What you eat can either help you achieve your desired body goals or destroy it. If you’re trying to lose some weight eating all food may not help your case as majority of food we eat here in Nigeria are high in carbs and calories.
You may want to reduce your intake or take zero of some of these foods.
- Cereal
Many of us take eat not only because we of course love food but it’s an escape from spending a long time in the kitchen, its just you, a bowl of milk and your cereal.
Well, cereal is trouble if you’re trying to lose some weight, sorry to burst your bubble. It is made of heavily processed carbs that can spike your sugar level. Eating cereal will also turn you to a food monger.
For better and healthier options, wheat bread, ofada rice, sweet potatoes and vegetables.
- Peanut Butter (groundnut)
Per tablespoon, peanut butter contains 100 calories, multiply that to the number of spoons you take for your slice bread or whatever option you like.
You cannot fight all that weight and still consume this much calorie but the good thing about peanut also known as groundnut is that it contains a heathy number of fat and oil and protein. If you must eat, you have a peanut DIY session at home. Get the roasted groundnut, blend into peanut butter at home and store in a closed jar.
- Banga Soup and Starch
You definitely cannot mention calories and not include starch and banga.
Banga soup is prepared with palm oil like every other Nigerian soup. A table spoon of palm oil contains 120 calories and 14grams of fat while 100 grams of banga contains 450 calories, 36grams of fat, 13 grams of carbohydrate and 40grams proteins.
Combining both therefore increases your calorie intake as starch is also very high in calorie.
- Yam
Luckily, the carbohydrates in yam have a nutritional value but contains a large amount of carbohydrate, which is not advisable for weight loss. On the other hand, the dietary fibre in yam decreases bad cholesterol and regulates blood sugar levels.
- Garri
Worthy mention to garri, Nigeria’s legendary life saver. Can be consumed by drinking or mixing with hot water to make Eba but whichever way you take it your weight loss plan will be laughing at you. Garri made from cassava contains 159calories (100 grams) of which 98% of these are from carbs and small amount of protein and fat.
- Semo
How people enjoy semo is funny to me but to eash his poison. Ofcourse semo contains high carbs with calorie of 175 per cup.
- Fufu
Fufu, apart from the smell this is one of my favorite Nigerian swallows. It is very high in calorie as 1 cup is 335 calories, Carbs 79g, Fat 1g, Protein 2g. When you consume it too often remember your waist line is going to be in shambles
- White Rice
Nigeria’s favorite Sunday meal that doesn’t hold the stomach for a long time no matter how much you eat. White rice is another fast weight gaining food with130 calories to a cup because of the high amount of starch in it.
Since we cannot do without eating rice here, proteins like chicked or fish would be perfect fr it and going for ofada and brown rice are much better options too.
- White Bread
I am a proud bread addict like you, it is my favorite food to eat with eggs but terribly bad if you’re on a journey to lose weight. It is a highly processed flour with additives and can contribute to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, white bread is very low in fiber and essential nutrients and may lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar.
If you must consume bread, whole wheat bread is a much better and healthier option
- Noodle
My lack of food option rescuer. You don’t want to be caught eating any kind of noodles of you’re concerned about your body, just a pack of noodles contains 321 calories (empty calories).
Empty calories mean they are composed primarily of sugar, certain fats and oils, or alcohol-containing beverages. Noodles are processed food with little or zero nutrient in them that will only make you fat.
It’s goodbye to weight loss!
- Potato Chips (French Fries)
The go to “date” food but not good enough for weight loss.
French fries have a lot of fat and salt that could raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and bloating. Eating fries only gets you fat, bloated and hardly ever satisfied that’s why you see yourself munching and munching.
- Fried Chicken
Fried chicken tastes like even especially deepened in sauce but comes with a lot of calories. 100 grams gives you 246 calories and 22grams of fat.
I know it is hard but stay away from anything fried
- Junks
How can I get my eyes of junk? They are cheap, good looking, delicious, easy to get and taste good. If you’re serious about shedding some weight stay far away from junk (chin chin, meat pie, pizza, donut, buns, Puff Puff) like it’s your enemy (Wizkid will approve).
We know it is a bad idea but we still eat them anyway
- Salad Cream (Cream-Based Salad Dressings)
Salad cream hide behind salad only to make us puff up at the end of the day. Salads are nutritious but with cream, say hello to fat. They contain a lot of bad fat and calories
- Sugar
Sugar has no necessary nutrient just fat building calories. I like to think everyone knows sugar is bad news when it comes to one’s health, it affects the immune system and makes it harder to fight off germs and diseases.
Other food include;