10 Foods You Should Stop Eating If You Want to Lose Belly Fat

I’ve undergone multiple transformations over the last decade. In my first transformation in 2014, I went from roughly 30% body fat all the way to 12%. The foods behind me are the 10 foods that were stopping me from hitting that goal. My goal ultimately was always to reach single digits, and when I repeated this transformation between 2016 and 2017, I identified even more foods that had hidden calories that I didn’t know were stopping me from hitting my goals. Not only that, but I’ve been coaching for nearly a decade, and these are the foods that I’ve compiled—the 10 top foods that I’ve seen consistently with myself and my clients that have stopped them from hitting their goals. Once you’re able to remove either one or all of these foods, you will see that losing your belly fat becomes effortless. So, I highly recommend you watch till the end. Not only am I going to show you which 10 foods are stopping you from hitting your goals, but I am also going to show you healthy alternatives to make an easy change. These are the changes that I’ve made myself that have allowed that belly fat to go away very easily. Without further ado, let’s not waste any time. Let’s dive into the science, and let me share with you the 10 foods in front of us.

Understanding Caloric Deficit

We have an accurate depiction of what 5 lbs of fat looks like compared to 5 lbs of muscle. We understand in science that to be able to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit. All that means is that you need to be eating fewer calories than what your body burns, and this difference is what causes a deficit. Now, for myself, and you guys have seen my transformation and you’re seeing it right now on the screen, that for me, is 2,250 calories. I’ve been eating that to lose one pound a week. Now, that is equivalent to 275 grams of carbohydrates, which is important for my training performance and my energy levels. It’s where my brain gets a source of energy. I am eating 50 grams of fat, and that is just enough for me to maintain my hormonal balance, and that is roughly 20% of my total caloric intake. I’m eating 175 grams of protein to make sure that I’m maintaining, if not even building muscle tissue through a caloric deficit, and that the body utilizes fat as a source of energy in this caloric deficit.

Why Carbohydrates and Fats Are Seen as the Bad Guys

With that being said, let me show you why carbohydrates and fats are seen as the bad guys. Now, remember that I mentioned I’m eating 275 grams of carbs each and every single day. Let me show you what that looks like with the sugar that we have in front of us here. We have 275 grams every single day represented by the sugar. I need to eat 275 grams of carbs, and as you can see, let’s picture this as all the calories that I can have to maintain my weight. I am creating a caloric deficit with 275 grams, and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to hit those carbs depending on the foods that you’re picking, which I’m going to show you. This is what’s usually happening: there are foods in your diet that you’re eating every day that are causing you to eat in excess, and with a lot of the foods you’re eating, this is causing a spillover. What happens when you eat more than what your body needs? It will saturate your muscles, it will saturate your liver, your brain will utilize as much as it needs so that it can use it as energy to be able to think for you. Your body will then go through a process called lipogenesis and use these extra calories to create fat. Fat’s main purpose is as an energy reservoir. It’s an energy saver, and that’s why carbs are so demonized. It is quite easy to overeat. Otherwise, it’s extremely important in our day-to-day life. It’s all about getting the right amount, and that’s why we need to be very accurate with the amount of carbs and especially those added sugars that we have in all the foods that we’re eating.

The Importance of Fat Control

The same applies to fat. For me to be able to get the results that you’re seeing on the screen, I never go over 50 grams of fat. But I’m going to show you how easy it is in your pizzas, your almond nuts that you’re probably eating, how easy it is to overeat. What happens when you go over your 50 grams of fat? Let’s say on Monday, you eat an entire packet of almond nuts. That excess fat just gets stored, and that adds on to your belly fat. That happens a few times over the week, and after two weeks, you notice that your pants aren’t fitting the same—they’re just a little tight. What happens is because you don’t know that these foods are stopping you from hitting your goals, they’re actually adding on to fat. One month passes, two months pass, and you’re all of a sudden going from a size M to a size L. So, the idea of this video isn’t to demonize any of the foods that I’m about to show you, but it’s to bring consciousness so you know exactly what you need to be eating and what you can limit in terms of your daily intake.

