You’re working out like a beast in the gym, having rest days, keeping hydrated and eating what you consider a healthy diet, but you just cannot shift those last few kilos.
Early on weight loss can happen quite rapidly for people who make big changes to their diet and exercise routine.
It can seem almost too easy to quit the sugar and refined carbs, add a few functional training classes to your schedule and watch those numbers on the scale dial back!
All of a sudden you are only a few kilograms off your set weight goal or – more importantly – your ideal body fat percentage.
Then you hit a brick wall and no amount of extra cardio or strength-training sessions seem to help.
While changing up your exercise routine can help – another post for another day – the most likely reason you cannot lose those last kilos is your diet.
But I eat a high protein, high fibre diet and avoid processed foods?!
You have probably already cleaned up what you eat and have done a lot of research on the best foods to eat for weight loss, while also saying goodbye to those pizza binges on a Friday night.
The next step? Seeking out those sneaky – often heathy – foods that we don’t even realise are stopping us from reaching our fitness goals!
1. Macadamia Nuts
Not all fats are created equal and neither are all healthy fats. True, nuts and seeds are high in protein and fibre, and eating them in moderation comes with a huge range of health benefits.
We know that eating healthy fats is good for us but it is so easy to overdo it and believe that just because you’re enjoying a healthy snack, you don’t have to keep track of how much or many you consume.
One of the big killers here is macadamia nuts. While they are high in monounsaturated fat that can boost your heart health, they have – gram for gram – the highest number of calories of any nut.
About 10 – 12 macadamia nuts equal roughly 2 grams of protein and a massive 21 grams of fat.
So, enjoy your macadamias in moderation and instead fill-up on almonds, pistachios and walnuts that give you all the good stuff for less calories.
2. Granola / Muesli
When running out the door in the morning it can be really easy to throw a bowl of your favourite granola or muesli together believing that you’re getting a healthy fill-up to start your day.
Unfortunately, most packaged varieties on the market have more sugar in them than the cereals you know to avoid and have you loading up on calories.
What’s worse is how granola is portrayed and advertised to target those of us wanting to eat a healthy diet. This even comes down to the refined sugar substitutes in the ingredients, which many of us would skip over when doing a label check.
Molasses, brown rice syrup, evaporated grape juice concentrate – these are all sources of sugar!
Granola and muesli are usually full of dried fruit that has not only has us eating a heap of sugar, but also preservatives that can affect our hormones and hinder weight loss.
Add in all those high fat nuts oils – healthy or otherwise – and it can be really easy to be eating double the kilojoules you’re probably expecting.
Don’t want to give up your granola? Sprinkle a bit on plain Greek yogurt instead of eating it by itself or swap out for eggs on wholemeal toast every couple of days.
3. Smoothies / Juices / Protein Shakes
You have probably cut out or limited how much alcohol you drink, are already sipping on long blacks instead of lattes and know not to drink soft drinks.
What you might not be aware of is that there is often more sugar in health smoothies, juices and even your post-workout protein shake than there is in a traditional can of fizzy drink.
When we eat a piece of fruit our bodies digest it slowly as we take our time to chew and eat the fruit in its entirety including the high fibre skin.
When we slurp up a smoothie or suck down a fresh juice, we can be consuming as many as 5 – 6 serves of fruit in one go! That is one very big, very quick sugar hit.
Smoothies can be a double-shot of sabotage too with many including high fat additions like avocado, nut butters and sugary yogurt.
Even protein shakes can have added sugar that could undo the benefits of having them to build lean muscle so reading labels is a must.
Hopefully by being aware of these covert calorie and sugar bombs you can eliminate another weight loss disruptor and be hitting your fitness goals sooner!