Every weight loss article you've read so far has told you to eat fruits, vegetables, lean meat, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates like oats and brown rice to help you achieve your fitness goals. While you might already have an idea that you need to avoid processed foods chockfull of sugar, it always helps to be a little bit more specific. Here's a list of foods to avoid while you're on your fat loss regimen and even later, for overall health and wellness.

1. Soda. Whether diet or regular, doesn't matter. A can of this beverage can easily give you over a hundred calories, not to mention all the sugar that it contains. The diet varieties contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that have been linked various health issues like cancer.

2. Alcohol. The term "beer belly" wasn't pulled out of thin air. A 12 oz can of beer has a little less than 150 calories. Imagine all the weight you'll put in if you have a can everyday! The reason for this is that alcohol is just concentrated sugar from plant sources, so it's always easy for one to gain weight if drinking alcoholic beverages becomes a habit.

3. Bacon, hotdogs and red meats. They are processed foodstuffs that are loaded with fat, have no nutritional value whatsoever and are chockfull of preservatives that could lead to the development of certain cancers. If you must eat meat, get them lean and fresh from the butcher, not from the freezer of your favorite grocery store.

4. Chips and dips. Those favorite potato chips you dig into are high in sodium that causes you to retain water and gain weight. Dips are made up mostly of unhealthy fats.

5. Donuts, ice creams and cakes. They are mostly made of hydrogenated fats that are detrimental to your health and your waistline. Like chips, these foods cause you to retain sugar, making you look even fatter.

6. Fast food. Do a web search on the Internet and you'll get the number of calories of one regular cheeseburger from your favorite fast food chain. And it's not a small number. A burger replete with the works can give you as much as 500 calories in one serving! Add the soda and the French fries (about 200 calories) and one regular cheeseburger meal could give you 800 calories! Supersize that and you can imagine what it does to your heart, heath and waistline.

7. Processed fruit juice. Despite the ads, packaged fruit juices are drinks to avoid when attempting to lose weight. Their sugar content virtually drowns out all other nutrients and you'll gain weight with these. Use a squeezer to make your own from fresh fruit instead.

If you've noticed from our list, the foods to avoid that we have listed have one common denominator: They are all processed and come in a box, bottle or can. Processing removes all the nutrients that is supposed to help you lose weight and stay healthy. Instead, they have been replaced with sugars, salt and preservatives that make you gain weight. Worse, these foods have been known to contribute to the development of certain illnesses that we spend millions of dollars to treat every year. Avoid these foods, lose weight and stay healthy.