You don’t need a wellness expert, or even your Nan, to tell you that eating vegetables is good for your wellbeing. When it comes to weight loss, the wisdom is generally the same. Vegetables are low in calories but rich in fibre and nutrients, which could not only help you lose weight, but in turn reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and reduces the wear and tear on joints and connective tissue. However, if weight loss is your goal then some vegetables might do more harm than good, as they are high in sugar, fats and cause bloating. These might need to be reduced, or eliminated from your diet, but always consult a nutritionist first about the safety of your diet.
Just to clarify, all vegetables contain the vitamins, antioxidants and fibre you need for better wellness, but some are just a little more sugary. Though sugar gives you energy, your body will store excess amounts as fat, so vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers, beets, shitake mushrooms, peas and sweet corn, might be better left out of your diet for the time being. One medium-sized raw carrot, for example, contains nearly 5 grams of sugar and 31 calories, so you might consider swapping to the same sized stalk of celery for only 0.4 grams of sugar and 7 calories.
When it comes to fat in vegetables, this is unsaturated and healthy in moderation, but again contributes to weight gain when eaten in excess. In particular, watch out for black olives, avocados and legumes such as peanuts. 75% of the 400 calories in an avocado come from fat. However, remember that the common fatty acids in vegetables are omega-3 and omega-6, which offer many beneficial properties, and weight gain depends not only on how many calories you consume but also on how many calories you burn through physical activity.
Bloating and other gastrointestinal symptoms come from vegetables that are difficult to digest, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and beans. Though this doesn’t technically lead to weight gain, as these vegetables are low in calories, eating them makes you feel bigger than you are. Therefore, just reducing your consumption of these vegetables could make your skinny jeans feel just a little bit less snug, without even losing a pound. Just remember that eliminating any vegetables should be a short-term strategy, and once your task moves from weight loss to weight management, they should be added back in as they are great sources of vitamins, minerals, fibre and sometimes even amino acids, so health professionals do not recommend excluding them from your diet.
