You may have chucked out all the usual suspects that increase your caloric intake, but there still may be some ‘healthy’ or ‘diet’ food around that could be the culprit for those insistent pounds that refuse to let go.

It may come as a surprise but quite a few food items that are considered favourable for diet and health purposes have a pretty high calorie content. Also, labels need to be checked and read thoroughly before purchase as the product may have hidden calories. Given below are some common diet foods that aren’t very diet friendly.

Salads Even though salads come in the health section of most restaurants and take outs, they are often loaded with high calorie dressings that turn the innocent looking vegetables into fattening monsters. Some dressing is important as the oil helps the body to absorb all the oil-soluble vitamins in the veggies, but that doesn’t mean loading up on the mayo. When buying salads, make sure you choose light dressings like balsamic vinegar or a bit of olive oil and a hint of lemon.

Soups Soups are often considered diet-friendly and light, but in fact, a majority of soups rack up the fat and calorie content with dairy ingredients such as cream and cheese. Dairy based soups are lethal for your diet though extremely delicious. Try opting for just vegetable based or cream -free soups.

Granola and cereal bars It seems healthy and the ideal item for people who have breakfast on the go but ‘healthy’ snack bars, though rich in fibre and nutrients, are also loaded in fats and sugar. In fact, some granola and cereal bars have more sugar and fat than your average chocolate! So beware and avoid these so that you don’t suffer sugar highs and lows.

Yoghurt Packaged yoghurt, though rich in probiotics, calcium and protein is pretty high in sugar as well, and the flavoured varieties have even more. Try opting for plain, unpackaged yoghurt with fresh fruit or honey instead.

Dry fruit Dried fruit can have a much higher concentration of sugar and calories as compared to their regular counterparts. Some companies add sugar to improve their flavour. It has its benefits but if you are trying to keep a check on your calorie intake, opt for regular fruit rather than dried ones.

Diet sodas Though they seem to be a lighter version, diet drinks contain artificial sweeteners that increase appetite; they also inhibit the receptors that tell the brain when we’ve had enough to eat. Some artificial sweeteners have been proven to have a detrimental effect on health, hence opt for regular water.

Juice Fruit juice can add up to your daily fruit intake, but the added sugar also spikes up your calorie intake. Juice from a can or carton is certainly going to have preservatives added to increase shelf life and preservatives too, can be quite harmful to health. Instead, opt for fresh fruit.

Smoothies Similar to juices, it can add to your fruit intake but smoothies can be pretty high in sugar, fats and calories and comparatively low in fibre. Try using just plain fruit and vegetables instead of syrups, cream and other high fat dairy products and switch to the low fat or skimmed varieties instead.

Popcorn Air popped popcorn tastes great, but is rarely eaten that way; large quantities of butter, salt and sugar are often added to make it more flavourful and snacking in front of the TV or at the movies leads to eating more than you intended. So not only do you rack up calories but you also tend to retain fluid and become bloated due to the salt content.

Bran muffins Sure you get your load of fibre but the sugar and butter is not worth the treat and adds up to your sugar and calorie content.