If your planning on going on a diet. Here are the top 10 best foods to lose weight which will allow you to lose fat and satiate your hunger or suppress it, allowing you to go for longer without wanting to eat. Then this list is for you. Almost all foods mentioned here are optimal for weight loss. Very few might not be that low in calories, but would benefit you in your weight-loss endeavors nonetheless. So Here are best foods to lose weight
Disclaimer
Before we start, everything mentioned here is strictly food related in regards to what works in terms of losing weight from anecdotal evidence and based on CICO . You are advised to consult your doctor before adding or removing anything from your diet. As some foods can interfere with medication or be a cause of concern for certain individuals. Always do your due diligence and consult your doctor before doing anything health related.
1.Protein
Protein-rich foods such as fish , chicken or lean meats are all good sources of protein and can help satiate you. Calories are burnt just to digest protein. Making it an excellent source of fat loss. It allows your body to maintain muscle mass, which indirectly helps you burn more calories as muscle burns calories to exist.
2.Fiber (soluble fiber)
Adding both soluble and insoluble fiber is beneficial. For the purpose of weight loss, soluble fiber is better as it attaches to water in the gut forming a gel which then slows your digestion. This, in term helps you stay satiated as your full for longer. Some examples of soluble fiber are apples, pears, bananas, peas, black beans, broccoli and lentils etc.
One apple (182) has about 100 calories and 4.5 grams of fiber.
One pear (178g) has about 102 calories and 6 grams of fiber.
One banana (118g) has about 105 calories and 3.0 grams of fiber.
From the example above, you can see the pear is higher in fiber, which is not to take from the other two. For the purpose of weight loss, it’s better to know what has the most fiber.
3. Strawberries & blueberries
A cup of strawberries which is about 100 grams has 33 calories, which makes it an excellent snack to munch on. Strawberries are also rich in fiber, both soluble and insoluble. 60% of which is insoluble fiber and 40% soluble. Strawberries serve as an amazing snack on their own or as a topping to your Greek yogurt or various other low calorie breakfast dishes.
Blueberries, on the other hand, have 57 calories per 100 grams. Although higher than strawberries and are insoluble fiber. The diverse taste of both these berries and their vitamin profile makes it easier to diet healthily and not feel limited as you would feel if it was just one or the other. In such cases, having more calories for the same serving size is justifiable.
4. Watermelon
Watermelon is not only a delicious fruit to snack on. It’s low in calories as compared to other similar sweet fruits. A cup of watermelon, which is 152 grams, is just 46 calories. Watermelon not only has high water content, which is essential when your energy levels might be low. It can satisfy your sweet tooth and help deal with sugar cravings.
5.Dressings, sauces and condiments
Nobody likes to eat their food without condiments or maybe their salads without dressing. Eating plain food is going to make sure you give up on your diet later, if not now. Since all three types of deliciousness have a lot of calories. What can you do to not sacrifice taste completely and enjoy your food?
Two tablespoons of Heinz ketchup is about 30 calories whereas Its “Heinz no sugar added” has 20 calories. This might not seem like much, but once you start adding ketchup to eat your food. It adds up, so it is always better, so substitute calories from these three types.
A single tablespoon of ranch dressing is easily, about 70-80 calories, give or take depending on what brand you choose. Try to opt for a low calorie ranch which is about 30-35 calories per tablespoon if you really love ranch. Fat-free versions or zero-calorie versions of ranch usually don’t taste good, so do not kill your taste buds. Go for lower calorie ones. Based on your goals, see what leeway you can give yourself.
If you love BBQ sauce (who doesn’t?), a single tablespoon is about 30 -35 calories, give or take. Now there is a zero-calorie version of it by Walden farms and if it suits your taste buds, go for it. If its not good enough, you can opt for a lower calorie version of it as that sacrifices less taste to save calories. These are just examples and estimates to help you understand how you can save calories.
6.Coffee
Coffee is an excellent source of caffeine which allows you to stay active and burn more calories throughout the day due to your metabolism being faster because of coffee. You can substitute with decaff coffee if you don’t want caffeine or can’t handle the caffeine content in coffee. Now, what coffee should you drink? Not ones that have cream and sugar in them. Black coffee on its own is close to zero calories.
If you can’t drink black, you can add some low fat milk or skimmed milk to it, but do not turn your coffee into a meal. Most people don’t even realize how calorically dense their coffees are. You should also not cut out food from your diet just so you can drink that high-calorie coffee. That is extremely unhealthy as a lot of women are known to do that. You should not drink more than what the FDA recommends, 400 milligrams per day which equals to about 4 to 5 cups.
7.Vegetables
Adding vegetables to your diet is not only a healthy choice but a diet-friendly one as well. Most vegetables are extremely low in calories. Some vegetables that you can add to your diet and are low in calories are cucumbers, asparagus, beets, tomatoes, onion, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini etc.
8.Oats
Oats are a nutrient-dense food. Oats are high in carbs, fiber, protein and fat. A cup of oats (80 grams)has 300-310 calories, 51 grams of carbs, 13 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat along with 8 grams of fiber. Foods with more than 5 grams of fiber are considered high fiber foods and oats have 8. This makes oats an excellent breakfast food due to its ability to keep you satiated.
9. Low calorie wraps
Normally, tortilla wraps can range from anywhere from 180 to 300 calories. If you want to substitute bread and still use wraps. I’d recommend shifting to low calorie wraps. The calories in low calorie wraps range from 80 calories to 130 calories per wrap. You can even substitute it with corn tortillas, which are made from grains and have way fewer calories than a traditional white flour tortilla.
10.Popcorn
If you want something to snack on, popcorn is an extremely satiating choice. Air-popping popcorn is the best way to save calories as one cup of air-popped popcorn is just 30 calories. Keep in mind adding butter or any other calorically dense condiments will increase its calories dramatically. If you want, you can opt for low calorie popcorn seasonings to add to your popcorn without increasing its calories and still have an amazing snack.
If you like what you read or have any questions. Let us in the comment section. If you want to start your fitness journey. Here are some essential tips you need to know before starting out. To know more about the top foods for building muscle top-foods-for-building-muscle