Soups are a favorite to many, especially during cold weather. They are packed with nutrients, cheap and easy to make in bulk, and enable you to experiment with different ingredients. While they can be extremely healthy, soups don’t always contribute to losing weight. Depending on your habits, soup can greatly inhibit the weight loss process.
Here’s what you should avoid if you want to eat soup and lose weight.
Eating Cream-Based Soups
Cream-based soups typically contain high-fat dairy products such as milk or cream. Although they are delicious and can be healthy, these soups are usually very high in calories, making weight loss much harder. Plus, dairy fat can affect your heart health and increase cholesterol levels.
If you want to lose weight, you should eat more broth-based soups instead.
Eating Starch-Based Soups
Starch is a carbohydrate found in various foods such as potatoes, rice, or wheat and has many health benefits. However, regular consumption of starch-based soups won’t help with weight loss. Most soups of this type are made with cream, milk, and bacon, which don’t contribute much to losing weight.
Moreover, these soups tend to be low in protein, which means you’ll feel hungry again after a short period.
Eating Soups Out of Bread Bowls
While soup in a bread bowl looks eye-appealing and delicious, it doesn’t assist in losing weight. One bread bowl can add hundreds of calories to your meal and cause spikes in blood sugar levels, thus slowing down the weight loss process.
Unless you can control yourself and not eat the bowl, you should avoid eating soups this way if you want to lose weight.
Don’t Give Up Soups to Lose Weight
If you want to lose weight, you don’t have to cut soups out of your diet. On the contrary, you should eat them often because they’ll help you consume fewer calories during your meals. Just remember to focus on broth-based soups rich in protein and fiber.