The two foods that actually cause belly fat might surprise you…almost all folks incorrectly think that these two foods are good for you. Every time we suggest to a client that they should consider eliminating these foods from their diet, they’re shocked.

All of our readers have heard Sharon or I say how bad trans fats and high fructose corn syrup are for you, so rather than play that same old tune again, I’d like to mention a couple foods that will likely amaze you that they are responsible for packing on the fat.

Fattening Food #1
The first type of food that causes fat which amazes a lot people, is one that is thought to be “healthy” — fruit juice. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not a campaign for anti-carb per se…we truly believe that most fruits are extremely healthy for us. You see, our bodies just weren’t designed to separate the pulp and fiber from the juice, and then only drink the extremely high calorie sweet mixture that’s left, and not consume the fiber and other healthful portions of the fruit.

When you just drink the juice of fruits (apple and orange juice representing two of the greatest offenders in the SAD or Standard American Diet), you’re not getting the appetite gratification impact of the fiber naturally found in the fruit, and you’re left wanting to consume even more carbs. Plus, the fiber in whole fruit slows the blood glucose response which comes from eating whole fruit, in contrast to drinking just the fruit juice alone.

In a nutshell, drinking significant quantities of fruit juices actually causes you to store fat. But, eating whole fruits, including all of the fiber, actually assists you in maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet containing a high density of nutrients (assuming the rest of your diet is made up of whole unprocessed foods as well).

Fattening Food #2
The second type of food that’s usually incorrectly thought to be good for you is any product made from wheat…this includes almost all breads (bagels, muffins, et al.), cereals, pasta, crackers, etc. And yep, I’m including “whole” wheat in this family of these foods which can cause you to store fat. I include whole wheat because it’s only due to a technicality (loop hole?) that legally allows food manufacturers to label something “whole wheat” or “whole grain” even if it only contains a small amount of whole grains.

First, a great many people have some degree of problem with the gluten found in wheat as well as several other grains. Those who have been correctly diagnosed as having celiac disease are highly sensitive to gluten, but what most people don’t understand is that the human gastrointestinal system was not designed to consume the massive amounts of wheat found in today’s diets. Again, we have a fundamental design issue. The incorporation of large quantities of wheat into the human diet has only taken place within the last 80-100 years. This is a relatively small amount of time compared to the diet that the human digestive system acclimated to over the many years of eating a hunter-gatherer diet of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

It is interesting to note that from our experience with many clients, that those who are willing to take us up on the suggestion of doing away with all forms of wheat from their diet for two to three weeks to see if they begin to slim down and feel better, nearly always come back to report amazing results. Often, they not only start to shed body fat, but they also notice that the headaches and indigestion that has troubled them for as long as they can remember also goes away. Occasionally even undesirable skin conditions disappear by simply eliminating wheat from their diet.

If you want the facts about eating strategically for lasting fat loss, read these five tips for Losing Body Fat the intelligent and effective way.

Photo by Mr TGT