10 Worst Eating Habits

Have you ever wondered if there are any rules that apply almost every time when you are trying to lose weight, improve your health or have a healthier lifestyle in general!?! If so, the below information will be extremely useful for you as we managed to conclude which are the 10 worst eating habits.

1. Not Eating Nutritiously or Variously Enough

A well balanced diet, with meals and snacks rich in nutrients is essential for your health. Nowadays people seem to be too busy to take care of their own diet. This phenomenon has led to the increased demand for pre-prepared or semi-prepared food which is low in nutritious value, thus leading people to supplements. Prevention is always better than treatment, so instead of wasting your money on supplements, it would be better to just take your time and make yourself a well balanced and nutritious diet.

2. Skipping Breakfast

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Most people, however, don’t have time for it and just grab a sugary snack which calms their appetite. Sugar does make the hunger go away, but it only lasts for about one or two hours and it doesn’t help in terms of nutrition…not mentioning the weight gain. Make time to eat a consistent breakfast and you’ll start your days much better and you will improve your health.

3. Fast-food

Fast-food products have a high content of sodium and a lot of calories from saturated fats. Such products lack a lot of nutritious elements and, therefore, relaying too much on them might cause vitamins and minerals deficiency. Sure, fast-food is not poison and it’s not a crime to indulge yourself once in a while, but be careful not to make a habit out of it.

4. Eating Late in the Night

It’s not a good idea to dine right before going to bed. During sleep, the stomach reduces its activity, thus taking longer to digest food. Also, calories have a higher chance of turning into fat due to body’s inactivity. This is also why you should avoid snacks after dinner.

5. Lack of Exercises

Exercise is vital for a healthy body. It increases metabolism and burns the food we eat as energy. You don’t have to exercise just for the sake of it. If you enjoy activities like: running, soccer, basketball, dancing, tennis, bike riding, skating, or even taking a walk in the park, stick to them and your body will have a lot of benefits and you will fell much better.

6. Relaying on External Stimulants When Eating

Surveys have shown that US citizens stop eating when they have a clean plate, while some Europeans relay on their internal stimulants (like feeling full) to stop eating. Furthermore, the serving sizes differ greatly from country to country thus bringing a possible explanation as to why some nations are more exposed to obesity than others. It’s simple to solve this problem: just listen to your body and stop eating when you feel full, even if you’re at the restaurant or fast food, you don’t have to eat everything on your plate.

7. Using Food To Calm Down

Often, when we’re sad, impatient or bored, we relay on food to calm us down. But this never really help dealing with the cause of the emotional problems, so experts advise us to recognize when we’re really hungry or at least to pick up a healthy snack.

8. Excessive Snacking

Most people turn to snacks to get them through a stressful day at work. This doesn’t necessarily have to be unhealthy as long as you choose healthy snacks and you don’t exaggerate.

9. Eating in Front of the TV or Computer

Studies have shown that watching TV often distracts you from what you’re eating and you’re likely to consume with about half more than what you really need to. Sure, indulging yourself with some popcorn in the company of your friends at the cinema or some chips on your horror movies marathon night is fine once in a while, but taking your meals in front of the TV is just an exaggeration. The TV doesn’t belong in the kitchen so just relax and just try to enjoy your meal.

10. Not Drinking Enough Water

Some people fail to see the importance of water for our body. Water is important for the brain and all other organs. It also reduces hunger and helps detoxify the body. It is recommended to drink about 2 liters of water a day, plus the water from fruits, vegetables or other food products we eat. Some drinks, like soda and coffee, deplete our water reservoir so it’s best to avoid them when thirsty.

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Top 8 Unhealthiest Foods

In the modern society, people have less and less time to cook their own food. This is why fast-food outlets and restaurants have become more popular. However, is this a healthy eating habit?

Nutritionists underline that some food products are a real nightmare for our health. These food products contain high quantities of saturated fat, nitrates, sugars and salt and, therefore, can lead to cholesterol level increase. Long-term consumption of such food products can cause weight increase and also various diseases. Moreover, these food products don’t ensure the necessary daily intake of vitamins and minerals.

In this respect, we thought that a list with the 8 most unhealthy food products would be of interest to you:

1. Burgers
2. Bacon
3. French Fries and Potato Chips
4. Hot Dogs
5. Doughnuts
6. Margarine and butter
7. Sodas
8. Cookies and cakes

1. Burgers

Burgers have a lot of fat and calories and can drastically increase the level of cholesterol. Difference may occur among restaurants in terms of fat and calories contained by burgers. Depending on cooking methods and ingredients, a regular hamburger with condiments, vegetables and without mayonnaise has about 280 calories (about 14% of the needed daily value) and more than 13 grams of fat (about 20% of the needed daily value).

A large double cheeseburger with condiments, vegetables and mayonnaise has about 900 calories (45% of the needed daily value) and more 50 grams of fat (80% of the needed daily value). Still, the most negative aspect is that most fat are saturated fat which are some of the unhealthiest type of fat.

The worst ingredient of the burger is mayonnaise, which consists of 70-80% fat. If you do like burgers and don’t consider giving up on them, ask something without mayonnaise and you will save about 200 calories and 12 grams of fat. Burgers have a lot of salt, so they are not good for those suffering from high blood pressure. Also, burgers are not recommended for pregnant women.

2. Bacon

One ounce (28 grams) of fried bacon has about 150 calories and more than 10 grams of fat. Regular consumption can cause a rapid weight-gain and cholesterol level increase. Also, the high level of saturated fat and sodium make it unhealthier.

