Sometimes, you limit your food intake and exercise regularly to lose weight, only to discover that the scale just won’t budge. Not only is this disappointing, but it can limit you and your continued efforts to lose weight (after all, if you feel your effort is pointless, why would you keep trying?). However, there may be a simple explanation for your lack of success: Hidden calories. Hidden calories are those ones that can easily be overlooked, causing you to take in more than you intend, and ultimately preventing your weight loss. If you have reduced your food intake and still haven’t started losing any weight, consider these hidden calorie sources that might be preventing your success:
Beverages – No matter how healthfully you eat, if you drink the wrong types of beverages, you can take in excess calories that can prevent you from losing weight. An 8 oz. glass of regular soda can contain 95-110 calories, and a can or 20 oz. bottle even more. It’s not just soft drinks that provide empty calories, either – sugar-sweetened drinks such as tea and Kool-Aid can also add empty calories to your daily intake. These calories can quickly add up and prevent you from losing weight.
Serving Sizes/Portion Sizes – It is easy to assume that a small container of something is a serving, so you may glance at the nutrition label to see how many calories it contains and feel safe. However, you may be surprised at how small portion sizes actually are and how many servings are in a small bag of chips or other type of food, leading to the intake of too many calories.
Fresh vs. Preserved – Fresh fruits and vegetable are generally the healthier option, but it may be more affordable or more convenient to use jarred or canned varieties of certain foods. When you do so, however, the calorie count changes. For example, an average size ear of fresh corn (without adding butter or other sauces) has approximately 67 calories. A serving of canned corn (typically 1/2 cup) has 90. While a difference of 23 calories doesn’t seem like much, if you have that many extra calories in each food item at every meal, you can easily consume too many calories to be able to lose weight.
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