I Thought It Was Healthy

Like many other women out there I have decided that due to the impending bikini season it is time to go on a diet. It is sad but every year around this time I make the commitment to lose the 5lbs (or even a few extra) that I gained over the cold winter months eating all the delicious holiday food. Sadly enough the main reason that I do this is for vanity, like every other teenage girl, I want to look good when I go to the beach. For me this means basically a few extra sit-ups in the morning a little less snacking at night. Keeping in the theme with my last few articles though I like to search MSN for topics relevant to me and whats going on with my life, whether it be stress, snacking, or love. Thankfully MSN is able to supply me with and abundance of interesting articles to write about, and this time around I found a great one on Healthy Foods that Can Make You Fat.
We all know that sugery desserts and crispy fried food are bad for you, what I didn't expect was to find was a list of healthy foods that are bad for you.
I was very disappointed to find out that one of my favorite meals that I consider pretty low-calories was actually pretty high on the list for things to avoid on a diet. Apparently sushi is usually pretty bad for you. Most rolls that you order have either cream cheese or mayo (it's in the spicy sauce) and other options include things fried in tempura. The average roll you have for a snack is between 500 and 600 calories, I might as well just go to Starbucks for that. The upside is that there are healthy options if you stick to rolls that are mostly fish and veggies with little rice or sauce.
You know how growing up everyone told you that trail mix was a great snack, well now its not if its filled with dried fruit. By drying fruit you are sucking out some of the great nutrients and leaving behind a lots of suger. Also because they are dried and shrunken cup for cup there are significantly more calories. For example a cup of fresh grapes has 60 calories, while a cup of raisins has 460, furthermore some companies add extra sugar to the fruit which adds even more calories. So if you have the option try to grab the fresh fruit at Wally World rather than the prepackaged dried mixes - your body will love you for it.
Something else that suprised me was granola and bran muffins, these traditional healthy breakfasts are supposed to be full of fiber and goodness for your body. In reality though they are loaded with sugars and oil to give it a yummy taste. A bowl of granola may contain 500 calories and a single muffin has 20 grams of fat and 420 calories and 32 grams of suger. Skip on these unless you come accross and option that is a little lighter.
One thing to watch the calories on is wraps. These delicious snacks seem like a great option compared to a greasy hamburger but they tortilla shell can be up to a foot accross which leaves a lot more room to lather on toppings like mayo and such. This isnt to say that all wraps are bad, just be conscious of the size and what all is stuffed into it because that's where they get you every time, it is one supposedly good things that add to your tummy pudge.
I know that I tend to skip on the pop in favor of other, healthier options, often tea. According to the article though tea is actually on the list as well. Because most people like their tea a little sweeter it is often fill with - yep you guessed it, lots of sugar a single bottle may have up to 200 calories. Juice was also on the list, but it didn't surprise me as much because we all know that they sweet our OJ, apple juice, and capri suns so that they sell better. Often juices are only a small portion juice and mostly sugars and other miscellaneous ingredients so your healthy factor is gone.
The last three items on the list were probably the biggest suprise but also the most logical. Those frozen diet meals that we buy which are low in calories are high in sodium so we retain more water. And we often cover salads in bacon bits and fatty dressings to make the greens eatable. The final one was tofu, its bad for the same reason, it isn't real great plain so we add all kinds of toppings to make it tasty.
Needless to say I was a bit bummed out after reading this article, I guess I'll have to read Cosmo's 10 Best Diet Tips and How to Drop 5lbs in one week and maybe then I'll feel better. Or maybe I'll just go get some ice cream and start the diet tomorrow.