Food Number 1: Peanut Butter

Let’s go into food number one, and I’m telling you it will surprise you. Food number one is one that you’re very likely eating and that I consider the most controversial on this list. But I highly recommend that you hear me out because it will allow you to finally have control over this food, and that is peanut butter. Widely considered to be healthy, and I do agree it has its benefits. But I’ll go with you and really say, how controlled are we eating the peanut butter and is there a better alternative? So here we have Jif classic peanut butter that everyone is familiar with and loves, and here we have PB2. Now, in 2 tablespoons of Jif, which is exactly the content that you’re seeing here, there are 190 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 8 grams of carbs. Comparatively, we have two tablespoons of PB2, and this is what we call powdered peanut butter that has 60 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and 5 grams of carbs. With the exact same amount of serving size, 2 tablespoons, that is three times fewer calories in this PB2 compared to the Jif and also 11 times less fat. But let me show you how much more fat there is in this peanut butter compared to this one. Sixteen grams, and that is what 16 grams of fat looks like. Comparatively, with just the powdered peanut butter, there’s only 1.5 grams. For the sake of the video, I’m just going to show you what 2 grams look like, and this is what 2 grams look like. Now again, we all love our peanut butter. People never really measure how much peanut butter they’re taking out even when they’re on a dieting process. So, you’re adding it to your rice cakes, you’re adding it into your snacks, you’re adding it into your shakes, you’re on the run. You never really track it. It is so easy to overeat. These two tablespoons are 30% of my total fats. I consider that not to be the greatest trade-off, so the easy substitution you can make is just using powdered peanut butter. I promise you this tastes equally as good, and you just have to make it. What’s amazing is you can have so much more. So, if you want it in your shake, simply just add this peanut butter, and you will notice that you get that same flavor. If you want to have it in your snack, it is very, very difficult to notice the difference.

Food Number 2: Bread

Let’s move on to food number two, and I want to know from you guys in the comments down below if you’re trying to lose weight. Are you having peanut butter in your diet? Do you think I am wrong? But let’s move on to the next one, which is another controversial one. Food number two, again controversial, but this was actually inspired by your comments through my competition prep, which allowed me to become a natural pro. Many of you guys asked me, “Dr. Mike, why are you eating bread? White bread especially is so processed.” I want to bring the debate to an end and also to allow you guys to make your own decision on what is better. So here I have one slice of white bread, and here this is brown bread, but for intents and purposes, let’s picture that this is Ezekiel bread. Now, one slice of white bread has 80 calories, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0.8 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein. Now, in one slice of Ezekiel bread, there are also 80 calories, there are also 15 grams of carbohydrates, but the big difference is that there are 4 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. That being said, macronutrient-wise and calorie-wise for fat loss, calorically they’re exactly the same. But what is the difference? Why do they look so different? Why are they different? It’s different because it’s made of organic and sprouted whole grains and legumes. It includes millet, barley, spelt, wheat, soybeans, and lentils. Compared to other breads like white bread, Ezekiel bread is high in protein, high in fiber, and it also has other important nutrients. Both have the same calories, but Ezekiel bread wins due to it having three times more fiber and almost double the protein. This means that Ezekiel bread is more likely to fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied than white bread. So, let me know in the comments down below: are you team white bread or team Ezekiel bread? But again, the big difference is not so much, and it really should come down to your personal preference between getting all those little extra added benefits versus the taste. For me, I enjoy eating white bread as long as it’s done in moderation, and that’s why you guys always see white bread in my food. There are different components in the meal, but it doesn’t make one drastically more superior than the other. So sometimes, besides the science, you should also make a decision based on what you like. With bread in general, just make sure that you’re eating the exact amounts that fit in your macros.

Food Number 3: Potato Chips

Let’s move on to food number three to drive the point home. Can you eat peanut butter and bread to be able to lose your belly fat? Yes, they just make things a little bit more difficult because they’re so calorically dense. As long as you have discipline and you can eat it in moderation, they’re both fine. But that isn’t the case for most people. So, if you find yourself to be the person who’s either totally in or totally out, maybe not having them in your diet will be to your benefit, and I make this decision with my clients all the time.

Let’s move on to meal number three. Food number three is going to be very surprising, and you may even discover some information that you would have never ever known. Introducing potato chips. Now, we all know potato chips aren’t the greatest, but you will see how snacking or maybe having some of your partner’s potato chips is hurting your results. So, in front of us, we have homemade potato chips, the classic Pringles, which we all love, and we have Lays. Now, in these homemade potato chips, there’s 200 grams, which is equivalent to 154 calories, 35 grams of carbs, and 0.2 grams of fat. In these Lays, there’s 30 grams, 157 calories, 15.4 grams of carbs, and 9 grams of fat. Now, in Pringles, there’s 157 calories as well, 15 grams of carbs, and exactly 10.1 grams of fat. Here is our 10 grams of fat for the Pringles. So, you may be asking, “Dr. Mike, what’s the big difference?” Here we have 200 grams of chips, so much more quantity. Lays, this is only 30 grams. Pringles, only 30 grams. The biggest difference is the amount of fat content. There’s virtually no fat in making your own homemade version.

