Thursday, March 28, 2024

7 Common Foods In Nigeria That Won’t Help You Lose Weight

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When it comes to plans to lose weight in Nigeria, there’s usually a pause to think about what to eat and what not to. As you may have known, the diet has a crucial role to play when it comes to losing weight. 

In Nigeria, there are foods that we come across almost every day of our lives. Foods that we can’t avoid or sometimes have no choice but to take them. However, maybe on your journey to lose weight, there are some common foods you can avoid for a start. 

1. Garri

Made from cassava are the ‘Cassava flakes’ popularly known as Garri. It is no doubt the fast-ranking food in Nigeria that we possibly can’t do without, it’s easy to reach and most affordable at the least amount. 

However, when plans have been drawn to lose weight it should be considerably ruled out. Garri which is made from Cassava is rich in carbohydrates. A cup of garri contains about 360 calories, out of which 99% is carbohydrate. Consuming Garri a lot will unnecessarily lead to weight gain. 

Besides, some people have major weight-contributing ingredients that they add to their cup or bowl of garri. Milk, sugar, groundnut, or kuli, and maybe all merge. Garri also contains Cyanide which is an organic acid, it can lead to intestinal issues and can worsen the situation of an ulcer patient. An ulcer is the last thing you want to have when trying to lose weight. 

2. Yam

This is a yearly popular west African food common, while yam is rich in fiber and can keep you full for a long while which can help with your weight loss, it also contains high carbohydrates which can drawback the rate of calorie burn. 

When you’re trying to lose weight, you probably would want to exercise or go through a series of calorie-burning workouts. If you notice little or no progress for the first few weeks, you can trace it back to your carb intake. The human body tends to jump on glucose from carbs for energy, if you take fewer carbs it’s easier to switch to the already stored fats for fuel burn. 

A 5-inch yam contains 112 calories, so you might want to take it easy on your favorite yam and egg, especially for dinner. So apparently, there isn’t a yes or no in the answer, all it takes is moderation. 

3. White Bread

Lovers of bread shouldn’t panic yet, but you should know at least why some daily bread you consume has a role to play in your weight loss journey. 

White bread is highly refined and often contains a lot of added sugar. It is high on the glycemic index and can spike your blood sugar levels and can pose a greater risk of weight gain and obesity. 

Those agege bread that is easily found around you is mostly an example of the type of bread you should avoid. Brown bread is a better choice, they are healthier, less processed, and not loaded with starch but might be hard to get here. 

4. Rice

Rice is one of the most popular and widely consumed static foods across the world and especially in Nigeria. Although there are a lot of myths related to rice intake; it makes you fat and increases your blood sugar levels for instance. The first thing that comes to your mind when want to lose weight is to rule out rice consumption.

However, white refined rice contains high carbs than its counterpart, brown rice which is richer in fiber. It is healthier to opt out of brown rice as it will fill you quickly that you’d consume fewer calories from its carbs and starch and that is very helpful in weight loss. 

Nigerian homes have mostly rice for breakfast consumption, and it’s almost always available. So there is no way to avoid it as many don’t have a choice. White and refined rice is within reach and most preferable for their less stony baggage. The choice here is not many.

5. Swallow

In every Nigerian home, there’s at least daily consumption of swallowed foods like Semovita, Amala, Eba, Iyan, and Akpu among others.

These foods are always dished mostly at night for dinner, and at that time hunger is a fuel to wolf down some heavy swallow especially when it is served with rich soup and delicacies you wouldn’t wanna miss. At night, you’d eat swallow heavily and go to bed very easily but there’s is the prone to belly fat. 

The calories in Nigerian swallows are quite too high and certainly not adequate for weight loss. Moreover, Nigerian swallows have the trick to make you crave for more as they contain low fibers and this means you have to eat more to get filled. Eating more means eating more calories and if you want to lose weight, heavy swallows are a No, No.  

6. Sugary Drinks 

Sugar-sweetened beverages, like soda, and carbonated drinks are one of the unhealthiest foods you can settle for. They contain high sugar content and when consumed in excess increase the change of high-calorie storage and obesity. 

Carbonated drinks are loved on many occasions in Nigeria and it is almost everywhere for everyone to grab. Usually chilled is good to go with any type of snacks, a major contributor too.  Most of these regular and everyday consumables are bad for health, diabetes is a consequence of excessive consumption of carbonated drinks.

Fruit Juices to are high sugar drinks you should avoid, as they are overly processed and sweetened. Sugary doesn’t satisfy you, and you won’t eat nominal food to equalize rather their calories are added to your regular daily ones that might even need adjustment. If you want successful progress in your weight loss journey, give sugary drinks completely.

7. Fried snacks 

The popular treat any day any time is the crisp, crunchy, crumbs of deeply fried snacks made from refined flour. When embarking on that weight loss journey, you should bid bye to your favorite stall and street place where you get your morning puff puff, your afternoon potato fires, or daily snacking buns.

Here’s why these snacks are mostly deeply fried in oil at very high temperatures.  Deep Drying breaks the Chemical Structure of most cooking oils: they raise inflammation in the body and increase the chance of adding weight as the snacks contain trans fat from the deep frying process. 

They sure are the most craved snacks around us, and delightful to our tastebuds but what about those other ingredients that include sweetened sugar, processed milk, and high sodium contents(which can cause water retention in your body)  from donuts that can give you bloats and inflammation in your body. You don’t want to wake up every morning with your face getting puffier and puffier, so walk away from deep fried and settle for healthy baked foods instead. 

The best trick to weight loss, however, is not deprivation but rather moderation. In Nigeria where almost all healthy foods are costly, and hard to get then maybe you don’t need to cut out many of our foods here. 

A healthy lifestyle and food tailored to your best hours of activeness can help, portion control is a healthier approach. 

All you might need might not be a strict diet here, after all. Just simple moderation and dedication sprinkled with discipline will keep you on track. 

I hope you’re enlightened.  

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