While losing weight entails much more than a well-balanced diet (including making time for regular exercise and sticking to a steady sleep schedule), you might find it helpful to reassess what you consume daily if your goal is to obtain a flat stomach, experts say. With that said, we reached out to health and nutrition experts to learn more about one fattening condiment they recommend either avoiding or replacing with a lighter version. Read on for tips and suggestions from Jesse Feder, RDN, CPT, registered dietitian and personal trainer, Lisa Richards, registered nutritionist, and Kate Meier, personal trainer.
How High-Fat Mayonnaise Can Hinder Weight Loss
The "creamy or oily types of condiments" tend to have a large amount of fat and calories, Feder explains. This includes high-fat mayonnaise products. Richards agrees and adds that this condiment, especially the traditional egg-based form, should not be considered healthy by "any stretch." Those made with healthy oils, like olive oil, however, can be a “great addition to a recipe or meal,” but should still be used in moderation, she suggests. Richards also points out that saturated fat content and emulsifiers used in healthy varieties can be damaging to many organs, especially the liver.
“As the liver works to filter the excess fat and toxins we ingest, it can become weighed down and under stress by high-fat condiments like mayonnaise,” she adds. Mayonnaise-based salad dressings are one of the "worst things you can eat if you are trying to lose weight," Meier acknolwedges. They are "very dense with calories and rarely measured out exactly," she says, echoing points made above. This, she stresses, makes it "easy to underestimate the effect it can have on losing weight."
Just two tablespoons of a mayonnaise-based dressing can add "upwards of 200 calories to a salad" without creating the same "satiating effect" that other nutrient-dense foods can, Meier continues. This means "you will end up eating more to become full," she adds.
Healthier Alternatives
Rather than opting for mayonnaise, Richards advises that “it is best to go without this condiment or choose a healthier alternative if you can, like whole fresh avocados.” These, she says, are more easily processed by the body and the “fat found in them will be more readily digested and used as fuel.” Feder says he believes you "do not necessarily need to avoid mayonnaise" since there are usually lighter options for these condiments.
"I would opt for the light versions since they are low in calories and will help with weight loss," he recommends. When it comes to choosing salad dressings that may contain mayonnaise, Meier says it is best to trade these dressings out for a lower-calorie vinaigrette or a yogurt-based dressing. "A vinaigrette will help save the calories and a yogurt-based dressing will be more filling and prevent you from overeating," she concludes.
