11 Foods That Makes You Fat in Nigeria (And Replacements)

11 Nigerian Foods that makes you Fat

Here are the Nigerian foods that can make you fat and their replacements...

1. Cereal

If you want to lose weight and still eat cereal for breakfast then you're in trouble. Cereal is just “junk food in disguise”

Cereal is made Of heavily processed carbs that spike your blood sugar level — which leads to unnecessary hunger and food cravings.

Better breakfast options than cereal are:

Yam, sweet potatoes, Brown rice, eggs, beans etc.

These are complex carbs and protein that take a lot longer time for your body to break down, therefore providing your body with sustained energy, which will likely keep you full until afternoon

2. Potato Chips (French Fries)

Harvard researchers believe that potato chip won the contest for worst possible food for your belly.

One 20-year Harvard study found that people who ate fries regularly gained more than three pounds of body weight every four years; over the course of the study, the French fry eaters gained 15 pounds of belly flab from fries alone!

A typical potato chip is not just full of unhealthy trans fat that causes abdominal fat gain, it’s also packed with salt, which can cause bloating.

Worse part is:

You hardly feel satisfied.

Try eating boiled potatoes instead of fried.

But if you must eat potato chips then try Homemade sweet potato fries (at least a healthier version)

Here Is How To Make Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

3. White Rice

White rice can cause unnecessary body fat because it doesn’t keep you full for long.

You see, You can eat a basket full of rice this minute and next minute you're dangerously hungry.

If you must eat rice, make sure you eat it plenty enough protein like chicken, beef, fish and so on. Or better still you can go for Ofada or brown rice because they contain more filling fibre, vitamins and nutrients.

4. Sugar

It’s going to be old news for you to be reminded that white sugar is full of calories that damage healthy and makes us crave more sweets.

Worse is:

Sugar has no vitamins or minerals, just lots of fat-building calories. It also affects the immune system and makes it harder to fight off germs and diseases

Stop taking sugar and also watch out for hidden sugars In processed foods!Use natural sweeteners like stevia and honey instead.

5. Artificial Sweeteners

“No Calories, No Problem”

At least, that’s what I used to think

But Artificial Sweeteners send false signal to the brain that sweet food is coming, as a result, you end up eating more junk.

Research has also shown that NutraSweet, one of the most popular artificial sweeteners, leads to the same surge of insulin as white carbs – because of sweetness detectors in the small intestine.

People, who limit their artificial sweetener use, find that they have more energy and don't have as many cravings.

If you must use sweeteners then use natural sweeteners like honey and stevia

6. Margarine

Many people think margarine is a healthy alternative to butter (I'm guilty!).

BUT margarine (AKA fake butter!) has lots of trans fats, which increase your cholesterol.

And it contains a lot of ingredients versus butter's one or two .

Your best bet: Stick with small dose of butter or use heart-healthy olive oil

7. Fried Chicken

When it comes to taste, fried chicken is great. But when it comes to calories— not so great!

One fried chicken thigh has nearly 400 calories and 22grams of fat.

Now:

If you eat two of those chicken thighs (I’ll let you do the math! ). That’s already near your daily maximum calorie allowance.

Long story short:

Fried chicken can make you fat so Stay away from fried chicken

In fact:

Anything that starts with “fried” Should be avoided

Fried foods are not nutritious and can cause blood pressure and cholesterol levels to rise.

They can also cause you to gain weight. Avoid frying any food, consider boiling or grilling instead.

8. Salad Cream (Cream-Based Salad Dressings)

Look:

Salads can be very nutritious but when we add salad cream

they become unhealthy because:

cream-based dressings contain a lot of bad fat and calories. There can be more calories in your salad dressing than in the rest of your entire salad.

Try oil-based salad dressings instead. They taste lighter and have fewer calories.

9. Bread

If you are a bread addict like me, I have a bad news for you...

white bread causes a spike in your blood sugar and an immediate elevation in your insulin hormone, causing your body to accumulate fat.

If you really want to lose some weight, try to stay away from bread for some time.

If you can’t then eat whole grain or whole wheat bread instead.

10. Indomie (Or Any Instant Noodle)

These easy pre-packaged meal solutions are not good for your health generally, and neither for that extra fat you were hoping to get rid of.

Processed food like Indomie is usually deep fried during the preservation process to make them preserve and cook fast, making them have little or no nutrients.

A pack of Indomie noodles contains approximately 321 calories (empty calories!),

80% of the food value being processed carbohydrates that can't keep you full for long.

So, indomie just adds more empty carbs to our diet and it's making us fat. If you really love instant noodle, try making this healthy  and more filling version.

here is how to make a healthier version of noodles (it's a shame for me to teach you guys how to cook noodles) so instead here are a few...

Things To Add To Your Noodle to make them Healthier & More Filling 

• Cucumbers, Green Peas, carrots, cabbage, lettuce and Bell Pepper (tatase) or any other vegetable.
• Eggs
• Chicken breast (Baked, Roasted or boiled)

The Idea is to make your noodles look like the picture on the packet, and you’re good to go.

11.Pastry Foods (Flour Snacks)

They look good and taste good too, especially, when they are sprinkled with sugar.

But if you want to lose weight you really need to run from pastries like: Donuts, Chin Chin, Puff Puff, Meat Pie… I could do this all day but you know them sha!.

They are all full of addictive calories that can make you fat.

Instead of having those as snacks you can substitute them for healthier snacks like nuts.

Now It's Your Turn

Tell me in the comment section which foods I missed. And which food on the list you can't stop eating.