Waste of Calories

 

Waste of Calories

There are times when no matter how healthy you are being, you just need a quick pick me up. You want that little cheat to be heavenly, indulgent and guilt free. There is nothing worse than eating something because it appears tempting, but doesn't live up to it's looks and leaves only a taste of guilt on the tongue. 

I have compiled my top 10 list of foods that I believe are 'not worth the calories'. I know that if I choose to eat one of these, I am left feeling disappointed and guilty rather than happy and content with my treat. Remember, this is only my opinion and everyone enjoys different foods, so feel free to continue indulging in these if they do it for you. 

My 10 Calorie Wasters

10. Glazed Doughnuts 

This one is a little bit controversial as I know how many people like their doughnuts. However, in my opinion they really aren't worth it. Whilst I would never choose a doughnut for my treat, I can vouch for liking the jam filled ones. (Although, is more the messiness of the sugar and jam I enjoy?) They may look good in the box, but on eating, they are literally just thick, doughy bread covered in a layer of hard sugar. At 217 calories for the plain glazed, they do not hit the spot and I feel incredible worse for wear after eating one. 

9.  Choux Pastry Éclairs

Éclairs come in wonderful flavours and designs and never fail to look beautifully dainty and tempting. However, ranging from about 200 to 300 calories, they fail to deliver that comforting feeling when you bite into one. The Choux pastry is always a bit too light and lacks any umph, the chocolate is plain and tasteless and the cream is a little bland. Overall, for something that looks so special, you are left with a feeling of disappointment at the snack and guilt at yourself for indulging unnecessarily.

8. Boiled Potatoes

Branching out a little from the sweet treats, a classic source of carbs people like to have with their dinner are potatoes. With all the 'low carb' fads going around, when you do eat them, you want to enjoy it. I would say that Jacket potatoes are warm and comforting. Mash potato is light and homely. Roast potatoes are invitingly delicious. But when it comes to the boiled potato, there is not much going for it. They are bland, boring, and starchy and really just a wasted addition to a meal. When you want your carbs, go for the ones you know will make you happy.

7. Sponge Cakes/ Cupcakes

Lets be honest, when it comes to cake we all get a little bit over excited. However, if we actually thought about it, it is only ever the icing or the middle filling that we ever properly enjoy. Why are we wasting our time consuming over 250 calories from a slice of sponge, when we would be quite happy simply eating a bit of cream with jam on top? Why do we bother eating that cupcake when we all know it is just too much sponge for the little bit of icing on top? Overall, an absolute shame of a treat. 

6. Biscuits

Biscuits come in hundreds of varieties, yet I am still waiting to find one that actually fits the bill. As they are so small and light, having one will never fill you up, nor satisfy you. You therefore continue to eat away, unaware of the volume of calories you are consuming, waiting for that feeling of content that never comes. I for one could think of foods that would make me much happier for 300 calories than 4 average to small biscuits. 

FYI: 

1 Custard cream- 64 cals

1 Bourbon - 67

1 McVities Digestive -71

1 McVities Chocolate Digestive - 86

1 Jammie Dodger - 83

1 Hob nobs milk chocolate - 92

5. French Fancies 

When it comes to French Fancies, it is easy to fall into the trap of eating them because they look so petite and pleasing. In reality, they are extremely uninspiring and at 106 calories per cake, are not worth the trouble. The sponge is dry and even the 'supposedly' chocolate flavour one, doesn't taste at all chocolaty. If you want something to fill you with joy, these aren't a good bet at all. 

4. Chewy Sweets eg. Haribo

Sweets suffer from a similar problem to biscuits in the fact that they don't fill you up. However, sweets manage to take this to the extreme. In their amazing shapes and colours you are immediately drawn to them for a cheeky snack and continue to pick to your hearts content. Did you know that a normal pack of 14 Rountrees Fruit Pastilles is 186 calories? Or that a standard 160g bag of Haribo Starmix is 552 calories? For the amount of calories these contain are we really filling a void and satisfying a craving or are we just picking for the sake of it until we feel too guilty to carry on? 

3. Shortbread

Glistening from the sugar on top, shortbread always looks so beautifully crumbly and indulgent. However, there is a catch! A standard shortbread finger contains 100 calories and when in your mouth, fails to actually dissolve. It creates a dry paste and requires copious amounts of liquid to actually get it down. When looking for something buttery, sugary and light, these are a huge mistake and should be avoided like the plague. Not at all worth 100 of my calories. 

2. Mallow Tea Cakes

Weighing in at 106 calories, could there be much more of a disappointment from a chocolate coated treat? To the eye, Tea Cakes look and sound the part, being filled with marshmallow and a buttery biscuit base. Despite the excitement on sinking in your teeth, you are left with quite the opposite feeling. The chocolate layer is too thin and plasticy and the ratio of biscuit to random pillowy mushy-mallow is all wrong. Overall, they are not the snack to leave you feeling happy with your choice of treat. 



 1. Fruit Juice 

Drinks are a difficult one, because we don't want to have plain, boring water all the time. However, we forget how many calories are actually in fruit juice - about 117 calories and 27g sugar from your average 250ml glass of apple juice. This would be fine if we sipped and enjoyed it over the space of a half hour period, but we all have a habit of guzzling it down as fast as possible. What's the point in drinking away over 100 calories in about 2 seconds? Not worth it at all if you ask me. I'd rather take time actually eating a piece of fruit instead.

The point of a naughty snack is to satisfy a craving when we really need one. We want something that will make us feel good about ourselves and not leave us disappointed and wishing we hadn't indulged. Therefore, it is so important to chose something because we really want it, where the feeling of biting into it is more than worth the calories. Some foods just really don't fall into this category and leave us feeling worse than before we pigged out. My advice is to pick snacks carefully, so you can enjoy every last bite and remain guilt free after!

Instagram - http://instagram.com/nextstopfit4

Twitter-  https://twitter.com/nextstopfit4

Email- nextstopfit@hotmail.com