Skip These Beach Eats

If the looming days of summer have you running for cover—that is, a bathing suit cover up—don’t fret just yet. There may still be hope for the guy or gal who is feeling not-so-ready to hit the beach.

Just ask health and fitness expert Bob Greene, the superman behind her majesty Oprah’s weight loss success.

The author of The Best Life Diet offers tips on six foods you should start avoiding today in order to meet your weight loss goals. Combine them with exercise and you’ll be feeling slim enough to hit the sand in no time!

Soda. It’s full of empty calories and sugar, so just get rid of it. Opt for water, low-fat or fat-free milk, or tea instead. Fruit juices are an OK option too, but just remember that they need to be 100% fruit, not a fruit drink.

Transfats. Step away from the cookies and butter! These goodies clog your arteries, they're loaded with calories, and they cause fat to be stored in the abdominal area—right where your six-pack should be.

Fried foods. Try choosing baked instead of fried. The truth is even if you use good fat, like olive oil, to fry your foods, you are still going head to head with a lot of calories.

White bread. If you haven’t gotten the whole grain memo yet, then here it is—dropping carbs entirely is not an option, but choosing the right ones is a necessity. This means white bread, a refined grain, is out. You might love your Wonder Bread, but you might learn to like it a little less if you knew that you are consuming a bunch of empty calories. Like we said, choose bread from 100% whole wheat or whole grains instead.

High-fat milk and yogurt. Instead, start using one percent or non-fat dairy. You will barely notice the difference when you add it to your favorite fiber-packed cereal and you will be getting lower cholesterol, fat and calories. [ABC News]