Great Health Foods For Weight Loss

Although losing weight is a balance between the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you burn, losing weight without learning to enjoy healthy foods and incorporating regular exercise into your life may make it difficult for you to maintain your lost weight. Change your lifestyle by losing weight and eating great tasting, healthy foods on your journey.

Eggs

Eggs are low in calories, high in protein, and can help you lose weight. If you have normal cholesterol, eat eggs regularly for breakfast. A study in the "International Journal of Obesity" led by Jillion S. Vander Wal studied the weight loss effect of eggs versus bagels for breakfast in overweight or obese participants. The group that ate two eggs for breakfast five days per week lost 65 percent more weight than the bagel group. Boil several eggs on the weekend, and eat an egg for breakfast or as a quick snack.

Yogurt

Although many dairy products are high in calories and fat, low-fat yogurt is a healthy food that can help you lose weight. Michael Zemel, Ph.D. and professor of nutrition with the University of Tennessee presented a study showing that participants who ate 1,100 mg of calcium in yogurt a day lost more weight and retained more lean muscle than the participants who only at 500 mg of calcium. Choose unsweetened yogurt or lightly sweetened yogurt to avoid consuming excess sugar. Use Greek yogurt as a topping for baked potatoes, in chicken salad or eat it plain for a snack. Add yogurt to fresh fruit and blend together for a cold, creamy dessert.

Oats

Oats are a low-density food, which means that they take longer for your body to digest and use the nutrients for energy. When you eat more low-density foods such as oats, you stay full for longer, which helps you avoid snacking on empty calories. Eat minimally processed steel-cut oats in the morning, eat cold cereals with oats and grind up oats and sprinkle the powder in main dish casseroles. Oatmeal makes whole-wheat pancakes heartier and you can use oatmeal in homemade granola bars. One cup of oatmeal has 147 calories.

Apples

Apples come in different flavors and sizes, but one thing they have in common is the ability to fill you up and help you lose weight. A study published in the "Nutrition" journal found that women who ate three apples or pears a day lost more weight than the women who did not. Cut up an apple for snack, grate an apple over your morning bowl of oatmeal or bake an apple in the oven for a sweet dessert. An apple contains about 80 calories, 4 g of fiber as well as folate, vitamins A, C and potassium.