Not all junk food is created equal.  Many foods that you can purchase at fast food outlets may appear healthy but actually still have a high caloric count.  Several fast food outlets now offer better food options such as salads. However, when you add a heavy fat dressing to it, the calorie count goes up very fast.

–>> Choose low fat dressings for salads and just have the dressing on the side. Dip your fork into it before each bite so you get the taste but way less calories!

–>> Avoid buying fries with your cheeseburger.  Thin french fries hold a lot of fat and are extremely high in calories.

–>> Where possible, choose fruit or rice as a side dish to your fast food.

Instead of buying a double meat, double cheese burger opt for the single meat and cheese option and reduce the calories significantly.

Regular soda is high in calories while offering no nutritional value whatsoever.  Choose all natural fruit juices or diet soda to reduce calories.

Try cooking more meals at home and have at least one junk food free day per week.

I chuckled when I read about a recent study linking eating junk food with workout sessions:

A new study conducted by researchers from the Texas Christian University found there is a direct link between junk food, working out and losing weight. According to the study findings, when a person trying to lose weight is shown junk food along with the workout he or she needs to do in order to lose the calories gained from consuming that junk food, people tend to choose a diet with less calories and lose weight faster. However, if they were shown the food with just the nutritional value, they tend to choose junk food over healthier options.

For the study, 300 people were asked to participate. They were divided into three groups and each group was given a menu with the same food items on it. However, for the first group, only the nutritional value of each food item was mentioned. In the menu given to the second group, the number of calories for each food item was also mentioned; and in the third group’s menu, the menu also noted how many minutes of brisk walking needs to be done to lose those calories.

It was found that the third group ordered food with 15 percent lesser calories than the other two groups, while not much of a difference was observed between the first two groups.

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