High-Calorie Foods You Always Want
Eating in a calorie deficit only works when you stay consistent and focused, but it's not always easy, especially when there are so many delicious, unhealthy, and high-calorie goodies constantly trying to derail you. Why do all the good things in life have to come with so much sugar, oil, butter, and cheese? Here are just 20 of the unhealthiest cravings that always hit when you're dieting, but are so hard to turn away from.
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1. Loaded French Fries
It's hard not to crave salty, crispy French fries late at night, especially when they're so convenient to get at any fast food chain, but loaded ones are another story. Topped with ingredients like melted cheese, bacon, sour cream, ranch, or chili, they'll absolutely satisfy your midnight munchies, but completely ruin your diet in the process. That's a whole lot of calories.
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2. Milkshakes
Made with delicious but high-calorie, sugary ingredients like ice cream, milk, flavored syrups, whipped cream, and dessert toppings, milkshakes take "drinking your calories" to a whole other level. Many American versions are served with an insane amount of goodies like candy, cookies, brownies, and peanut butter that your calorie deficit won't recover from.
3. Stuffed-Crust Pizza
Most people already crave pizza on the regular, but stuffed-crust varieties? That cheese pull is undeniably good, but it also increases each slice by a lot more calories than you probably want. Suddenly, one slice might just be half your day's worth of calories gone.
4. Nachos
Whenever you're at a watch party or ordering food for the table at a restaurant, nachos make a common appearance. And when it's right in front of you, it's hard to say no to those fried tortilla chips covered in cheese, seasoned meat, sour cream, guac, and sauces. But sadly, those chips are already high in calories before the toppings are added, making this one very high-calorie appy.
5. Fried Chicken
Fried chicken cravings always come back as if on a timer, and when you're on a diet, they're one of the worst things you can eat. Taste-wise, they're absolutely delicious and comforting, but health-wise, not only are they covered in seasoned breading, they're deep-fried until golden, adding so much fat and calories into every bite.
6. Bakery Cookies
For those with a sweet tooth, dieting can be especially tough. When you're at the grocery store or walking past a bakery, those giant cookies seem to draw you in with their massive size. The toppings only add to their appeal, but really, these baked goodies are packed with so much butter, sugar, and other unhealthy add-ons that will absolutely destroy your calorie deficit for the day.
7. Creamy Pasta
Pasta is everyone's go-to comfort dish, but creamy varieties are definitely not calorie deficit-friendly. These come loaded with sauces containing high amounts of butter, heavy cream, cheese, and oil, all ingredients you know you should be careful of. Don't even mention large restaurant-portions or pastas made with refined flour.
8. Chicken Wings
Perfect for game day but terrible for your diet, chicken wings are the kind of food that's impossible to stop at just one or two. Because of this, and the fact that they're commonly fried and coated in sugary, buttery, or creamy sauces, your calorie deficit for the day will go up in smoke.
9. Candy
When you crave a sweet treat, which might be often, it's easy to reach for a quick candy or chocolate bar sitting in your pantry. Convenience is the worst friend of diets though, because often times, the easier it is to eat, the worse it is for you. Candy for one, contains insane amounts of concentrated sugar and often includes chocolate, caramel, nuts, or creamy fillings.
10. Sugary Coffee Drinks
So many people need their coffee in the morning to wake up, but if you can resist, say no to those sugary cravings that are really just dessert in disguise. A lot of these morning beverages contain flavored syrups, sweetened milk, cream, whipped toppings, chocolate, and more! Their calorie content might just blow your mind.
11. Breakfast Sandwiches
Breakfast sandwiches might sound pretty innocent, and they're easy to crave in the morning when you want something quick and tasty, but you might be surprised by how much calories these handheld meals contain. They often come with eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, butter, and mayo, not to mention, served on a biscuit, croissant, bagel, or thick rolls that are all each high in calories.
12. Ice Cream
The classic, tale as old as time craving, ice cream feels like the kind of sweet treat everyone should end every night on. Unfortunately, this creamy and addictive dessert is made from cream, milk, sugar, and flavorings, with premium varieties containing a lot of extra fat, sugar, and calories thanks to their cookie pieces, candy, caramel, or chocolate add-ins.
13. Packaged Pastries
From honey buns to frosted donuts, turnovers, and classics like Twinkies, each of these packaged pastries are convenient, but definitely not good for your calorie deficit. We don't have to look at the nutritional facts to know that they're likely made with refined flour, sugar, oil, and sweet coatings that aren't good for you.
14. Double Bacon Cheeseburgers
Sometimes, you just get the weirdest craving for something incredibly meaty, which really, can be best satisfied by a burger. But if we're talking unhealthy cravings, none might beat a double bacon cheeseburger which is a common offering at most fast food spots. We don't need to get into the specifics for you to know why this is terrible for your diet (and your body).
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15. Buttered Popcorn
It's impossible to go to the movies without snacks, but one of the most common offerings, buttered popcorn, is a lot higher in calories than you'd expect. Airpopped popcorn can be a healthy snack on its own, but when loaded with several pumps of butter and salt, that notion is quickly ruined.
16. Chocolate-Covered Snack Mix
Chocolate-covered snack mixes usually contain pretzels, cereal, nuts, candy, and chocolate pieces, all of which sound delicious, but are unhealthy on their own already. Some varieties are even coated with powdered sugar, peanut butter, or melted chocolate, increasing their calories and absolutely destroying your deficit.
17. Fried Appetizers
Unfortunately, a lot of your favorite appetizers are likely pretty bad for you because they come fried. Chicken strips, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fries, fried pickles, all of these goodies have to go through the deep-fryer before they make it to your table.
18. Cinnamon Rolls
As far as breakfast goes, cinnamon rolls are a common craving because they're absolutely to die for, but they're also one of the unhealthiest morning meals you can devour. Made with sweet dough filled with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar and then topped with a thick cream cheese frosting or sugary glaze, there's not much to redeem here in terms of healthiness.
19. Chips and Dip
Chips and dip might not seem like the worst, but they do combine fried potato or tortilla chips with cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, or cream-based dips. Both parts of the snack are high in fat and calories, and repeated dipping can make the total amount consumed difficult to notice.
20. Cheesecake
Arguably one of the richest desserts around which also happens to be one of the most popular ones to crave, cheesecake is hard to resist on a diet. But because it's made with cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and a cookie or graham cracker crust, and often topped with chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, or more, it's calorie-heavy to the max.
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