Seven Foods to Help You Lose Weight

This is a guest post from Alex of Weight Loss Help and Tips

In a previous post Tony outlined his favorite f at burning foods and explained that no food alone can help you lose weight. To shed pounds you need to create a calorie deficit and the best way to do this is by following a balanced diet and doing regular exercise. Despite that, it is also true that eating the right foods is crucial for health as well as weight loss. Foods that are good for you can bring vitality and health but foods that are not so healthy can cause weight gain and other health problems. You could say that it is a battle of the good foods versus the bad foods. Well, actually it is.

In our post today we outline the health benefits of 7 foods and explain how these foods can help you lose weight.

Apples

For many people apples come first on the list and it’s no surprise that apples are among the most popular fruits. They have a great taste, shape and color and they are also easy to carry around for a quick snack during the day. Needless to say, apples are a rich source of nutrients; they also include vitamin C and potassium. Both of these nutrients are essential to keep the body’s immune system healthy. Apples are also abundant in anti-oxidants that help to keep away free radicals which are the disease causing components within the body.

In terms of weight loss, apples help by providing you with a rich source of fiber. Fiber is very important in weight loss because it helps to suppress the appetite and boosts the metabolism. A regular apple may contain approximately 4 grams of fiber.

Eating apples is not something that will break the bank either as they are a fairly inexpensive fruit.

Oats

Instant oatmeal has around 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving. Health experts say that a healthy person needs around 8 grams of fiber each day in order to achieve weight loss. Fiber works by bulking up meals and controlling the appetite, which will control your hunger in between meals; and just as the same as the fiber that is found in apples it also helps to boost the metabolism.

This makes oatmeal a perfect choice for breakfast. Or if you want you can add oats to other foods to up your fiber content. Why not try adding your favorite fruit to a bowl of oats for a rich breakfast that will keep you full until lunch.

Skim Milk

Studies have shown that skim milk is high in Calcium and Vitamin D which both help to trigger weight loss. One of the reasons is that these nutrients can help emulsify fat, which in turn helps the body to shed any excess fat.

Skim milk also helps the body to build muscle because of the high amount of low-fat protein in the milk.

Lean Protein

Lean meat should always be the first choice of meat for dieters as it contains less fat than other cuts of meat. It is a good source of protein which will help to build lean muscle mass within the body. Lean red meat and white meat such as chicken and turkey are all good sources of lean protein.

It is important to note at this point that the way in which you cook and prepare your food is essential to the success of your diet. Do not fry your foods but roast, boil and grill your foods instead to keep them as fat free as possible.

Sweet Potatoes

A baked sweet potato is an excellent source of fiber and a typical serving will have about 5 grams of fiber. So this means that you if you team a sweet potato into your diet along with a serving of oats then you will be eating the optimum amount of fiber each day for weight loss. In addition, sweet potatoes contain many nutrients including vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and phytochemicals. Sweet potatoes are perfect for a side dish or part of your main meal.

Nuts

All sorts of nuts are good for you including almonds, pistachios, and peanuts. Nuts contain good amounts of “healthy fat”, which counteracts cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol and triglycerides are the unwanted fat types that cause belly fat and weight gain. Healthy fat, though still a fat, is different from saturated fat and is beneficial for sustaining a healthy body. Moreover, nuts are amazing since you can eat them as a snack instead of eating chips or other junk foods.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower contains vitamin C and fiber and is considered to be a negative calorie food. Moreover, cauliflower is one of the cruciferous vegetables, which are thought to help fight cancer. It is one of the many healthy vegetables that you can easily add to your regular meals, including soups, salads or meat dishes.

These are seven of the best foods that you can include into your diet to achieve fast weight loss results.

Healthy Eating Tips to Boost Your Diet

Eat smaller meals throughout the day.

Don’t skip meals. Skipping meals will hamper your diet.

The more foods that are high in fiber that you eat the more weight you will lose.

Make sure that you drink water with your meals.

With these simple tips in mind and starting with the seven foods above, you’ll surely be on your way to a great body.

MUST READ: The Definitive Guide for How to Lose Weight
FREE EBOOK: The 10 Forgotten Rules of Weight Loss

Jeannette Laframboise

That list sounds pretty good and I think I could eat/drink all of them for a long time with the exception of skim milk. I am not sure what it is about it but it tastes like milk watered down 50% and I really would rather skip it all together. I dropped down from 2% to 1% about 10 or so years ago and I find it is great without much difference. I love that cauliflower is listed as a negative calorie food because I love it and could eat it several times daily forever more…;-) Thanks for the post!
- Coach Calorie
  
  I can’t do the dairy either. I’m lactose intolerant, as I’m sure many people are. I do use the whey protein for my shakes however.
http://brokenwon.blogspot.com Wendy T

Glad to see cauliflower on the list.

I’ve been making this great cauliflower soup. Simply saute the cauliflower with onions and garlic. Then simmer in broth.

Take some out (or all of it) and put through a food processor.

