There’s nothing like starting your day with a delicious, ingredient-loaded omelet. This breakfast is tasty, easy to make, and versatile; you can mix in so many different veggies to kick-start your morning. However, there are a few ingredients you may want to leave out of your omelet pan if you’re trying to lose weight.
To learn more about the worst fattening omelet ingredients, we spoke to Dr. Amy Lee, board certified doctor in internal medicine, medical nutrition and obesity medicine and partner of Nucific. She pointed out two options you should avoid: processed cheese and cured bacon.
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Processed cheese
If you love a good cheesy omelet, we don't blame you—because who doesn't? However, if you're watching your weight, Dr. Lee warns that you should be careful about the type of cheese you add to this meal. She says processed varieties are a no-go for those looking to shed a few pounds.
Whether it's American, gouda, pepper-jack or cheddar, processed cheese can be detrimental to your health. "Processed cheese, whatever the type, has added non-cheese ingredients," Dr. Lee explains. "These things can be added salts, preservatives, or artificial flavors, and can react poorly with the body."
When you consume all of these unnatural ingredients on a regular basis, you may run into inflammation, among a range of other issues that can cause weight gain. And it doesn't help at all that this omelet addition can really pack in the calories: "Processed cheeses also have calories and fat that could be stored, leading to weight gain," Dr. Lee says. Yikes!
Cured bacon
Bacon is one of the most common omelet ingredients, but just like with cheese, Dr. Lee says choosing the wrong kind can seriously hinder your weight loss journey. It's best to steer clear of cured bacon, she advises, because it's treated with salt and nitrates to preserve its flavor.
"Some of these added flavorings can be inflammatory to the body and if not recognized, can cause us to react to it," Dr. Lee explains, noting that "some people can develop vague symptoms such as bloating and fatigue." But this addition won't only impact your body on the short term; if you put cured bacon in your omelets frequently, chronic inflammation can lead to weight gain over time. That's why Dr. Lee suggests going with its uncured counterpart instead.
"Uncured bacon also has nitrates, but it is derived from more natural sources, so that is preferred," she concludes. Got it!
Of course, at the end of the day, no diet is perfect—and no omelet is, either! But if you really want to stay dedicated to the healthiest diet possible in order to lose weight, it's best you keep these two ingredients out of your eggs.
