The Best Foods To Lose Weight - What Are The Best Foods For Healthy Weight Loss?
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What are the best foods to lose weight? If you want to slim down, first realise that there is no single food that you can eat that will magically melt the fat away. Foods that 'make' you lose weight regardless of the quantity you eat simply don't exist. Weight loss and weight gain are ultimately determined by the amount of energy (calories) you eat relative to the amount you burn. Eat less than you use, and you'll lose weight, irrespective of the foods that supply those calories.
Having said that however, there are foods that help you to lose weight by supporting your body in the weight loss process - meaning that these foods are filling, give you plenty of energy, combine to provide all the nutrients your body needs, and don't trigger cravings. By basing your diet around these foods, you will lose weight easily, you'll feel good, and the weight will stay off too.
Foods To Eat To Lose Weight Permanently
Fruit & Vegetables
Raw fruit and raw or lightly cooked vegetables are among the healthiest foods on the planet, and are also among the best foods for weight loss. Most are low in calories, so you can eat relatively large quantities without hindering your weight loss efforts. They are also high in fibre, helping you to feel satisfied for longer, as well as benefiting your digestive system. And they're very nutrient-rich, so your health will benefit too. And of course they're very tasty - fruits are delicious on their own or blended into smoothies, and vegetables can be combined into an infinite variety of salads, soups, stews, stir-fries and other delicious meals, so you shouldn't get bored.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is the best oil to use for cooking, as it is very stable at high temperatures, unlike olive oil and many other cooking oils. Coconut has had a bad rap in mainstream nutritional circles, as it is high in saturated fatty acids, but in fact it has a very different composition to the saturated fats in meats and other foods, and is one of the healthiest oils you can eat. It also appears to be beneficial for weight loss, as it's rich in medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are burned for energy by the body, and which also increase the metabolic rate (most other vegetable oils are rich in long chain triglycerides, which are generally stored as fat). Coconut oil can be used for stir-frying and any other cooking technique that needs oil, or just stirred into soups, stews and similar dishes.
However, it's very important to choose a high quality virgin coconut oil (preferably organic), as some of the cheaper non-virgin brands have been processed in such a way as to destroy the oil's health benefits. We recommend Tropical Traditions (in the US) and Coconut Connections Virgin Coconut Oil (in the UK).
Acai Berry
We don't really advocate using lots of dietary supplements, but acai berry is an all-natural 'superfood' from the Amazon that appears to contain chemicals that can boost the fat burning process. It certainly isn't essential - you can lose all the weight you need to with diet and exercise alone - but many people have found acai to be very useful when used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise regime. It is usually taken in juice, powder or capsule form, and you can read more about it in Is Acai Berry Juice Effective For Weight Loss?
Whole Grains
Whole grains are preferable to refined grains because they are rich in fibre, and take longer to digest, helping to maintain stable blood sugar levels. This will give you more energy and help to prevent food cravings - sugar cravings are often caused by low blood sugar following a meal of refined carbohydrates. Whole grains are also more nutrient-rich. Oats are a particularly good choice, as they are especially slow to digest, keeping you satisfied for longer.
Spices
Natural spices such as cinnamon, cayenne, chilli etc. not only help to add delicious flavour to your food, but they could also help you to lose weight more quickly, as they can increase the metabolic rate by a factor of up to 20% for as long as three hours after eating. Some spices also act as appetite suppressants, helping to reduce overeating.
Beans & Pulses
Pulses such as lentils are rich in soluble fibre and protein, which help to fill you up and keep blood sugar levels stable, and any meal that includes lentils is likely to keep you satisfied and energised for hours afterwards. Beans also contain a digestive hormone that helps to suppress the appetite, making it less likely that you'll overeat.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are rich in healthy fats and protein, and make an excellent snack. Although they're quite high in calories, just a small quantity is very filling, and they make an excellent between-meals snack that will help to keep your energy levels up while supplying your body with vital nutrients.
Eggs
Eggs are a great choice when eaten in moderate quantities. They are rich in protein, which has appetite-suppressing qualities, and one study, carried out by Louisiana State University, found that women on a low cal diet whose breakfast included eggs, lost twice as much weight as those who ate a breakfast of bagels with equivalent calories but no eggs. Make sure you eat the yolk too - they are much more nutrient-rich than the whites, and won't stop you losing weight so long as you don't overeat. And if you're worried about the cholesterol content, bear in mind that cholesterol is an important nutrient, and not the baddie that it has been framed as, and healthy people will simply produce less cholesterol in their bodies if they eat it in their diet, so their levels will remain in balance.
Green Tea
Green Tea is popular with dieters, as not only is it very rich in antioxidants, but it also helps to speed up your metabolic rate, so you can burn fat more quickly. It does contain caffeine however, so don't overdo it if you're watching your caffeine intake.
So, if you want to eat healthy foods to lose weight, make sure you include these choices in your daily diet in moderate quantities. You'll benefit most if you eat four or five times a day, rather than just three, as eating more frequently helps to keep the metabolic rate up. We recommend checking out Strip That Fat, an excellent eating plan which is based around healthy foods like those discussed here, and which includes a Diet Generator that you can use to create a flexible, easy and delicious five meals a day plan based on your favourite food choices.
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