11 Healthy Diet Foods That Can Actually Make You Fat

By this point we all know how important our diet is if we want to get good results no matter if we’re trying to lose weight or gain muscle.

The rule of thumb is that the importance of your diet when compared to your workout is 7:3 or 70% and 30%, respectfully. So the formula for a good body is quite simple then, right?: Eat good food and exercise often and you will be peaking those abs in no time.

As a consequence we try and surround ourselves with the healthiest foods we can find.

The main issue, however is that some of those foods that are promoted as healthy and good for our weight loss diet, can actually make us fat.

Which is exactly why I wanted to compile this list of 13 healthy foods that can actually make you fat.

This does not mean that the foods on the list must be eliminated from your diet, but rather, that they should be consumed in moderation.

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Also check out the bottom of the article for the special shoutout opportunity!

 

1.  Healthy Breakfast Cereals

These so-called “healthy” cereals are probably the worst foods you can eat at the start of your day. This includes Muesli as well.

They are usually loaded with sugar and refined carbohydrates, which are basically one of the most fattening ingredients in existence.

Not only will the directly harm your weight but also indirectly:

Starting your day with a breakfast that is high in sugar will cause a spike in your blood sugar and insulin levels. When your blood sugar crashes after a couple of minutes your body will call for another snack high in sugar.

Furthermore, foods that are high in sugar are well known in the diet game as influencers for ‘insulin resistance’, where your cells become resistant to the effects of insulin, which causes your body to produce more to drive the same amount of carbohydrates and this results in higher body fat storages.

Translation: insulin resistance makes you fat.

 

2. Whole Wheat Bread

While whole wheat bread is definitely the lesser of both evils (when compared to refined white bread), it still is, however, pretty bad for you especially when not consumed in moderation.

The glycemic index of whole wheat bread is at 69 whereas white bread is at 75.

This means that the speed at which whole wheat bread increase blood glucose levels is still pretty high.

And just in case you thought that 69 is not that bad, keep in mind that Coca-Cola has a glycemic index of 63.

The main issue here is that just because we believe that whole wheat bread is far healthier we tend to consume lots and lots of it thinking that it does no harm to our waist line.

There are, of course, some exceptions of whole wheat/grain breads that are packed with dietary fibre, protein, and nutrients that sort of make it OK to eat bread, but nevertheless bread is bread and will continue to be the staple of an unhealthy diet.

3. Granola

Granola contains some healthy ingredients like nuts and oats, but when you consider all of the processed sugar and oil that is added it sort of eliminates the healthy factors.

There is about 29g (30%) of sugar and 20g (20%) of fats with only 10g of protein and just 5g of fiber also rocking 490 calories per 100g of Granola.

When you compare that to whole oats that contain 0g of sugar, 7g of fat, 16g of protein, 11g of fiber and 380 calories per 100g, immediately Granola doesn’t sound like a healthy breakfast food, does it?

 

4. Low Fat Yogurt/Milk

Everybody that is trying to look lean and fit for the summer (or in general) suffers from the complexion of buying foods that have “Low fat” in their title.

When you think about it, it sounds logical, right?

If you want to lose weight you would want to make sure that your diet is not packed on fats.

The problem however is that low fat products such as yogurt are PACKED with sugar. 100% of the carbohydrates that are coming from yogurt are sugars.

With 18g of carbs/sugars per 1 cup of the product it sure as hell doesn’t sound like something you would want to indulge on now does it?

The same applies for Low Fat Milk.

 

5. Fruit Juices

A lot of people nowadays believe that fruit juices are extremely healthy for you.

There are so many online influencers (vloggers and bloggers) that promote these juice cleanses and juice diets claiming that they are one of the best ways to lose weight.

Due to their high following they convince thousands even hundreds of thousands of people worldwide that fruit juices are a healthy option to one’s diet and that if YOU wish to lose weight and be healthy then you need to drink juices.

Well, sorry for being that guy but fruit juices will actually help you gain a ton of weight if not drunk in moderation.

They are extremely high in sugar, low in dietary fiber and high in calories. Not to mention that they are quite tasty and sort of persuade you to drink and more. There is nothing of substance to stop you from realizing that you have just consumed 50g of sugar.

