If you are trying to incorporate healthier foods into your diet, it’s a good idea to eliminate those foods that might set back your progress. And the pantry is a good place to start. Eliminating unhealthy foods in your pantry means it less likely you’ll snack on them, and more likely to turn to healthier options.
With that in mind, keep reading for the 4 pantry foods you should throw away asap!
Women Are Swapping Their Boring Water For This Ice Pop Electrolyte Mix!
Rice Cakes
According to Eat This, Not That!, "Rice cakes are an old-school diet staple. But the simple carbohydrates rank notoriously high on the glycemic index (GI) — a measure of how quickly blood rises in response to food on a scale of one to 100 (rice cakes come in at 82)." This can be a problem for weight loss.
The article explains, "High GI foods provide a rush of energy but can leave you hungry within a few hours. Researchers at the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center found high-GI snacks caused excessive hunger and increased activity in craving and reward area of the brain — the perfect storm for overeating and weight gain."
With that in mind, this pantry staple might be doing your diet more harm than good.
Granola Bars
Granola bars might seem like a diet-friendly option to have in your pantry--especially for all the times you need a snack on the go.
However, these snacks are not as healthy as you might think. Often, store bought brand granola bars are often packed with sugar and high in calories--which can make it difficult to lose weight.
Cereal
Cereal is another pantry item that could be preventing weight loss.
Speaking to Eat This, Lauren Slayton, MS, RD, founder of Foodtrainers, explains, "Most cold cereals—even the ones that seem healthy—are carb-laden, sweet, and highly processed. They are definitely not the breakfast of champions."
Macadamia Nuts
Adding nuts--like almonds and pistachios--to your pantry can be a great way of having healthy snacks at the ready. However, if you are hoping for weight loss, you should still keep what you're eating in moderation--especially if you are eating macadamia nuts.
"If you are trying to lose weight, I would avoid macadamia nuts because of their caloric density," registered dietitian Michelle Routhenstein, MS, CDE, owner of Entirely Nourished, explained to Popsugar.
