You’ve likely read (or heard!) that you should avoid foods like pizza, soda, beer, cookies, and high-fat, creamy pastas to lose weight, right?

But what about other foods? Is milk good for weight loss? Are low-calorie or reduced calorie foods good for you? What about foods like cabbage, sweet potatoes, and eggs?

Below are 10 (healthy!) foods that I stopped eating, and an explanation of why cutting these foods out of my diet helped me lose weight naturally.

10 (Healthy!) Foods to Avoid to Lose Weight

1. Oatmeal – Food to Avoid to Lose Weight

You’ve likely heard that oatmeal is good for you, right? It’s high in fiber, low in calories, and a relatively good source of protein. I used to have oatmeal as a midnight snack. I LOVED it. I didn’t have the sugary oatmeal either. I had plain, whole grain oats cooked in water.

But when I gave up oatmeal at night (and swapped it for eggs), I started to lose weight…quickly! I learned that oatmeal just doesn’t fill me up. In contract, eggs are a GREAT source of protein and they do fill me up.

So if you are having oatmeal every morning (or night!), try substituting oatmeal for 3 eggs…or even 6 eggs. (Yes. I sometimes have 6 eggs at night, and my cholesterol levels are great.) Find out why you should buy free range eggs (and they taste better too!).

2. Sweet Potatoes – A Healthy Food, but Cutting Out Potatoes Helped Me Lose Weight

I used to have a sweet potato each night. Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B6.

But like oatmeal, I found that sweet potatoes just don’t fill me up.

I started to lose weight when I swapped out sweet potatoes for an apple, or mixed berries with yogurt, at night.

3. Cabbage – A Healthy Vegetable That’s High in Sugar

I used to think that cabbage was good for you. But then I realized that one head of cabbage has more than 300 calories, 30 grams of sugar, and 70+ grams of carbohydrates!

Swap out cabbage for green lettuce, mixed greens, or spinach and you’ll start to lose weight. (Find the best lettuce to buy at Kroger here!).

4. Low Calorie Popcorn – A “Healthy” Snack with No Nutritional Value

Popcorn used to be my guilty pleasure. The low-calorie bags of popcorn only have 100 calories and are gluten free. Plus, popcorn has 4 grams of fiber, which isn’t bad.

But like oatmeal and sweet potatoes, popcorn just doesn’t fill me up.

Plus, the Orville Popcorn that I was having has sucralose (Splenda) in it!! Fake sugars, even if studies were funded to show them as “safe,” completely mess up my diet and make me hungrier.

If you are like me, you’ll feel less hungry and lose weight if you give you the fake sugar.

Recurring Theme to Lose Weight: Replace Starches with Protein and Vegetables

You’ve probably seen a theme here.

To lose 10 pounds in a year, I pretty much cut out all breads, pastas, and carbohydrates from my diet. (Fruit is the exception).

Instead of having so many starches at night, I started to have eggs, apples (a starch – but a healthy fruit!), turkey burgers, and Brussel sprouts.

5. High Protein, Whole Grain Cereals (like Kashi) – A Healthy Breakfast Food, But You Can Do Better

Foods number 5 and 6 won’t surprise you too much, since I just stated how cutting out starches and carbohydrates helped me lose weight quickly.

I love Kashi, so I hate picking on them. Kashi’s cereals are delicious, and they used to have an energy bar that ROCKED (discontinued many years ago). Anyway, I used to DEVOUR Kashi cereal. It’s so good, plus who can go wrong with a cereal that offers 9 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, and fewer than 200 calories a serving?

The problem, for me, which high fiber, whole grain cereals is three-fold.

1) I’d eat the entire box in one day. Yes, you heard me right. I’d eat the ENTIRE BOX. That’s an extra 1,400 calories, which is enough to gain almost half a pound! Kashi cereal is a weakness of mine. In contract, I’d have to have about 15 apples to consume that many calories. (Much less likely!)

2) Lots of extra ingredients. Kashi (and other healthy cereals), may not have any “bad” ingredients in the cereal box, but they do have a lot! Once I started to cut out foods with so many ingredients, I started to lose weight.

3) Gluten and soy bother me. I hate to put this in writing, but it’s true. Gluten and soy products upset my stomach. They make me bloated, and they give me BAD gas. It’s embarrassing. So on a personal note, I’ve started to AVOID gluten altogether to prevent embarrassing situations.

6. Soy-Protein Products (Healthy Veggie Burgers and Foods)

See above, about my reference to gluten and soy. I used to LOVE buying Morningstar Burgers and other high-protein veggie products. But they always left me hungry and gave my gas problems.

Once I cut out these healthy, meat substitute foods and swapped it in REAL meat like lean steak (Vegetarians: Please don’t hate me!), I lost weight quickly.

7. Egg Whites – A Healthy Food You Should Stop Eating

I used to buy a dozen eggs, crack them open, and get rid of the yolk. The egg whites had the protein, right? Plus, the yolks had all of the calories, right?

Yes, that is true. But the yolks also have all of the healthy vitamins and minerals in them for you!! So instead of having egg whites, go ahead and have the WHOLE egg. It will taste a lot better too.

8. High Protein Energy Bars – Full of Junk and Fake Stuff!

Energy bars seem so innocent, right? For only 200 calories, you get protein, fiber, and a delicious treat.

BUT…most protein bars have FAKE sugars in them, which are so bad for you!

Plus, the “healthy” protein bars (like Quest and PowerBar) add fake ingredients to artificially increase the fiber count.

I even try to avoid the RXBars with only four ingredients. Instead, I try to eat eggs, fruit, or whole nuts (like almonds). The chocolate ingredients mess up my cravings too.

9. Protein Powder – a Deceptively Healthy Food to Avoid

I’m a big fan of protein powders, and I’ll admit that I still add protein powder to my shakes, and sometimes mixed with milk and frozen berries for a treat.

BUT, like energy bars, most protein powders have FAKE sugars in them. The packaging may say, “all natural ingredients,” but that is because the company is counting Erythritol as a “natural” sweetener.

Even the Orgain Organic Vegan Plant-Based Protein Powder, which is vegan, soy free, and gluten free has Stevia and Erythritol in its ingredients!

However, sugar alcohols completely mess up my cravings, and I found that I lost weight when I gave up protein powders.

Additionally, sugar alcohols can lead to bloating and upset stomach, so why put yourself through that?

10. Beef Jerky – High in Protein, but Also High in Sugar

Beef jerky is delicious and high in protein, but it is also high in sugar. Instead of having beef jerky, cook up a turkey burger, chicken burger, or lean steak.

What Are Your Tricks for Losing Weight?

I’ll admit, I’ve recently gained 5-10 pounds this summer, as the heat makes it harder for me to work out. Plus, it’s NO FUN going on a long walk at night when it’s 90 degrees and humid.

To get back on track, I’ll need to start cutting out the amount of snacks I eat at night – which often adds up to more than 600 calories.

What are your tricks and tips for losing weight? I’d love to hear from you!

Chrissy from The Jeans Fit (offering weight loss advice and weight loss tips for women (and men!), reviews of athletic clothes and workout clothes, and tips for working out to look and feel your best)