Has your weight loss plateaued? Do those last 5 or 10kgs seem to be just out of your reach? Maybe you’ve recently gained a few kilos for no apparent reason? Sometimes it's the little things that are making all the difference, or the lack of them!

Sometimes there can be hidden calories in things we consume which have a negative affect our weight loss. Everything we eat or drink needs to be included in our total consumption for the day. Often people neglect to include some of the following which can make a huge difference in their weight loss crusade:

WINE – 2 or 3 standard drinks can have almost the same amount of calories as an entire meal. So you can see how easy it can be to slowly let some weight creep on after a few extra days of alcohol consumption in your week.

LOW FAT PRODUCTS – When fat is removed from a product, yoghurt for example, most of the protein is removed along with it. This leaves mainly carbohydrates (sugar), which causes a rise in blood sugar levels. This low fat product doesn’t keep us satisfied for long. Our blood sugar soon drops to lower than before and we can often be even hungrier than before. Often, at the end of the day after this sort of eating, we can actually end up eating more calories. If we had chosen to eat a more natural snack or meal, balanced in fats, proteins and carbohydrates then this could be prevented.

COFFEE – Depending on the coffee, the amount of milk rather than water, foam or froth can make a huge difference. The size of the coffee, whether you order low fat or full fat milk or if you add sugar to your drink will make a huge difference. If you have hot chocolates then the calories can practically double as the amount of sugar used is massive. Consider these factors and work them into your calories for the day instead of drinking your hot drink with reckless abandonment!

JUICES – Even though fruit and vegetables juices are full of nutrients, depending on the type, they can have a negative affect for those trying to lose weight. Juiced fruit has had all its fibre removed and up to 4 pieces of fruit can be used to make a glass of juice. So even though juice seems natural, it is a very concentrated sugar and calorie hit, without the fibre (which was provided for you by nature!). Eat the fruit instead of drinking it!

© Kylie Pogson 2006

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