Fruits and vegetables are commonly referred to as “unlimited” or your “free” foods while dieting, but the truth is, some are better for you than others. That’s not to say that fruits and veggies are nutritionless; quite the opposite, actually. All fruits and vegetables are going to be good for you and have nutritional value. But if you’re trying to lose weight, it might be a good idea to limit your consumption of a few of them so you can see maximum results.
1. Tropical fruit: Fruits like mangos and pineapples certainly are delicious, but they contain higher amounts of sugar than other fruits and therefore contain more calories. You might want to save them for special occasions, or just switch to a fruit like apples, which much fewer calories and lots of fiber. For weight loss, stick to these seven fruits that are low in sugar.
2. Dried fruit: Because dried fruits have had most of their water removed, that means there are more calories in smaller quantities of food. For example, one cup of dried raisins has almost 500 calories, and one cup of dried prunes has 447! It’s best to exercise strict portion control when it comes to dried fruits.
3. Avocados: It figures that one of the most delicious fruits is also high in fats and therefore calories. One cup of pureed avocado contains 384 calories! However, the fat found in avocados is the heart-friendly kind that your body needs, so eating an avocado every now and then won’t wreck your diet.
4. Mashed sweet potatoes: While we certainly love sweet potatoes here at Skinny Mom, they’re definitely not the lowest-calorie vegetable around. A cup of mashed sweet potatoes contains 249 calories. A regular potato, skin and all, contains 212, and a cup of lima beans contains 202. You can blame starches! A cup of leafy green veggies like lettuce, spinach and kale contains less than 20 calories. That means load up on the healthy salads!
5. Vegetable juice blends: While it might be difficult to get your required fruit and veggie intake every day, it’s a better plan than relying on vegetable juice blends. Many of the vegetable juices that taste like fruit juice contain way more salt or sugar than you need. While you’ll be getting your daily fruit and veggie intake, you’ll also be drinking your entire day’s worth of sodium! Be sure to read the ingredient list when buying veggie juice.
This is not to say that you should completely cut the above fruits and vegetables out of your diet altogether. We would simply recommend avoiding them most days out of the week!
(via Skinny Mom)
