If you've lost--then found--the same pounds rather quickly, it's time to get back to diet basics. To lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight once the pounds are off, it's all about balancing your food choices. Daily exercise is an essential component of weight loss, but it requires energy. A number of common foods can give your body the right fuel to help you lose weight quickly without adding unnecessary starches and fats.
Beans
Fiber helps keep food moving through your digestive system, expelling waste quickly and efficiently. A diet high in fiber is typically lower in calories and leaves you feeling full longer. Fiber can be found in all sorts of beans, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables. The American Dietetic Association recommends that women consume 25 grams and men consume 38 grams of fiber each day. Make a habit of adding lentils or beans to stews or meatloaf.
Raspberries and Blackberries
Raspberries are the queens of fiber, with a hefty 8 g per cup. This fiber-pack helps you stay full longer and keeps you away from snacking on unhealthy foods. Blackberries come in a close second, packing 7.4 g of fiber per cup.
Turkey
Turkey features the lowest amount of calories per ounce of any meat. It contains the amino acid leucine, which may help preserve muscle mass while losing weight. Muscle mass helps keep your metabolism running at full speed. Additionally, the protein contained in turkey is more filling than fats or carbohydrates, so you will be less likely to want to snack throughout the day. Consume whole turkey cooked with minimal fats, as opposed to processed turkey products.
Peanuts
Peanuts help combat weight gain, slow down blood sugar rises and curb hunger. Researchers at Purdue University found that people who added 500 calories of peanuts into their diets for three weeks had no body weight change. Additionally, these people each had a 24 percent drop in bad cholesterol levels. The study attributes this to peanuts' satiating power, which helps people eat less.
Whole Grain Cereal
Breakfast cereals that are based on whole grains, such as any brand of woven wheat squares, can boost fiber and provide fewer calories than other fat-heavy breakfasts. The whole grains in popular woven wheat cereals can provide up to a quarter of your recommended daily allowance of fiber, as well as up to 6 grams of protein to combat hunger later in the day.
Low Fat Yogurt
Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute of Tennessee, says that the calcium found in low-fat yogurt may fight fat. People who don't get enough calcium have more of the hormone calcitriol, which causes fat to be stored, according to Zemel. People who get adequate calcium in their diets are better able to burn fat efficiently. Like turkey, yogurt is also a source of leucine, which can help fight fat.
Spinach
This leafy green vegetable is packed full of potassium. Potassium helps muscles contract and helps regulate the fluids that balance the body's cells. Additionally, it helps maintain a consistent, normal blood pressure level and reduce the bloating effects of sodium. According to the American Dietetic Association, adults should eat 4,700 milligrams of potassium daily.
References
- American Dietetic Association: It's About Eating Right: Fiber
- American Dietetic Association: It's About Eating Right: Potassium
- Women's Health Magazine: Fat-Fighting Foods: Turkey
- Women's Health Magazine: Fat-Fighting Foods: Peanuts
- Women's Health Magazine: Fat-Fighting Foods: Best Cereals For a Healthy Morning
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