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Which are the worst foods for weight control? And how can you recognize them at a glance? If you have read our chapter on Fat Facts, you may have an idea what the answer is. However, fats are only one side of the coin - so please, keep on reading!
The worst foods for weight control contain a combination of components that is guaranteed to pack on the pounds. It's this particular combination aspect that makes them formidable (in a bad way) and so hard to counteract. Ready to check it out? Here are the offenders to look out for:
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Worst Foods for Weight Control:
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For example: Cakes, Candy, Pies, Ice Cream, etc.
And here's why: The sugar supplied by these foods is the first one to be used for energy, since our
body can burn it more easily than fat. Since a lot of sugar was supplied, all our
energy needs are likely to be met just by using this sugar. Therefore, the fats
ingested remain unused and our body promptly stores them into fat deposits.
Also: If the sugar intake exceeds our body's energy needs at that particular time, the surplus of
glucose is transformed into glycerol, which is a precursor of triglycerides (i.e., fats).
Each molecule of glucose yields 2 molecules of glycerol. If at the same time we also
ingest fats, we are providing a surplus of fatty acids which react with the glycerol to form
triglycerides. The triglycerides thus formed are stored by the body in fat deposits.
In short, this is a great recipe for accelerated weight gain!
Trans fats are quite likely the biggest food offender of the modern world. They are industrially processed unsaturated fats, obtained via partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. All evidence indicates that trans fats cause significantly more weight gain and obesity than other types of fats – for the same caloric intake.
Trans fats are mainly found in restaurant foods and fast foods, as partially hydrogenated oils and shortenings used for cooking and frying. These oils and shortenings constitute a financial advantage for the restaurant business due to their longer shelf-life, and
therefore continue to be used. Since trans fats are industrially processed and hence
chemically different from naturally occurring fats, it is possible our body has
difficulty breaking them down for fuel, and therefore has the tendency to store them
as fat deposits. This also means that the energy needs of the body are not readily
met, so that fatigue and hunger may ensue faster after a meal high in trans fat
products. This in turn may lead to eating more of the same, triggering a horrendous
vicious cycle. The effects are indescribably harmful to both one's weight and health.
In conclusion, remember that any oil-containing restaurant dish or fast food item (especially if deep-fried) may bring in a significant amount of trans fat.
The damage is compounded by the addition of sugars to trans fats. In this case, the sugars are burned for energy first, leaving the trans fats to be stored into fat deposits. A perfect example of such a food item is the brownie à-la-mode offered for desert in many restaurants and eateries: You can be sure the dough contains trans fats (from the oil or shortenings used in its preparation). Moreover, it contains a high amount of sugar, and the ice cream tops it all off (literally) - with plenty of sugar and saturated milk-fat.
It so happens that the worst foods for weight control are exactly the ones we're likely to crave most: hearty, deep-fried, sugary dishes. That's exactly why obesity is so rampant in this day and age: The food industry offers us exactly what we like to eat, and what can hurt us most. Therefore, knowledge of these worst foods and of their consequences is quite useful - if not to eliminate these foods from our diet altogether, at least to exercise restraint and limit portions to a reasonable amount.
Return from "Worst Foods for Weight Control" to "Fat Facts"
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