If you’re wondering what the best food for weight loss is, the good news is that you’re in the right place. The bad news is…
There’s no one single food that’s the best in terms of losing weight. Or maybe that’s actually more good news? Because now you get to pick which of these weight loss foods you like to eat best!
Negative Calorie Foods
Before I go any further though, let me clear up one thing: there are no proven negative calorie foods out there. Sure, people like to propagate some foods like grapefruit and yoghurt as needing more calories to digest, than the amount of calories they contain. If this were true people could lost weight by eating grapefruit all day long. Though that sounds way more painful to me than just going on a diet! However, those urban dieters’ myths have now been debunked.
So if you dreamt of eating your way to slimness by gorging on any one particular yucky food, then you need to kiss those dreams goodbye! However, there are certain foods that you can eat in order to aid your weight loss efforts.
Types of Foods That Contribute To Weight Loss
Yes, if you’re impatient feel free to scroll down to the actual list of weight loss foods! But before I go on I need to explain why these foods are good for people who want to lose weight. That way, if I’ve left anything off the list, you can judge for yourself whether or not it will help you to lose weight.
- Natural – The first thing that a healthy weight loss food should be is natural. Unnatural or processed foods are usually bad for you in the long run and make you put the weight back on.
- Have low calorie content – Unless you cut down on calories, you won’t be able to lose weight. So weight loss foods should be low in calories. There are some exceptions to this rule, like nuts (which are high in calories), but even with those foods you should watch your portion size and ensure that the total amount of calories you’re eating is not too high.
- Be low in fat – Fats contain more than double the calories of carbohydrates and proteins. Again, this leads back to the problem of consuming too many calories. There are good fats too, like those found in nuts and fish, but other than that, you should avoid fatty foods, especially artificial fatty foods.
- Be low in sugar – Foods that are high in sugar are high in calories, which again leads back to the issue of consuming too many calories. However, the biggest problem with eating sugar is not the calories. It’s the fact that eating sugar leads to a spike in blood sugar levels, which tells to body to start storing fat instead of burning it. Natural sugars, like those found in fruits and vegetables, are not so bad because they are present in smaller quantities. However, foods with artificial sweetener in it is very bad for you if you want to lose weight. So check the nutritional labels on supermarket food if you want to lose weight and avoid foods that are high in % sugars. In the USA, many brands of bread contain high fructose corn syrup which is extremely bad, or other types of sugars. Even foods you might not suspect can have a high % of sugar in it. So if you’re serious about losing weight, always check the label.
- Have less sodium – Too much sodium is unhealthy for you for a number of reasons. When it comes to weight loss, sodium causes the body to store extra water, which leads to excess “water weight”. This will make you appear fatter than you really are – and come on, none of us need that in our lives!
- Increase your energy – Certain foods will increase your energy and your base metabolic rate – which means you’ll burn more calories throughout the day. This includes foods with caffeine in them like coffee and tea, and is why green tea is so good for weight loss. Foods with vitamin b12 in them will also increase your energy levels if you have a vitamin b12 deficiency. If you’re worried about a b12 deficiency, the easiest thing to do is have a high quality multivitamin every day. (Just don’t go nuts and start believe that b12 shots work for weight loss – extra b12 won’t make you burn more energy!)
Other qualities a weight loss food is likely to have include being:
- High in fiber and
- High in water content
Both these things will make you feel full sooner, and keep you feeling full. That way, you’ll feel the need to eat or snack less often, which means you’ll eat less.
Foods to Eat If You Want To Lose Weight
So, now that we’ve gone over what makes a food good for people who want to lose weight, let’s go through a list of foods that you might want to consider eating to lose weight:
Coffee
I’m going to start off with my favorite food ever – coffee. Not only does coffee taste fabulous, it increases your basal metabolic rate, which means that you’ll burn more calories throughout the day.
Drinking coffee will also make you feel more alert, increase your attentiveness and your energy. Recent studies also shows that coffee contributes towards lowering the risk of Diabetes, especially for women – however, I don’t feel that these studies are conclusive enough yet. Drinking too much coffee can lead to some negative side effects, so try to limit your coffee consumption at 3 cups per day.
