Want to Lose Weight? 6 Things to Throw Away Right Now

When you’re on the path to weight loss, you want to remove as many obstacles as you can along the way, especially if you’ve hit a weight loss plateau. And, if you’re like most of us, you probably have items, primarily unhealthy food, around your home, office or car that impede your progress. If you want to lose weight, keep reading to find out the six things you should throw away ASAP.

Check to see if you have any of these items on hand and toss them, pronto:

1. Soda

The average 12-ounce can of cola has 40 grams of sugar—about 10 teaspoons. Just a sticky glass full of empty calories, soda doesn’t leave you feeling full or satisfy your appetite. Worse: Most sodas also contain phosphorus, which binds to calcium and leaches it out of your body. Calcium is key to regulating your metabolism. Safe to say, this is one of the most important things to throw away today. We suggest calorie-free seltzers for better refreshment.

How to Quit Drinking Soda

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2. Creamy Salad Dressing

Healthy fats help your body absorb nutrients from vegetables and fruits. Plus, they keep you feeling full long after you eat. However, many creamy salad dressings contain up to 200 calories and 20 grams of saturated fat per serving! Yikes…What a way to ruin your giant bowl of good-for-you greens! Your giant bowl of vegetables most likely doesn’t come anywhere close to that. Toss the creamy stuff and toss your salad with a light or reduced fat vinaigrette (one tablespoon counts as one Extra on Nutrisystem). Better yet, whip up a simple vinaigrette with olive oil and vinegar. You’ll get healthy monounsaturated fats. Try adding herbs like tarragon or thyme for a dose of diet-approved deliciousness.

How to Make Your Own Healthy Salad Dressing

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3. White Bread and Rice

Refined grains, such as white flour and white rice, are stripped of their natural fiber and other nutrients. Only the starches that cause blood sugar levels to spike are left behind… Awesome, right? Wrong! This triggers your body to produce more insulin, leading to hunger pangs not long after you eat. Toss the refined grains and instead choose whole grains, complex carbohydrates that are digested slowly, so that you feel full longer and your blood sugar levels stay balanced.

Whole Wheat vs. Whole Grain: What’s the Difference?

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4. Fat-Free Snacks

Many snack foods that lack fat are marketed as healthy options for people trying to lose weight. Unfortunately, fat-free snack foods tend to have more sugar or sodium than their full-fat counterparts. Excess sugar and salt are added to account for the flavor that gets removed when fat does. Unfortunately, though, these ingredients are more likely to lead to weight gain than weight loss. Fat-free cookies and other treats are definitely things to throw away in order to lose weight. Instead, opt for fresh fruit or vegetables with a small serving of a healthy-fat-containing dip (think avocado or nut butter). Or, stock up on Nutrisystem’s delicious snacks and sweets… they’re made with the best balance of protein, carbs and fat to keep you feeling full while you lose weight. Check out our most popular snacks right here.

Fats: The Good, the Bad & the Gray Area

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5. Deep Fryer

You probably already know that fried chicken and French fries are high in fat and calories. Even healthier foods, such as sweet potatoes and zucchini, lose nutrients when they’re deep-fried, according to a study in the Journal of Food Science. So, really it doesn’t matter what gets thrown in, the resulting product is a source of diet sabotage. Ditch the deep fryer and bring out the flavors of chicken, potatoes and vegetables—while preserving the nutrients—by roasting them in your oven. Or, consider purchasing an air fryer, which gives foods the same texture and taste of your favorite fried foods without the guilt.

6. Old (and Baggy!) Clothes

Ever hear the saying “Clothes don’t make the man?” Well we couldn’t agree more. Our goal is to make you feel so good about your healthy new body that your confidence is at an all-time high… regardless of what you’re wearing.

But, with that said, many of our customers find that as they lose weight, they want to celebrate their new bodies with more form-fitting clothes. When you lose weight, you get to enjoy the small but meaningful pleasure of buying clothes that fit the new you. It can be tempting to hold on to older clothes, “just in case they fit again,” but positive thinking plays a key role in weight loss success. Have faith in yourself and give those too-big clothes to a local thrift shop. Treat yourself to a few new pieces, as a way to move forward. You’re focused on a brighter future, so don’t let your old clothes pull you back to the past.

And, since many people find that wearing baggy clothes is a great way to hide weight gain, you might want to toss those, too. Don’t let elastic waistbands and oversized sweatshirts become a slippery slope toward packing on pounds… especially after you’re working so hard to keep moving toward your goal.