And this goes for juices that are organic with a 100% fruit content.

One glass of orange juice for example is the same as eating two or three large oranges without all of the dietary fiber, just the sugar.

 

6. Trail Mix

When you think about it trail mix is suppose to be one of the healthiest snacks out there. Fruits and nuts packed with rich nutrients, right?

Well the problem is that there are many brands out there that increase the sugar content of the product by either adding processed honey or plain sugar.

Combined with the fats coming from the nuts and you have yourself an explosive combination of fats and sugar.

Another issue is that they are quite easy to overindulge on. Tasty as hell and you sort of don’t realize when you’ve eaten a full bag.

 

7. Protein Bars

Protein bars are the quintessential fitness snacks that everybody believes are suppose to help you gain muscle or lose weight.

Well, if you actually take a look at the nutritional content of these bad boys you would notice that they are packed with tons and tons of sugar to compensate for protein that they provide.

They are also really rich in fats, which sort of makes them a really undesirable fitness snack.

There are some brands out there that use natural flavoring and are pretty low on fats and sugar, but do not taste as good as the originals.

I guess this is one of those moments in life where you have to stop and think what is more important to you – lowering your sugar consumption or the taste of the protein bar. Or you could just go for some homemade protein bars.

 

8. Avocado

Overall the avocado is a superfood. Each fruit contains about 10g of fiber and has more than twice the amount of potassium than a banana, and not to mention how rich it is in antioxidants.

It has been proven that eating avocados can help you lower your bad cholesterol and improve good cholesterol, reduce cancer and diabetes risk, improve skin health and even act as a fat-burning food.

The only drawback is the high amount of fat content that it has.

Due to its praise that it has received both online and offline and its seemingly endless food combinations (guacamole, toast and avocado, avocado cream, salad dressing, etc) it’s quite easy to go overboard.

I would strongly recommend including avocados in your diet (here is a list of 40 different avocado recipes) but remember to eat the fruit in moderation!

 

9. Dried Fruit

Dried fruit is exactly what it sounds like – dehydrated fruits. So basically a bunch of people had the idea to create a snack that it’s insanely tasty and easy to eat while at the same time offering the same level of health benefits as regular fresh fruits.

The problem with dried fruit is exactly that, they are too easy to eat and they are quite sugary.

Two tablespoons of dried cranberry raisins have the same amount of calories as a cup of fresh cranberries or a cup and a half of strawberries.

Not to mention that some companies add sugar artificially to make them sweeter.

Stick with your fresh fruit!

 

10. Aloe Vera Juices

Aloe vera drinks are probably one of the most heavily marketed drinks on the shelves that have made people believe that they are nature’s miracle that helps detox your body.

While it is true that aloe vera does wonders for the skin and for detoxing your body, let’s not forget for a second how much sugar a bottle of this lovely, pulpy juice contains.

There is 25g of sugar in one cup of aloe vera juice!

Due to the fact that it’s heavily marketed as a weight loss drink people tend to drink lots and lots of it thinking that it’s helping them lose weight.

When in fact the only thing that it has been helping them lose is money. And actually add on weight along the way.

Furthermore, they are actually really tasty and sweet which makes them enjoyable to drink, which only makes everything worse.

 

11. Whole Wheat Pasta

I am not going to lie to you guys, I eat a lot of this sh*t, simply because it’s pasta and I LOVE pasta!

I, of course, try my best and eat whole wheat pasta in moderation, because it’s… pasta after all.

It carries the same effect as whole wheat bread basically, tricking you in believing that it’s not going to make you fat.

While evidently it’s much healthier than regular processed pasta (containing more fiber, more protein, less carbs and more goods fats) it’s still packed with a lot of carbs and calories.

Not to mention that it is pasta after all. It’s really hard to eat a small batch of spaghetti, even when you are trying your best to stay on your diet.

It’s helluva a good pre-workout meal, though, let me tell you that!

If you want to keep eating whole wheat pasta you totally can, just make sure that you consume (just like everything else on the list) in moderation!

 

Tell us what you think

I would love for you to share with me what do you think are other healthy diet foods that can actually make you fat that I missed out.

I might make a part two of this article and mention your recommendations below with a link leading to your Twitter/Facebook/Instagram page.