If you don’t really like drinking coffee, you could drink tea instead. Infact, green tea and weight loss have been linked for a while, and I do think drinking green tea is great for overall health. Tea will also help you increase your metabolism to some extent.
When drinking hot beverages, remember to take them without cream or sugar – the cream and sugar just add fat and calories, which does not help you lose weight! If you’re used to drinking with cream and sugar, taking your drinks black will take some getting used to, but trust me, you will start to enjoy it soon 
Apples
Apples help you to keep fat at bay. Eating an apple before a meal helps people eat less calories in total – the high water content of the apple is very filling.
Almonds
Almonds contain fibre and protein, which makes you feel full. In addition, they’re rich in minerals such as magnesium, which helps to regulate blood sugar. Having stable blood sugar levels means that you won’t get those unhealthy cravings that can lead to weight gain. Finally, research indicates that almonds actually help cells block fat absorption from other foods – I’m not sure how much I really believe that last one, but I’m definitely switching to having almonds as my 5-o’clock snack!
However, almonds are very high in calories – 10 almonds contain about 80 calories. So try not to eat too many of these!
Eggs
Eggs are a great food choice because they’re rich in protein and minerals. In addition to all this, new research indicates that people who have an egg for breakfast feel more full during the day, and so they eat fewer calories. Ideally, you shouldn’t have more than an egg every day or every other day – but if you have high cholesterol or a history of heart disease in your family, check with your doctor first.
Berries
Berries are high in fibre, which helps you feel more full and eat less. More importantly, though, berries are very high in antioxidants. Antioxidants have anti-aging properties, and they increase blood flow – which means you’ll get more out of your workouts.
Just don’t fall for the fads and have berry “pills” though – stick to eating real, natural berries.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are one of my favorite healthy foods – I prefer spinach and bok choy, fried up quickly in olive oil. Of course, the healthiest option would be to eat baby spinach leaves or raw kale. Leafy greens contain protein and lots of fiber to leave you feeling full. In addition, they will help you to get the most out of your strength training workouts. Finally – they are very filling and will help you cut down on your calorie consumption. One cup of spinach has only 40 calories – which means you can gorge on these greens and not gain weight.
Vegetable Soup
Vegetable soup has been the secret of many weight loss diets. This type of soup contains no unhealthy, fatty creams (unlike cream based soups), is incredibly filling, and helps you get a serve or two of veggies. I tend to drink lost of vegetable soup during weekdays – it’s a simple, no-fuss lunch that you can prepare ahead of time by making a big batch which can be reheated.
If you’d like to have vegetable soup to lose weight, remember to use a base stock that has no MSG and is low in salt.
Yoghurt
For years, the myth was that yoghurt took more calories to digest that it added to your system. That myth has now been disproved, but yoghurt remains one of the best healthy weight loss foods.
Yoghurt is rich in calcium, but more importantly, it contains probiotic bacteria which helps you to have a healthy digestive system – which in turn means you’ll get less bloating or gas aka your tummy will look flatter.
Sweet, low-fat yoghurt can also be a healthy dessert alternative.
Fish
Salmon and other fish contain omega-3 fats, which are the “good fats” that help you have a healthy heart, and lower insulin sensitivity. Eating fish will help you build muscle and keep your belly flat – but make sure you opt for wild salmon or smaller fish such as sardines, which are healthier to eat.
Vinegar
Vinegar is a calorie-free way to add flavor to many meals, such as salads. In addition, vinegar helps reduce insulin sensitivity, and increases the feeling of fullness after a meal.
More Foods For Weight Loss
Of course, that’s not a comprehensive list of weight loss foods – you can always use the guidelines I’ve provided to judge for yourself if a food should be considered to be a weight loss food. Other known weight loss foods include tomatoes, olive oil, mushrooms, pears, cheese and rolled oats.
Eating To Lose Weight
When you start losing weight, it’s tempting to go on an “extreme diet” and cut out all the foods you love. However, eating healthy is one of the best things you can do in order to lose weight and keep it off. Yummy foods can also help you to lose weight – so make sure you include foods you love in your diet!
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