This post has been updated since its initial publication date to include more expert insight.
Maintaining a healthy weight loss diet can be difficult if you don’t often have the time to prepare nutritious meals at home. Unfortunately, the most convenient foods are often the least healthy and the worst for your waistline. But not all metabolism-ruining foods or drinks come with bright red flags — in fact, there are a few highly processed options that are often marketed as healthy snacks or drinks. If you’re trying to slim down, it’s important to know which seemingly innocuous foods can actually slow down your weight loss goals.
To learn more about one of the worst options out there, we spoke to Heather Hanks, a nutritionist at Medical Solutions Barcelona, Lisa Richards, a nutritionist and founder of The Candida Diet, Tanya Langa nutritionist for Meal Fan, and Bet Hawkesa Registered Nurse of Nurse Code. They told us all about why you should avoid sugary, processed granola bars and store-bought fruit juice. Find all their insights below!
Muesli bars
You may think that grabbing a healthy-looking granola bar as you head out the door is a good way to fit in a quick, nutritious breakfast when you’re pressed for time in the morning. However, health experts say you should think again. These rods usually do more damage to your body than they’re worth, especially when it comes to your weight.
“Granola bars are the worst ‘healthy’ food for weight loss because they’re full of anti-inflammatory ingredients that prevent weight loss, including refined sugars and grains,” Hanks tells WebMD. “Many food manufacturers claim that their granola bars are healthy because they contain oats,” she continues. And while oats are definitely a good source of fiber, the real problem lies with the other ingredients. “The added ingredients in granola bars are what make them so unhealthy,” Hanks explains. Typically, the most popular varieties are loaded with added sugars, carbs, and calories, which can wreak havoc on your metabolism, exacerbate inflammation, and lead to weight gain.
“While [granola bars] They can be useful, they can prevent weight loss, among other negative side effects,” agrees Richards, noting that “processed foods are manufactured with refined carbohydrates that are highly inflammatory and wreak havoc on gut health.” “
If you’re in a rush and want a snack that’s equally convenient and nutritious, a granola bar isn’t the way to go. Instead, try reaching for healthy nuts and fruits that will keep you energized and full without overloading the added sugars and calories.
Fruit juice
While it may seem healthy because it contains fruit, health experts say it’s not healthy. This is because fruit juice is loaded with unnecessary sugars. Drinking apple juice every day can cause health problems such as bloating, inflammation, disrupted metabolism and weight gain. Yuck!
Long cautions about fruit juice that while it may seem like a good choice over soda, “the sugar content in fruit juice can be much higher than the sugar content of soda.” Hawkes agrees: “Fruit juices are often loaded with sugar,” she notes. “For example, there are about 31 grams of sugar in a 12-ounce serving of orange juice, which is more than the 22 grams in the same amount of cola.”
Fruit juice is high in sugar, but offers almost no nutritional value. “Unlike a piece of fruit, fruit juice doesn’t contain fiber to limit the body’s absorption of sugar, which results in an insulin rush,” says Long.
Hawkes notes that because fruit juice contains very little fiber, drinking it too often “makes weight loss impossible” because without the fiber it won’t keep you full. This can lead to overeating and a slowed metabolism. “When you consume that amount of the sweet stuff, your blood glucose levels rise into the stratosphere,” she says. “This tells our metabolism to slow down and thus burn fewer calories, leading us to weight gain instead.” Healthy alternatives to store-bought fruit juice include unsweetened tea, naturally flavored water (this morning’s flavored water can reduce bloating!), or even freshly squeezed fruit juice.