Any snack that only contains carbs
When you eat crackers, dry cereal, bread, or rice cakes alone, your body converts the carbs to simple sugars and sends it directly into your blood stream. In response to the sugar rush, your body produces extra insulin, which helps your body absorb the sugar ASAP. The problem: You end up with low blood sugar and the same hunger pangs that led you to carb it up in the first place. You then may be inclined to reach for sugary foods with no nutritional value to satisfy your need for instant energy, says Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a weight-loss specialist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Frozen meals
To make fresh ingredients last extra long in your freezer, food manufacturers often load frozen meals with sodium, a natural preservative, Harvest says. Sodium makes you retain water, which bloats you up — so you won’t look and feel your best regardless of how much weight you want to lose.
Also: When food manufacturers try to squeeze a meal’s worth of calories into a teeny-tiny box, every bite ends up containing lots of calories by design, Harvest adds. While large portions trick your brain into thinking your body is full, the measly portions found in freezer meals are inherently unsatisfying, even though they contain plenty of calories.
High-fiber snack bars
Yes, everyone needs fiber — it keeps your digestive system churning and keeps you feeling full, even when you’re cutting back on calories. What you don’t need: Nearly one day’s worth of fiber (about 25 grams) in one snack bar, with a diet that’s otherwise devoid of it, Harvest says. “Fiber intake has to be consistent throughout the day to stave off hunger, improve digestive health, and not cause stomach upset.”