It’s really good and clean.
http://blog.msdsonline.com/feed/ Angel Collins

This is very interesting and I am happy to find out that oats is included in the list. I always eat oatmeal together with bananas or apples as my breakfast and it keeps me really full and energized. Hope to read more articles like this. Thanks!
http://fullfat.ca Octavian

I’m going to be a negative nancy and point out the following:
- apples: sugar
- oats: sugar
- skim milk: sugar
- sweet potatoes: sugar
Last I checked, sugar ain’t that healthy. Granted, it is accompanied by lots of nutrients, but it’s still sugar.

And here are some questions:
1. How exactly will these foods help us lose weight? Blood sugar spikes lead down the road to overeating due to constant feelings of hunger. It’s damn hard to keep your caloric intake low if you feel like snacking all the time.

2. Why don’t you include fats in this list? Whole cream, butter, tallow, coconut oil, etc, slow down digestion enough that all the sugar you just ate isn’t getting absorbed all at once into the bloodstream.

3. What exactly is healthy about fats found in nuts? From my readings, nuts contain an insane amount of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, and very little saturated fats used by the body to rebuild its tissues.

One more point and I’ll let it go. Instead of instant oatmeal, make the healthy choice and eat well prepared steel cut oats.
- Coach Calorie
  
  Octavain, maybe the author will chime in, but I’ll offer up my 2 cents:
  
  Oats do not have sugar, neither do sweet potatoes. Apples have fructose, and milk has lactose. Granted, the latter two are a type of sugar. They are however very low glycemic.
  
  There is nothing wrong with sugar as part of it’s natural state. It’s the refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup you see in processed foods you need to worry about.
  
  1. None of these foods should cause a blood sugar spike. They are all low glycemic. Eating carbohydrates does not automatically equal a blood sugar spike. It sounds like you might be anti carb (probably a Paleo follower) – which is fine, but that is not the only way to eat healthy.
  
  2. Fats are healthy, and they’ve been included in a different list. Articles need to be less than 1000 words, or people start to lose interest. This was not a comprehensive list of every healthy food. Just 7 that could help you lose weight.
  
  3. Monounsaturated fats found in nuts are healthy. People get too caught up in the ratios of omegas, when they should in fact be more worried about getting EFA’s in the first place. Nuts also contain omega 3s. You asked me this very question in a different post, and I referred you to this link for more info.
  
  As to your last point, I agree. I don’t think the author mentioned anything about instant oats or flavored oatmeal. We are talking about whole foods here. Whole foods put your body into a prime metabolic environment to lose fat and build muscle. That is how these foods help us lose weight.
  - http://fullfat.ca Octavian
    
    If we’re being absolutely technical, then no, the foods don’t contain granulated sugar. However, oats and sweet potatoes do contain starch, which is just another term for lotsa glucose. As to fructose, there is no difference in the molecular composition of apple fructose and HFCS fructose. They are the same molecule, the only difference being the package that contains them, which I did concede in my initial reply. I’m not saying that the list isn’t good, I’m just pointing out some facts.
    I am not anti carb, but when the 7 foods list contains 4 sources of carbs, I call it like I see it. I just think there’s more value added to the nutrition field when authors don’t just rehash the USDA food pyramid. Why not take out oats and replace it with eggs? The nutritional profile is so much richer in the common egg than in a pack of instant oatmeal (the author did say instant).
    Lastly, I do have the utmost respect for you Tony, as stated in previous replies to your articles. I know where you stand and I appreciate your contributions. This Alex guy, remains to be seen
    - Coach Calorie
      
      You’re right. He did say instant – that is something I overlooked while proofreading the article. I would recommend steel cut oats over instant any day of the week.
      
      And yes, starch is converted to glucose. However, as I’m sure you know, glucose in and of itself is not bad for you.
      
      The fructose may have the same molecularity, but the apple only contains a few grams, and is also comprised of fiber, which slows down its digestion. HFCS is contained in processed foods, and in high quantities.
      
      I don’t agree with the USDA food pyramid either. However, I do believe in eating healthy whole foods. Carbohydrates are not bad for us. They are “needed” to fully metabolize fat, and are needed to fuel high intensity exercise. These two things alone help you lose fat.
      
      This was not a list of the best fat burning foods. This was a list of foods to help you lose weight – all of which I believe can contribute to effective weight loss. I do not drink milk, and I do not eat oatmeal, but I know plenty who do, and can get competition lean.
      
      Thanks for the comments and the debate. Opinions are always welcome
http://www.weightlosshelpandtips.net Alex Chris

Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Regarding the nice and very interesting debate initiated by Octavian and Tony I can add the following. My goal was to suggest 7 foods that are healthy and can help someone lose weight by eating healthier. It was not a list of the best fat burning foods and certainly the list could include other foods as well. I really enjoyed your debate and technical details but in my opinion the average person looking for tips does not understand or care about the deep technical details. I prefer to keep my posts simple and easy to understand without giving too many details. I do publish ‘technical articles’ on my web site but these are always written by professional nutritionists (I am not) and supported by research . My selection of these particular foods was based on how easy is to incorporate these items in your daily diet and whether the overall list can produce a healthy diet plan. The list is by no means complete and the comments made can help the readers adjust the list to match their own need and requirements.

Thanks again
A.