We’re counting calories all the time but no one seems to be getting any thinner. Every other day, we read another statistic that shows how the obesity rate is going up for each age group in our country. So where are we going wrong? Watching how much you eat is important but keeping an eye on what goes into the food you eat is equally important. The following list should give you a fair idea of the little culprits that are making you heavier.
Preservatives: Don’t be fooled by terms on labels such as high fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch, brown sugar, dextrin, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners and malt. They all mean only one thing and that is sugar. When you eat products which contain these ingredients, all these extra calories get converted into fat and store in the body. Thus, even if a product is ‘fat free’ but high on these sugars, it will make you pile on the pounds.
High protein diets: Our body has mainly two energy sources — carbohydrates and fat. Breaking down carbs as a source of energy is simpler and preferred by our bodies while using fat as energy source is a little more complicated. When you cut off carbs or even reduce them significantly from your diet and increase your protein intake, your body is forced to make a different choice. Our bodies then actually start breaking down protein and use it as an energy source (instead of allowing protein to build and repair body tissues) and all the extra calories from protein will also be converted to fat and saved. In short, your high protein diet will actually make you fat.
Deficiencies: Deficiencies of significant vitamins and minerals are becoming very common these days due to changing lifestyles, different styles of cooking and most importantly soil erosion. If you plan to go on a diet or even start a fitness regime, it’s important to do a blood test to check for common deficiencies like vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and haemoglobin as they slow down vital processes in the body and cause it to hold on to weight, unless rectified. Any deficiency will slow down the metabolism and will result in easy weight gain and consequently, very slow weight loss. If you have a deficiency, make sure you look into it immediately.
Salt: Salt by itself has no calories. Salt cannot increase the fat in your body. However, salt contains the electrolyte ‘sodium’. Sodium in the body always binds itself to water, so if you eat food with a high salt content, you will retain water and look puffy and definitely weigh more on the scale. This puffiness/water retention will reduce once you cut back on your salt intake. The ideal salt intake for an individual is five grams (one teaspoon) a day while as Indians we end up consuming at over nine grams a day. Sodium is not only present in high salt foods like papads and pickles but also in foods that contain Ajinomoto (MSG) as well as foods that contain baking powder and baking soda. Avoid these and you can greatly cut back on your salt intake.
Samreedhi Goel is a nutritionist and personal trainer. She runs her fitness studio Size Wise and specializes in Zig Zag diets. She also does online consultations.
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