In addition, processed meat products like bacon and hot dogs are added nitrates to preserve color and maintain microbial safety. Even though nitrates don’t have harmful effects on the human body, in the presence of amino acids present in our stomachs it can convert into carcinogenic chemical compounds called nitrosamines. Vitamin C inhibits this conversion and, therefore, if you do eat food products with nitrates, it would be better if you eat/drink also something rich in Vitamin C at the same time (like orange juice).

3. French Fries and Potato Chips

French fries generally have about 400 calories and 20 grams of fat. However, some fast-food outlets serve fries with even more calories and fat. French fries contain saturated fat and, due to the high oil temperature in which they are fried, they also contain high levels of trans fat. Trans fat are known to increase the risk of heart diseases and accelerate the aging process. Also, heated carbohydrates in French fries contain acrylamides, a potential carcinogen substance. In addition, French fries have a lot of salt which can cause strokes and stomach cancer.

Potato chips also contain acrylamides. One bag of 225 grams has 1,200 calories (more than half the number needed per day) and 85 grams of fat (130% of recommended fat per day). Still, the worst aspect is that such food products have 25 grams of saturated fat, 5 grams more than a person should have per day. Numerous experiments have demonstrated that saturated fat raises cholesterol level and increases the risk of heart diseases.

So, let’s say that you share the chips with someone else. That means you get 600 calories, about 42 grams of fat (65% of the daily needed value) and about 12 grams of saturated fat (62% of the daily needed value). In order to get 25% of the daily needed value of saturated fat (5 grams), 26% of fat and 240 calories, you have to share chips with other four persons. Unbelievable, but all this are included in just a quick snack.

Getting chips with no fat made with olestra (fat substitute) isn’t good either. Olestra can bind with vitamins A, D, E and K and eliminate them from the body.

If you are just addicted to potato chips, try the ones made of dried potatoes. They have the same amount of calories, but half the amount of fat. However, it’s best just to replace them with some fruits.

4. Hot Dogs

A plain hot dog has about 250 calories and 14 grams of fat (which includes saturated fat). The hot dog meat generally contains pork or beef and sometimes pork mixed with chicken. The high content of sodium, fat and nitrates make it a very unhealthy choice.

5. Doughnuts

One normal-size doughnut has about 250-300 calories and 10-20 grams of fat, depending on its type. Doughnuts are tasty but they have no nutritional value whatsoever.

Because they are fried in oil, doughnuts have a lot of trans fat. Also, they contain high quantities of sugar and refined flour and are made with partially hydrogenated oil. The saturated fat and trans fat that doughnuts contain increase heart diseases risk.

What is interesting about doughnuts is that they have high levels of carbohydrate which releases serotonin and dopamine, two brain chemicals associated with mood and pleasure.

6. Margarine and butter

These are two different food products which are unhealthy for two different reasons. But since they substitute each other, they deserve the same place.

Margarine is basically hydrogenated fat. One tablespoon of margarine has about 30 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and 0.5 grams of saturated fat. Hydrogenated fat are high in trans fat.

Butter has less calories and fat and doesn’t have dangerous trans fat levels. However, it does have high amounts of saturated fat (about 1.5 grams per tablespoon).

Both trans fat and saturated fat increase cholesterol level along with the risk of heart diseases.

7. Sodas

Sodas are nothing but water, sugar, artificial food colors and artificial flavors. The high amount of sugar from a can of soda gives you about 150 calories. Most sodas contain 30 milligrams or more of caffeine. Sodas have become a major problem due to their high popularity. People of all ages drink one up to five or more soft drinks per day. The dangers of sodas are weight gain, diabetes, tooth decay and others.

If you don’t want to give up on them, consider the sugar free soda or switch to fruit juices.

8. Cookies and cakes

Many cookies and cakes are made with hydrogenated fat and contain a lot of calories. Just one chocolate chip of one ounce (28 grams) has about 130 calories and 7 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of which is saturated fat (more than 20% of the daily needed value). One cupcake has about 200 calories and 8 grams of fat.

Of course, whenever you’re craving for something sweet, you can choose a cake with fruits, which is healthier.

Conclusions

An average person needs about 2000 calories (about 1,600 calories for women and about 2,200 calories for men), 65 grams of fat and can handle about 20 grams of saturated fat per day.

Let’s say that you have bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast. How many calories do you get?

Worst case scenario:

4 oz of Bacon (600 calories, 40 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturate fat) + 2 Eggs (200 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat) + two slices of toast (150 calories) + 1 Biscuit (100 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat) = 1050 calories, 60 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat.

If at lunch you go to a fast food outlet and order a burger with french fries and a soda.

Worst case scenario:

Double hamburger, with condiments, vegetables and mayonnaise (950 calories, 58 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat) + large french fries (530 calories, 28 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat) + one medium soda (180 calories) = 1660 calories, 86 grams of fat, 27 grams of saturated fat.

Let’s say you eat a dessert. If we add chocolate chips (230 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat) it becomes a total of 1890 calories, 91 grams of fat, 32 grams of saturated fat.

Best case scenario:

Hamburger with condiments and vegetables (280 calories, 13 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat) + one small size french fries order (270 calories, 14 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat) + one medium soda (180 calories) = 730 calories, 27 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat.

You do the math….!!!

Of course, the best case scenario would be to order something totally different, like a chicken salad or grilled fish with a diet soft drink and fruits as dessert.

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