I am trying to lose weight. What foods should I especially avoid?

High-fructose corn syrup / sugar
Salt / sodium
Excessive carbs

^ whichever one bread falls into!

PupnTaco pretty much nailed it, but another whole category is fried foods.

I found weight loss easier after cutting out granite from my diet.

alchol.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes 3 yrs ago I have gradually lost over 90 pounds and have another 15 or so to go. How nice it is to see my feet again! I cut way down on my carbs,fats,red meat,pork,poultry darkmeat and skin.Stopped fruit juice other than in eaten form.No pasta, eggs, milk, Eat lots of greens raw or blanched.No chips or snacks, cut way down on water retaining salt but drink lots of water.Works for me. I’ve got to where I like the ground turkey over beef and I’ve lost my taste for margerine and butter since switching to extra virgin olive oil. You might have a thyroid condition where dieting this way wont help. Might be a good idea to have some blood tests done to get a window into what your body chemistry is. That’s my 3 cents worth.

Absolutely no fried food and only occasional pizza.

in a nutshell: anything
And everything you like to eat. Just kidding.
I have heard a good rule of thumb is to shop the outskirts of the grocery where fresh foods are and avoid the processed foods and concentrated sugars/fats.
Most importantly, move your body. Exercise. Walk. Play.

soda is a big thing too, I’ve heard stories and such of people losing a bunch of weight from cutting out soda alone. Just be careful you don’t replace it with something just as bad. Water is usually the best bet… But sometimes water just doesn’t cut it, I usually look for the beverages that have the fewest additives.

Soda and booze. Lose them and you’ll lose weight.

Sugar is bad, but even worse is fat, and it hides in places you wouldn’t believe in. Do you realize that there is about 800 calories in a Costco muffin?
I would focus on adding lots of fruits and vegetables without added fat or sugar.
Don’t drink your calories. Avoid juices. The calories are just way concentrated.
avoid bread and get your grains from whole grains, oatmeal and brown rice for example.
Make your plate consist of 2/3 vegetables. 1/6 protein and 1/6 whole grains.
You only need a small amount of fat to male your gall bladder work, and you can get that from 1/2 an avocado or 1/2 dozen olives.
The less processed the foods the better.

Wow, thanks for the awesome responses, guys. Yeah, I think I’ll stop eating granite now.
Amurican, congrats with losing the 90 pounds! I’m sure that took an incredible amount of grit and perserverance.

@bsilver & empress – SO true! during my freshman year at collage I gained like 30 pounds because I began drinking too much regular pepsi. As soon as the summer came along, I switched to diet and the extra weight just disappeared.
now all I have to worry about is the cancer that is more than likely coming my way due to all the evil nasty stuff in diet soda

@Bsilver
I stopped drinking soda in high school just to see if I could. The only change I made was that I started carrying a Nalgene full of water, and I lost twenty pounds without even trying.

I’m sure this is not the best thing to exchange for soft drinks but there are a lot of artificially sweetened carbonated fruit flavored water beverages out there. Safeway’s got one called “Clear” with zero calories and no carbs! Tastes pretty good on ice and can be heated to put a tea bag in. Ahhhhh!

Juice, pop, alcohol, and other flavored drinks contain tons of empty calories. Tons. Replacing most of your liquids with water will easily cause a reduction in the number of calories you consume daily, thus increasing the amount of weight you lose.

Carbs are also interesting. They get digested easy and cause a quick blood sugar rush after eating. While this is good for getting you going, it’s not good for keeping your energy going throughout the day. What this means is you’ll eat more to compensate for the hunger, you’ll have a snack here and there, etc. Try exchanging carbs for protein and veggies – instead of a sandwich for lunch, try a chicken topped garden salad. For a more evident difference, try it in the morning. One day make a toast or cereal breakfast and note what time you get hungry, and how that hunger feels. Then on another day make an eggs and bacon breakfast (two eggs, two bacon slices, some juice or milk or coffee). I find that the no-carb breakfast fills me up for longer and when I do get hungry it is not a painful hunger.

Ultimately the best way to lose weight is to watch what energy you put into yourself, and strive to expend more energy than you usually do daily. I strongly recommend you do NOT list any foods as being 100% off limits”, such as a piece of chocolate cake – you will only think and want that cake more and more, you’ll feel bad about thinking of the cake, and if you do break down and eat that cake you may eat the ENTIRE cake while crying and feeling bad for yourself. What’s best is to live a life of moderation, have a small bit of cake and stop at that, because YOU are the one in control. It’s very true what they say, weight loss is a lifestyle change. :)