How to Combine Healthy Foods to Lose Weight

How to Combine Healthy Foods to Lose Weight
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Combining healthy foods can make them more enjoyable to eat because they will provide you with more flavors. Also, combining healthy foods will help ensure that you get all the nutrients you need. Healthy eating will aid in your weight loss, but whatever you eat, it is important to do so in moderation. You lose weight by burning more calories than you eat, and what you burn is based on your activity level throughout the day.

Step 1

Make breakfast a priority because eating a healthy breakfast can help you lose excess weight, notes MayoClinic.com. Add fruits to breakfast foods. Sprinkle oatmeal and whole-grain cereals with blackberries, raspberries or blueberries. Cook fruit and/or nuts into whole-grain pancakes or waffles. Mix an assortment of vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and spinach into scrambled egg whites or tofu scramble. These breakfast combinations will provide you with a high-fiber and protein-packed start to your day.

Step 2

Eat a protein- and fiber-rich snack between breakfast and lunch. Consume a healthy snack that ranges between 100 and 150 calories. This will keep your energy levels stable and help you resist the urge to overeat at lunch or consume an unhealthy snack. Dip sliced apples in peanut butter. Eat a handful of almonds and dried cranberries. Combine whole-grain crackers with thin low-fat cheese slices.

Step 3

Make a lunch that provides you with a good source of energy, protein, fiber and whole grains. Combine whole-grain pasta with a variety of vegetables sprinkled with almond slices. Mix a variety of types of leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale and mustard with beans and top it off with sliced apples.

Step 4

Snack on a whole-grain, protein- or fiber-rich snack if you are hungry between lunch and dinner. Try dipping baby carrots or slices of pepper into hummus. Snack on a cup full of berries. Make a banana smoothie, and add peanut butter to it, but avoid adding extra sugar.

Step 5

Create dinners that contain a significant amount of vegetables. According to Harvard School of Public Health, half your plate at each meal should contain vegetables. Use an assortment of vegetables to make stir-fries with tofu, salmon or shrimp. Combine black beans with vegetables, and serve them over brown rice. Make black bean burger patties, and eat them on a whole-wheat bun. Supplementing plant proteins for animal-based proteins in meals will aid in your weight loss because plant proteins generally contain less fat and fewer calories but still are rich in protein.

Step 6

Eat desserts that are fruit-based. Serve slices of strawberries or apples dipped in low-fat yogurt as a dessert. Eat berries sprinkled with crushed walnuts or pecans. Eating fruit-based desserts will help satisfy your sweet tooth without sabotaging your weight loss.

Step 7

Cook with spices and herbs. Supplement your normal flavorings such as butter, oil and salt with spices and herbs. These will provide you with a way to flavor your foods without adding additional fats or calories. Experiment with the variety of flavors that spices and herbs can add to foods.

References

Article reviewed by Marie Slade Last updated on: Sep 25, 2010

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