Why Are We So Fat?

A headline from Yahoo! Heath caught my attention: “Why are American’s so fat?” Well, why are we? According to this article, written by David Zinczenko, it’s because we are consuming far more calories than we need. And I agree with that. Each time I open my Shape or Women’s Health magazine, I am learning about consuming too many calories and how to cut them down. I even started using a calorie counting website to help me figure out what exactly I was putting in my body.

According Zinczenko’s research, the food we eat is often filled with extra calories, especially in mass produced foods. Sure, that can help make the food taste better, but it’s only bad news for your pant size- and your health. Zinczenko helps uncover which foods contain more calories than necessary, and where to find healthier options of the same food.

One example is a new favorite food of mine. I recently tried guacamole and fell in love at first bite. I thought the guac was healthy for me (it comes from avocados after all) but that’s not always the case. The truth about premade guacamole dip is that it often times lacks a punch of real avocados. When you see the word “dip” after guacamole, you can assume that is contains less than 2 percent avocado, and is instead filled with chemicals and fillers. So where can you find real guacamole dip? Zinczenko suggests Wholly Guacamole to buy in stores, or making it yourself. Avocados are filled with fiber and mono-saturated fats (good for your heart) and can be easily made from home. Scoop out the flesh of two avocados, combine with two cloves of minced garlic, a bit of minced onion, the juice of one lemon, chopped cilantro, one medium chopped tomato, and a pinch of salt.

Be sure to check out the full article filled with more foods that could be upping your calorie intake!

Source: David Zinczenko, Yahoo! Health