Today everyone is in danger to become obese because of the life style and the food consumed by the average person. With this immense risk comes all the associated health problems such as heart problems, digestion problems, stress problems, and even social problems. This is the main reason why people all over the world are turning paranoid about fattening foods. Questions such as ‘are mangoes fattening’ or ‘are watermelons fattening’ or ‘is rice fattening’ and so on keep popping up all over.

No Food is Really Fattening

The good news is that eaten in moderation, no food is really fattening. There are certain rules that need to be observed on how to eat less fattening foods and more of fat burning foods and if you follow those rules, you can stay fit and trim and still eat whatever pleases your heart. These rules are briefly listed below:

Pattern of eating – a person who wants to really watch their weight should start their day with a healthy (read large) breakfast. The fact that the body was without any intake for about 8-10 hours (during the night) requires replenishment. Also, because of a good breakfast the following meals could be easily moderated. Lunch should be taken at fixed timings give or take maximum 30 minutes. The lunch should be lighter than the breakfast and should preferably not be followed by a nap. The dinner should be taken at least three to four hours before sleeping time so that the digestion would be almost completed by the time you sleep.

What you eat – the rule here is to eat (consume) fewer calories than you need for your work. Hence, you should be aware of the calorie count of your food as well as how much you really burn. You could look for assistance in this matter with a nutritionist or a gym instructor. In case you love high calorie food – go right ahead and eat what you like. However, ensure that you exercise enough to burn them off.

Exercise – the key to keeping fit and trim is exercising. Whatever food you like to eat – even you live only on chocolate cake – can be “managed” with the right exercise. However, the best results would be when the diet and exercise regimen complement each other. You can eat a normal diet without bothering how much you could gain from each of the foods you consume, provided you exercise regularly.

The Bad News About Fattening Foods

The bad news is that most people are bad with mathematics when it comes to calorie count intake vis-à-vis burn out. Hence, instead of balancing their food intake with the exercises needed to burn out the calories consumed, they rather starve themselves through so-called ‘diets’. These dieting programs actually starve the system of certain foods creating a vacuum which at the slightest provocation/ temptation can turn into major binges. In turn these binges add dramatically to the weight of the person, triggering another crash diet and hence a vicious circle is set.

There is more bad news. Most of the foods we like are fattening; this is because we tend to overindulge in those foods and hence create extra fat in the body. As mentioned above, there are indeed foods that contain or contribute more to fat building that others – but then if you know the calorie count for each – all foods become equal to you. You could choose any foods that combined give you the total amount of calories you need per day.

Your Help In Weight Loss

Most people have a long list of what they could eat and what they could not – based on each foods calorie count. Who does not love French fries or a toast drenched in butter or a slice of black forest cake? How many people can eat these foods without any guilt? Very few. Why? Because they feel they are indulging in themselves when they do this.

Similarly, how many people happily consume tea (green, black, chamomile, etc), coffee, fish oil, olive oil, etc because they feel it helps them lose weight? This is partially true. Some of these foods prevent or obstruct hunger for which the person eats less. Some foods activate the metabolism to move at a higher rate – these are called negative calories foods – while others have almost negligible calorie count.

Your best aids in weight loss is not what type of foods you consume but how you consume these foods. So, stop asking which food is fattening or which is not. Rather ask which food contributes what to your health. Each one of the food chain is important – carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, etc. Learn about the qualities of each food and design a balanced diet for yourself. At the same time remember to balance the calorie intake with those that you burn on daily basis.

This is all you would need to maintain a healthy, fit and trim body.