Food Number 4: Haribo

Now, food number four is something that you just decide, “I’m going to have a little bit of, and it won’t make a massive difference.” Introducing Haribo. In here, we have 200 grams of Haribo. If you have this on your office table or at home and you’re just picking off it the entire day, it’s very easy to eat all of these Haribo. Now, in this cup is a whopping 667 calories. That is 150 grams of carbs, and that is equivalent to 100 grams of sugar that is in this cup alone. That isn’t the best way to put 667 calories. For reference, we know to lose a pound of fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit in a week of 3,500, and that’s where you get the number 500 from because 3,500 divided by 7 days in the week is 500 calories. So, if you’ve set yourself a 500 daily caloric deficit, just eating this small cup undoes all the hard work that you’ve put in throughout the entire day. But to put it into context, what about a healthy alternative? This is 600 calories worth of watermelon. You can eat all of this watermelon for just this amount of Haribo. So, I would ask you, what is the trade-off? Now again, in this watermelon is 151 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fat, and 12.2 grams of protein. So, I ask you in the comments, what are you picking: the Haribo that you like that’s sweet and nice, or 2 kg or 4 lbs of watermelon? This is what I mean by being very intelligent and picking the right foods. It will help you hit your sweet tooth, and it just goes to show that there are better alternatives out there. So, don’t buy the Haribo and rather find a fruit that you enjoy and just substitute that out. You’ll feel fuller for longer, and you’ll also just get that sugar craving hit that you’re looking for.

Food Number 5: Yogurt

Greek yogurt and regular yogurt. When I started my transformation, I was having granola with yogurt. Now, this here is regular yogurt, and what we have exactly is 200 grams. In this 200 grams is 240 calories, 24.1 grams of carbs, 12.7 grams of fat, and that doesn’t sound too bad. But let’s compare that to Greek yogurt. In there is 89 calories, almost three times fewer calories, 6 grams of carbs, which is almost four to five times less, and the amount of carbs there is so much more protein. There’s 14 grams of protein, and there’s virtually 0 grams of fat in this Greek yogurt at 0.3. Just that simple decision between going regular yogurt and Greek yogurt can save you over 30% of your total fats. That is 13 grams of fat in just this little bit of yogurt, where you could have the same amount but with virtually no fat and almost four to five times fewer carbohydrates and so much more protein in this Chobani Greek yogurt.

Food Number 6: Salad Dressing

Undoubtedly, you’re eating a salad in your diet regimen, but it’s very difficult to eat salad without any sort of salad dressing. This is 30 grams, and that’s the usual serving recommendation. But in one serving of a Caesar salad, there are 120 calories, 3.8 grams of carbs, and 11.2 grams of fat. This is exactly the amount of fats that you’re eating that you’re just having in this innocent salad. That’s why people always say that most salad dressings defeat the purpose of the salad altogether. This is why I want you to be very careful with the amount of salad dressing you’re using. Always look at the macronutrient contents of all the salad dressings that you’re eating because you’re putting so much effort into your salad and you’re trying to eat healthily. But you undo all the benefits in terms of macronutrients and calorie intake, and over time you wonder, “Why is my belly fat not going away?” A very simple solution is just adding some balsamic vinegar, and this is white vinegar in this case, and some olive oil. What’s amazing about the vinegar and the added benefits is that it contains polyphenols that will fight off oxidative stress. It will reduce the risk of any chronic disease. It will help you with digestive health. The acetic acid enhances digestion by stimulating enzyme activities and your overall nutrient absorption. It will also help you with your blood sugar control. It has a low glycemic index which helps manage blood glucose levels, and it’s also beneficial for diabetes management. It helps with heart health, it may lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and it does also help with weight loss. Also, just compared to the Caesar salad, there are virtually no calories and a healthy addition to meals without adding those calories. But then again, do be careful that you have it in moderation so you’re not facing any dental erosion. Be very, very careful. But again, a very common mistake I see people make that’s stopping them in their caloric deficit altogether.

Food Number 7: Spaghetti

The next one is a classic one that I know many of you are probably avoiding already, but there are a few things that I want to add here, and that is spaghetti. This here exactly is 200 grams worth, and this entire spaghetti is equivalent to 718 calories. That’s 141.5 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fat, and 25 grams of protein. Now, the issue with this food is that it’s not calorically dense or providing you with any additional nutritional benefits, and that’s why most people don’t eat spaghetti, especially when they’re on a diet. But I do want to show you guys a healthier and better alternative: introducing zucchini noodles. In the zucchini noodles, there are 200 grams, so this is 200 grams of spaghetti and 200 grams of zucchini noodles. In here is exactly 34 calories in this entire bowl. There are 6 grams of carbs and 0.6 grams of fat. There are 21 times more calories in the spaghetti, and you can have 21 of these bowls of zucchini noodles to have the equivalent of the carbohydrates in the spaghetti.

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