t use any of these at all. Haven’t for a long time. Seems like
common sense, but many people out there still aren’t educated enough yet.
We just keep chippin’ away each day and hope others will follow. Keep up
the great info Brad.
Some people could say that all of this is kinda “Stupid” that is just food
or something like that.
But the reality is that people actually dont have an idea of how bad all
of those thing are for the body.
Its NOT just food, i being healthy!
I just try to stay away from artificial flavors, the only source they are
still in my diet is on Protein powder.
Everything else : Check !
I love your videos brad! so informative!
The 10 Worst Snack Foods for Weight Loss