9 Fattening Foods That Will Make Anyone Gain Weight

Watching what you eat and hitting the gym twice a week is great for losing weight and staying in shape, but some foods can transcend the results of even the most dedicated of healthy eaters.  The culprit?  Foods the contain more calories and have a fat content that is higher than one can imagine.  Some may even seem “okay” or even “healthy”.

Each of the nine (9) foods outlined below is so fattening that even the occasional indulgence can result in major weight gain or retention.

1. Muffins. Disguised as a healthy breakfast food containing “Whole Grains” or various fruits, many store-bought muffins (and sometimes homemade) are simply sugary cakes in disguise.  Consider this:

• A Starbucks Apple Bran Muffin contains 330 calories.  Often their pastries and sweets are disguised with “low fat” titles.  Do not be deceived.  They are bad for you.  It is complicated to locate actual fat/calorie contents in Starbucks’ food on their website.  Starbucks’ Nutrition Guide

• An Au Bon Pain Corn Muffin has 530.  Au Bon Pain Nutrition Guide.
• A Dunkin‘ Donuts Chocolate-Chip Muffin packs a whopping 630 calories and 210 calories from fat.  Dunkin‘ Doughnuts Nutrition Guide.

The Result: Eating just one of these muffins twice a week could pack on up to two (2) additional pounds per month.

2. Cinnamon Rolls. A sweet treat for many who trat themselves during a layover at the airport or after a long day of shopping at the mall, but these savory snacks are one of the worst imaginable.  Consider this:

• A Cinnabon cinnamon roll contains a staggering 730 calories.  (Cinnabon does not feature a nutrition guide on their company website).
• McDonald’s Cinnamon Melts (officially categorized as a desert rather than breakfast) contain 460 calories and 19 grams of fat.  McDonald’s Nutrition Guide

The Result: Having only one (1) cinnamon roll per week can cause the addition of up to ten (10) pounds per year.

3. Onion Rings. Onions simply battered and fried.  And onions are vegetables, right??  They can’t be that bad.  Consider this:

• Jack in the Box onion rings contain 500 calories PER SERVING.  Jack in the Box’s Nutrition Guide

• Sonic’s large order of onion rings contain 638 calories and 281 calories from fat!!  Sonic’s Nutrition Guide

• But, taking home the prize for fattest onion rings is Nathan’s Famous Onion Rings which contain a staggering 785 calories. Nathan’s Nutrition Guide

The Result: Consuming only one order of onion rings per week can lead to the addition of seven (7) to 10 (10) pounds per year.

4. Nachos. Nachos from fast-food restaurants are often the most calorie packed items on the menu.  Consider this:

• Taco Bell’s Nachos Bell Grande Nachos contains 1320 calories (305 per serving).  Taco Bell’s Nutrition Guide
• On the Border’s Beef Fajita Nachos contain an equally hefty 1,150 calories.  On the Border’s Nutrition Guide

The Result: Fast-food nachos contain enough calories for you to gain one-third (1/3) to two-thirds (2/3) of a pound at a single sitting.

5. Buffalo Wings . Do you know how buffalo wings are made?  A one-time healthy food staple (chicken) is coated in butter, deep fried until crispy, and coated in a fattening hot sauce.  The only plus about this dish is that the pepper ingredients in the hot sauce can help your body burn some of the calories it just consumed after eating.  Consider this:

• Applebee’s Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing have 1,734 calories with 132 grams of fat.  (Applebee’s does not feature a nutrition guide on their company website), but you can view many of their popular items here: Applebee’s Nutrition Guide.
• Ruby Tuesday’s popular appetizer Fire Wings contains 636 calories (159 per serving).  Ruby Tuesday’s Nutrition Guide
• Buffalo Wild Wings (aka: BW3’s) calorie content is 88 calories per boneless wing.  So, their popular 12 boneless wings dish packs in 1,050 calories before you even reach for the dipping sauce.  (BW3’s does not feature a nutrition guide on their company website), but you can view many of their popular items here: BW3’s Nutrition Guide.
  

The Result: Sitting down to a meal of just a single plate full of buffalo wings per month is all it takes to pack add four (4) extra pounds per year to the “bottom line”.

6. Chili/Cheese Fries . The classic french fry is about as fattening as you can get, until you add cheese, chili, bacon, etc.  Consider this:

• Outback Steakhouse’s Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing dipping sauce contains 2,536 calories in one (1) entire order.  Outback Steakhouse’s Nutrition Guide.
• Sonic’s Large french fries with chili and cheese contain 690 calories.  Sonic’s Nutrition Guide

The Result: This appetizer is lethal to the waist line. Adding 1/2 pound of fat overnight is not uncommon when consuming an entire plate of Outback’s aussie cheese fries with the remainder of a meal.

7. Chicken Pot Pie. This southern classic packs in more calories per serving than its dessert rival: Cherry Pie.  Consider this:

• Pepperidge Farm’s Premium Pot Pie Roasted Chicken contains 510 calories in each cup.  Pepperidge Farm’s Nutrition Guide.
• Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KFC) version comes in a close second at 690 for the entire bowl.  KFC’s Nutrition Guide.

The Result: Eat this soothing dish once a week, and you be enjoying an extra seven (7) to ten (10) pounds 52 pies later.

8. Carrot Cake. Carrots are good for you.  Carrots in a cake – NO.  Consider this:

• A slice from Denny’s contains 820 calories with 45 grams of fat.  Denny’s Nutrition Guide.
• But the winner-take-all of this contest is Whole Foods, whose carrot cake contains almost 850 calories per serving.

The Result: A decadent treat for the deserving, only once per week, could add a whole pound per month around the middle.  Is a piece of carrot cake still worthy of your affection??

9. Milkshakes. These smooth talkers may have some fooled, but not you.  It’s hard to believe, but milkshakes usually contain more calories than an equal serving of a fudge sundae or plain ice cream.  Consider this:

• A large Strawberry Milkshake from Dairy Queen contains 950 calories.  Dairy Queen Treat Nutrition Guide.
• A large Chocolate Ice Cream Shake from Jack in the Box has 1,430 calories.  Jack in the Box Nutrition Guide.

The Result: Sip at your own risk: Drinking only two (2) milkshakes per week could cause you gain two (2) to three (3) pounds each and every month.

For additional information about what to eat and what not to eat, read:

Fast Food Restaurants: What You Should Eat
Low Calorie Snacks That Help You Stick To Your Diet