plant-based diet, diet, health,
Food products that’s not letting you shed weight despite dieting. [Representational Image]Creative Commons

People say that hard work pays, but what if it doesn't? Especially when it comes to losing weight. Certainly, it's one of the most annoying experiences one can have. It takes a lot of effort to lose excess weight, but despite dieting and exercising when excess fat refuses to leave the body you wonder what's going wrong. At times, the problem is with certain food products.

People tend to consume certain food products that they think aren't a big deal to have it but that ends up sabotaging their weight loss goals. We bring to you a list of five such products which you should avoid so that you get the maximum results of your dieting and exercising.

Foods with MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a very addictive flavor-enhancer commonly added to various fast foods such as Kentucky Fried Chicken or in canned foods, processed meat, noodles and various other packaged foods.

Consumption of foods containing MSG might result in weight gain. In a study, researchers found that out of 70 men and women, people who regularly use MSG in their foods were three times more likely to be overweight as compared to those who didn't.

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are often used by people as sugar substitutes considering that help in weight loss. However, in reality, it has an opposite effect. In a study, researchers experimented with mice and found that those who were fed artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, saccharin, or aspartame developed type 2 diabetes, obesity, and glucose intolerance.

In a follow-up study, when researchers experimented on 7 human volunteers, they found that 4 of them became glucose intolerant after one week of consumption of the maximum recommended dose of saccharin.

Low-fat products

Low-fat products often lure health conscious people as they assume it's good for weight loss and keep the person healthy. However, in a study published in the journal Appetite, researchers analyzed almost 6,000 foods in Canada which claimed to be low-fat. They found that the products claiming to be low-fat products were not significantly lower in calories as compared to their full-fat equivalents.

Soda

Health conscious people often avoid soda consumption but some cannot do without it. They think a single bottle would be okay to have after all the dieting and exercise. However, sodas not only sabotage the weight loss goals, it can also cause a number of health conditions such as increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and excess body fat. In fact, in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that it may even lead to obesity.