A woman has named three foods typically seen as ‘healthy’ that she believes were actually making her overweight.

Michelle Cooper, who hails from Shrewsbury and calls herself a ‘fat loss bestie,’ revealed that eliminating just three specific foods enabled her to go from a size 20 to a size 12 in a span of five months.

She shared in a TikTok video that she had difficulty losing weight until she replaced those foods, and interestingly, she lost weight even though she was ‘eating more.’

She lost 45 pounds in 2023 and achieved the weight loss postpartum ‘while working and without dieting’, after she gave birth to her twins.

Michelle stated, ‘I didn’t have to count calories or starve myself. Previously, I was consuming “healthy” foods regularly, which were actually preventing me from losing weight, so let me explain,’ in her video.

The first food Michelle frequently consumed, believing it to be ‘healthy,’ was breakfast cereals. This includes options like Special K, granola bars, and instant porridge, which are often marketed as being slimming or healthy.

She explained, ‘They marketed it as a healthy option, but in reality, I would eat them at 7 AM and feel extremely hungry by 9:30 AM.’

‘My blood sugar levels would initially spike in the morning and then plummet, causing sugar cravings. This fluctuation led me to reach for more snacks like biscuits or coffee throughout the day, creating a rollercoaster effect with my hunger,’ she added.

Michelle Cooper (pictured) shared how she was able to drop from a size 20 to a size 12 in just five months by swapping out certain ‘healthy’ foods

Michelle found that swapping these types of breakfast cereals for high-protein meals in the morning, such as eggs and bacon or Greek yogurt ‘or even leftovers from dinner the night before’, helped her manage her cravings.

‘Everything changed, I could go for four, five, six hours without even thinking about food,’ she said. ‘Before, I was obsessed, I couldn’t stop eating and that meant fewer cravings, less snacking and finally, steady fat loss.’

Michelle continued: ‘Here’s the key, if your breakfast is leaving you hungry an hour later, it’s not working for you.’

The second ‘healthy’ food that Michelle said was keeping her from losing weight was smoothies and juices.

‘I used to think that being virtuous by starting the day with a smoothie and getting all your five portions of fruits and vegetables in one go was the best thing ever,’ she explained.

‘But most of them are basically just sugar bombs in a bottle. Sure, yes, they’ve got fruit in and you are allowed to eat fruit, fruit is really good, it’s full of antioxidants and all sorts of good stuff.

‘But these kind of liquid calories, they don’t fill you up, they go straight through you half an hour later – in fact, straight away, you’re still hungry.

‘I ditched smoothies and I started chewing real food. Your hunger will vanish,’ Michelle advised, adding that eating fruit whole is the best thing to do. 

Michelle said she lost 45 pounds in 2023 without ‘calorie counting’ or ‘starving myself’ thanks to a few changes with her diet

‘Eat it with protein beside it. I had an amazing recipe the other night actually, with tuna and apple, I’ll find a way to share that. It’s game-changing.’

Finally, Michelle said the third type of food she gave up may commonly be found in the cupboards and fridges of people actively trying to lose weight – but they don’t help, she claimed.

‘Anything low-fat. I lived on low-fat yogurts, low-fat spreads, low-fat cheeses. These are the problem,’ she declared. ‘When companies take out fats, they typically add something like sugar or starch in it to make it taste good.

‘Sugar actually drives cravings. So I eat a “healthy” low-fat yogurt for lunch, it wouldn’t fill me up at all, they kind of taste pretty rank as well, and you spend the rest of the afternoon fighting the urge to raid the cupboards to get something else that is sugary.’

Instead of low-fat alternatives, Michelle said she switched to ‘full-fat, high protein foods’.

After doing so, she said she felt ‘full again’ and did not feel the need to snack.

‘That’s how I lost fat while eating more food. So these are the foods I ditched and some swaps that finally helped me drop four dress sizes.’

Michelle also offered advice to fans who had questions for her, including on what types of food to swap out.

One person asked if eating wholemeal toast and fruit would make for a good breakfast.

She replied: ‘You’re much better to have meats, eggs, fish and vegetables for breakfast.

‘I know it doesn’t sound like breakfast food (traditionally in the UK) but in “slimmer” European countries it is.’

Another fan said they believed they would ‘have to starve’ in order to lose weight, but Michelle was quick to offer her advice on the contrary.

‘Absolutely you would NOT,’ she wrote. ‘I probably tripled the amount of food I was eating to lose weight – no starving necessary.’