I have multiple patients that come to my office that we follow and treat for weight loss and metabolic syndrome.  They are discouraged that their weight loss has stopped or is very, very slow.  The most frequent problem I find when they bring in their food journals is the “healthy chicken salad.”

“What?! But, Doc, Chicken Salad is healthy?! RIGHT?”

The chicken salad shows up on their journal almost daily.  Somehow, we’ve been indoctrinated that the chicken salad is good for us.  I want you to look closely at the image that was recently shared on the internet below.  How is the nutrient value of your chicken salad any different than the Big Mac?

Why is this unhealthy?  The carbohydrate content greater than 20-30 grams will cause a spike in insulin.  When insulin spikes, the body is told to store fat (and it will store fat for up to 12 hours) . . . Yes, the 24 grams of fat in the salad now become dangerous in the presence of an insulin spike.  In my patients with metabolic syndrome, they will produce between two and ten times the insulin and store two to ten times the fat. (Ten Big Macs would have tasted better . . . )

There is actually more carbohydrate in your salad than in the big mac.  Why not add a strawberry shake just to finish putting the nail in the coffin?  And we wonder why we are having trouble with weight loss?

The other issue, and probably of even greater importance, is that chicken breast has the second highest content of lysine & argenine (two of the 10 essential amino acids) count of all the poultry family.  This is second only to turkey breast, which also contains a large amount of tryptophan (a third essential amino acid that spikes insulin).  Why is this a problem?  Because argenine, tryptophan and lysine all stimulate an insulin response on their own, separate from glucose.  We need these amino acids, however, when our meals contain a predominance of these amino acids, it rasies insulin significantly in those who are insulin resistant (pre-diabetic).

Those 43 carbohydrates, plus the stimulus from a meat high in argenine, lysine and tryptophan, spike your insulin, kick you out of nutritional ketosis and slow weight loss for up to 48 hours.

Please, if you are following a low-carb or ketogenic diet, get rid of the chicken salad.

If you want to learn more about this, read my article on the eight most common reasons you can’t lose weight.