12 foods to avoid if you want to get in shape

We live in a society where, in many cases, productivity prevails over individual well-being. Our lifestyle has become quite sedentary, and with this change, various diet-related pathologies have begun to flourish.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 1.9 billion adults all over the world they are overweight, triple the number in 1975. It is not surprising, therefore, that ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world.

Thus, in many cases it is necessary to evaluate oneself and think about whether we are leading a lifestyle associated with a better state of health. If not, it is usually time to take action on the matter, and for that reason, today we present you 12 foods that you should avoid if you want to get in shape.

• We recommend you read: "The 6 healthiest diets to lose weight in a healthy way"

The importance of a balanced diet

First of all, it is essential to emphasize that the obsession with diet and calorie counting can lead to a pathology as serious as anxiety.

The key is in control, not in prohibition. To open your mouth and as a way to cement the following lines, we show you certain data basic nutritional supplements provided by the Food and Nutrition Organization of the United Nations. Agriculture (FAO):

• The bulk of the caloric needs in the diet must be covered by carbohydrates, 55% to 75% of the daily intake.
• Proteins should account for 10% of daily energy, a little more if we are talking about an athlete who wants to build muscle.
• Fats (mostly unsaturated) will provide the remaining 15% of daily energy.
• Simple sugars (a type of carbohydrate) should not account for more than 5% of your daily energy.
• The intake of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day is recommended.

All these data suppose some advice "to finger", because each patient must adjust his diet to the specific nutritional needs of her. For example, it is calculated that an adult human being should consume one gram of protein for every kilo of weight, but in the case of athletes, this value can even double.

• We recommend you read: "The 17 types of sport (and their characteristics)"

What foods should you avoid to get in shape?

Once we have laid the foundations of a healthy and balanced diet, without further ado we show you the 12 foods that you should avoid if you want to get in shape.

12. Processed meats

Examples of this are frankfurters and sausages from pork (ham, jerky, loin... etc). Beyond a question of calories, the WHO has classified this group of meats as carcinogenic products for humans (group 1). Thus, a person who consumes 50 grams of processed meat per day is 18% more likely to develop colorectal cancer. The data speaks for itself.

• You may be interested in: "The 12 anticancer foods (that you should include in your diet)"

11. Red meat

It is convenient to limit its consumption for the same reason as the foods in the previous section. Although they are not confirmed as carcinogenic, red meat also seems to be associated with the appearance of certain malignant tumors. But, remember, in no case is it confirmed.

Beyond that, meats such as lamb have more than one 20% fat in your tissue. In general, a chicken or turkey fillet contains the same percentage of protein (26 to 29 grams per 100 grams of meat), but the amount of fat in the latter food is much more limited.

10. Sauces made with vegetable oils

In this group we find the Mayonnaise, the aioli and many other sauces available in the market. It is surprising to learn that, for example, 100 grams of mayonnaise contains 680 kilocalories, more than a quarter of the daily intake required for an average human. Therefore, it is always a better option to go to a preparation of spices (lemon, cayenne, vinegar, parsley, garlic... etc), as it provides a lot of flavor but much less fat.

9. Butter

We are before another hypercaloric food, since 100 grams of butter contain approximately 700 kilocalories, with half of all this mass being saturated fat. Saturated fats are lipids that raise plasma levels of "bad cholesterol" (favoring thrombi and other pathologies), which is why avoiding this type of food, without exception, is usually a good option.

8. Soft drinks with sugar

Did you know that 600 milliliters of a sugary soda contains approximately 12 tablespoons of sugar? This supposes more than 200% of the recommended intake of this monosaccharide daily according to the American Heart Society. Don't be fooled by the liquid format: a sugary soda is almost like drinking a donut or any other pastry product.

7. Pate, foie gras, sobrasada and other meat spreads

In these cases, we are dealing with foods that are practically minced meat mixed with fat. Despite not being as bad (in general) as butters, they are also a type of food to steer clear of if you are trying to lower the amount of body fat.

6. Whole dairy

We are facing a less harmful group than those discussed so far, but in many diets, the limited of whole dairy products (without reduction of fat) is usually considered. This is because, for example, cured cheeses have a percentage of Saturated fats slightly higher compared to other benefits (such as vitamin K and D). In these cases, resorting to Burgos cheese and skimmed milk is usually a good option.

5. Alcohol

As is often said in many sports environments, beer and other alcohols are "Empty calories", and in addition, they generate damage to the liver more than registered in various investigations. Of course: the lower the alcohol content of the drink, the fewer calories it usually provides (not counting mixes with soft drinks or other compounds, of course).

4. Fast food

From here, we enter more dangerous terrain, since some of the data that we will show from now on will raise cholesterol to more than one just by reading it. Some food chain dishes that we will not name report, on their own, more than 1,400 kilocalories, that is, more than half of what many adults should eat in a day.

3. Fried

We are not surprised to find this cooking method ranked so high. 100 grams of cooked potatoes report about 80 calories, while this value doubles just by frying them. Food tissues absorb grease from oil during the frying process, so empty calories are being added to a food that could be cooked perfectly otherwise. As a general rule, about 90-100 calories are added for every 100 grams of fried food.

2. Buns and pastries

Another of the groups most vilified by those looking for a perfect figure. In these cases, we move between 400-500 kilocalories per 100 grams of product. A donut, for example, features a quarter of total fat in its composition and almost a third of sugars. Again, these data speak for themselves.

1. Products with trans fats

We come to first place, the queens of bad food: trans fats (pizzas, hamburgers, junk food, French fries ...). These unsaturated fatty acids have been directly correlated with heart problems, for example, various Studies have shown that those adults who eat 2% of their daily energy in the form of trans fats, have a 23% increased risk of developing certain coronary diseases.

The United States has already banned them for a few years, and the WHO plans to phase out the use of these fats worldwide by 2023. Of course, in this group the saying "in moderation, no food is bad" is not contemplated. Trans fats are an objectively harmful compound that does not report positive effects, and therefore, we may see them completely withdrawn from the market in the coming years.

Resume

As we have seen, most of the foods listed here base their negativity on a high percentage of simple sugars (remember that they should not represent more than 5% of the daily caloric intake) or a fat content excessive. Even so, except processed meats and trans fats, it is difficult to say that a meal is completely "bad". With moderation, these foods can be included in a balanced diet, as the biggest secret of losing weight weight tends to be, in many cases, a strict exercise routine and control snacking between hours.

Bibliographic references

• Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat, WHO. Picked up on October 22 at https://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/es/
• FAO and WHO present an expert report on diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases, WHO. Picked up on October 22 at https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr32/es/#:~:text=El%20informe%20indica%20que%20el, stay% 20by% 20under% 20of% 2010% 25.
• WHO plans to remove industrially produced trans fatty acids from the global food supply, WHO. Picked up on October 22 at https://www.who.int/es/news/item/14-05-2018-who-plan-to-eliminate-industrially-produced-trans-fatty-acids-from-global-food-supply
• Obesity, WHO. Picked up on October 22 at https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight