Based on my experience in nutrition counseling, most of us tend to snack on foods that aren’t nutrient-dense, but are high in calories. For example, skipping sugary beverages is often the easiest way to lose weight faster. You don’t feel full from drinks — even the ones that do contain calories — so swapping those out for sparkling water or unsweetened tea and coffee is the best place to start. Other major culprits often come in refined grains like cereals, chips, crackers, and cookies.
Ansari says alcohol can prevent weight-loss in several ways, including the fact that heavy alcohol intake can stimulate food intake. "Binge drinking can overload the liver. The liver then prioritizes processing alcohol over other nutrients and then stores the protein, carbs, and fat as fat in the body," Ansari explains. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks for men, and four or more drinks for women in two hours. "Also, alcoholic beverages are often mixed with sugar-rich beverages. Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can cause calories to add up quickly."
Try the paleo diet to help you avoid processed foods. Back when cavemen still ruled the earth, they didn't have time to bake cupcakes or fry potato chips. The paleo diet (short for paleolithic) seeks to recreate the same diet that our early ancestors ate, claiming that our systems are not built for modern ingredients and cooking styles. You eat meat, vegetables, fruit, and other foods that would have been available back then, and avoid anything paleo people wouldn't have had.[12]