Losing weight can be a challenge, and if you want to be successful, you must be willing to stick with your diet plan until your desired weight is reached. Shedding pounds is worth the effort since the health benefits of weight loss include better blood pressure, better cholesterol level and better blood sugar levels. To lose weight, the amount of calories your body uses must exceed the amount of calories you consume. With this in mind, choose foods that are low in calories. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Research shows that people get full by the amount of food they eat, not the number of calories they take in."
Fruits and Vegetables
Eat fruits and vegetables to lose weight. These types of foods are high in fiber, and fiber foods fill you up, so you can eat less of them and feel satisfied, while consuming fewer calories. Eat a medium apple or ½ cup of sliced bananas. Select grapes, oranges, strawberries, blueberries or blackberries. Choose vegetables such as kidney beans, black beans, white beans, lima beans, split peas, garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas and lentils.
Meat and Fish
Consume lean meat if you want to cut down on calories. Choose cuts of beef such as round eye, top round, bottom round, top loin, top sirloin and chuck shoulder. Select chopped beef that is almost 100 percent lean. Eat lean pork such as pork tenderloin, center loin and ham. Consume chicken cutlets, turkey cutlets and chicken pieces without the skin. Eat fish such as cod, trout and fresh tuna. When buying cold cuts, purchase only low-fat meats.
Drinks
Sip on low calorie beverages to help you lose weight. Some drinks contain a lot of calories, so it is important that you consume beverages you know contain little or no calories so you can lose weight. Plain water, club soda, or water with a squeeze of lemon or lime in it is best because they contain zero calories. Other good beverage choices that are low in calories include sparkling water, diet soda, black coffee and tea, hot or iced. When buying milk, choose fat-free or low-fat milk instead of whole milk.
Additional Foods
Include soup in your diet to lose weight. Soup gives you a feeling of fullness, and certain soups are low in calories. Choose low-calorie soups such as beef broth and chicken broth. Throw in boiled vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and celery. For a snack, have air-popped popcorn.
References
- United States Department of Agriculture: Steps to a Healthier Weight
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Weight -- it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Nutrient Information
- United States Department of Agriculture: Tips to help you make wise choices from the meat & beans group
Member Comments