6 ingredients that add hidden calories

Are these sneaky culprits undermining your weight loss efforts? Butter Butter is a healthy fat for cooking or spreading. But - like all fats - it is calorie dense at 9 calories per gram. That can soon add up. Get into the habit of weighing fats, at least until you can eyeball a sensible portion. Coconut oil Coconut products are nutritious, and coconut oil is a MCT fat. But it carries the same caloric load as any fat. Your body won’t treat the calories any differently to calories from another form of fat.  Olive oil Olive oil is a great choice for dressings, packed with nutrition and flavour. But it’s very easy to overdo a serving size of this liquid fat. Be careful if you pour it over salads or use it as a dip for bread. You could easily add 200+ calories to one meal. Nut butter Who doesn’t love almond butter, cashew nut butter… all types of nut and seed butters in fact! They are delicious and nutritious. But all nut butters are high in fat, and actually contain carbs and protein too. Nut butter is very easy to overeat. Keep an eye on your intake. Pasta/stir-In sauces Ready-made sauces are a healthy way to add flavour to your dinner. But some sauces are loaded with sugar. And the creamy ones are often high in fats. Choose a low calorie, low sugar sauce and control your serving size.  Salad dressings Do you pour salad dressings by hand, without paying attention to serving size? You could be adding hundreds of calories to your saintly salad. Take a look at the label to see how many calories from fats and sugars are in a typical portion. Food labels and serving sizes are a powerful weapon when you need to keep an eye on calories.