HIdden Calories and Your Weight Loss Goals

If you are on a proper, healthy diet, then you can expect it to take a few weeks before any noticeable difference occurs. Your weight can vary by up a couple of pounds from week to week anyway depending on various factors such as hormones, so until you are confident that you have lost 3-4 pounds you will not be happy.

Hidden calories are contained in foods, usually manufactured foods, with poor or misleading labelling that contain substantial amounts of fats and/or carbohydrates that you don’t realise are there. An example is a large size frapuccino or latte, which can contain up to 500 calories.

Other sources of hidden calories are snacks that you pick up and eating without even realising what you’re doing. You may work out for twenty minutes and then have a couple of biscuits with a fizzy drink, blissfully unaware of the calories you have consumed.

Hidden calories can creep in when you are snacking to appease hunger whilst waiting for the next meal. Unplanned food consumption results in hidden calories, unless you are careful about keeping a food diary, track what you just ate and subtract its calorie value from your next meal. Extra helpings at mealtimes or large portions also contribute to taking on hidden calories.

Worse than just adding calories, is adding highly glycemic calories. These are ones from rapidly absorbed sugars that cause a sudden rise in blood sugar, triggering a rapid increase in insulin production to convert excess glucose to fat. Do this repeatedly and you are storing gradually more and more fat and increasing your weight. Highly glycemic foods are things like cakes, biscuits, candy bars, dried fruits, fruit juices, and many manufactured snacks

It is easy to over eat with some foods more than others, because they contain a lot of calories, even in small portions. Foods to be wary of include butter and spreads, salad dressings, mayonnaise, cheese, pastries, chips, biscuits and crisps. You should also be aware when out and about, that high street coffees with cream, milk, or sugar can be high in calories and you should avoid the large sizes and cut back on the sugar particularly.

Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so if you want to lose weight you should consider reducing the amount you drink. A pint of beer is equivalent to about 182 calories, a small glass of wine about 85, and a gin and tonic about 85. Two or three drinks of an evening adds considerably to your daily calorie input.

By taking account of these hidden sources of calories and eliminating them where possible you can help yourself achieve the overall calorie reduction that you must in order to lose weight. It may not be easy but it’s worth it!