So you do your absolute best to lose weight, but for some reason, you just can’t seem to drop those unwanted pounds.

So you beat yourself up and down asking your self “Why Not?”  You think about your daily diet, and the best you can tell, you don’t eat “a lot” of food.  Then you begin to question yourself about your actual food choices.  “Am I eating healthy food?”  Well, you may just be surprised on what “healthy” foods you are eating that are quite simply making you fat!  If not fat, then at least preventing you from losing weight!

There are two reasons you may not be losing weight.

1.  Quite simply, you are eating too much food…. too many calories.

2.  You THINK that by eating healthy foods, you’ll lose weight, but too much healthy food will still make you fat or prevent you from losing weight.  And this is the one we want to look at.

Some healthy foods are making you fat!  And here’s why.

Some healthy foods are very HIGH in calories for a very small amount.  Technically called calorically dense foods.  And if you eat a bunch of these types of food, then you’re going to gain weight, OR not lose weight simply because you are too much of them.

So let’s go over some examples:

1. Granola – especially the granola that is mixed with nuts can pack on mega calories.  500 calories or more per cup!  YIKES.

2. Pasta – even whole wheat pasta, can really pack on the CARBS and the calories.

3. Avocado – a fantastic source of monounsaturated fat, but one avocado is over 300 calories and 30 grams of fat

4. Nuts and Nut Butters – while these two are both healthy, very healthy…. 2 tablespoons of nut butter is almost 200 calories!

5. Fruit Juice and Smoothies – all fruit juices are PACKED with sugar!  Even shop smoothies that are 100% juice are packed with sugar.  You are much better off making your own with whole fruit.

6. Dried Fruit – this process basically removes the water and means the volume is reduced by leaps and bounds.  So while a whole apple may fill you up as a snack, one dried apple, will hardly make a dent.  Which means you will likely consume more than you should.

7. “Whole Wheat” Breads and “Whole Grain” Bagels. – It doesn’t matter if its the 100% whole wheat variety or not, both are very high in calories as a general rule.  Which when consumed can easily high jack your calories per day.

Now with that said, it does NOT mean you should skip these foods, it simply means you should monitor the calories of these selections carefully.  Because eating from this list can mean you are not eating “a lot” of food, but your calorie content can skyrocket!  And too many calories, will make you fat!

As a prime example, take a look at the image below:

Let’s say you had a whole wheat bagel for breakfast, with nut butter… and a glass of 100% orange juice.  Then later in the day you had 1/2 of an avocado, and yet later a cup of granola.  Not “a lot” of food right??  But this small portion of food is almost 1300 calories!  Now add in 2 more meals, and you are too high in calories, and guess what?  You don’t lose weight!

It’s not necessarily POOR food choices.  But its a matter of portion control and timing.  I hope this article may shed some light on how healthy foods can make you fat.  Good luck with your weight loss goals, and let me know if I can help!