Foods That Help Increase Weight Loss

Foods That Help Increase Weight Loss
Photo Credit brown egg and white image by John Keith from Fotolia.com

A number of foods will aid in your weight loss while providing your body with the fuel that it needs to get through the day. Choosing these foods provide your body with more nutrients than other food types and help you get healthier overall. In order to achieve weight loss successfully, incorporate healthy, high-nutrient foods into your diet, exercise on a daily basis and do not overeat, even on food that is healthy.

Whole Grains

Consuming carbohydrates is one of the easiest and fastest ways of providing energy for your body. When choosing which carbohydrates to eat, you should steer clear of any choices that are refined, as they will be highly processed. During the processing, the refined carbohydrates are stripped of many of the things that make them healthy, such as minerals, fiber, vitamins and bran. Instead, go with unrefined carbohydrates, such as whole grains, which have a much higher nutritional value. Adding whole grains to your diet is helpful because they provide your body with a good source of fiber, making you feel fuller longer. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the recommended daily allowance for carbohydrates is approximately 130 g per day. Brown rice, whole wheat flour, whole cornmeal, and Bulgar are all examples of healthy carbohydrates and whole grains.

Egg Whites

Egg whites are a common staple in many diets, especially if you're looking to lose weight. Not only are egg whites low in cholesterol but they are also a good source of protein, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Protein is essential for anyone looking to lose weight as it helps to maintain the lean muscle you already have while burning fat and boosting your metabolism. The body uses more energy to burn off protein than it does for fats, leading to more calories being burned overall. Using four separated egg whites to make an egg white omelet will give you a 255 calorie meal that packs 50 g of protein. To add a little kick, splash some hot sauce on your omelet. Hot sauce contains capsaicin, which also speeds up metabolism and improves your body's production of insulin.

Oats

Oats are healthy carbohydrates that prevent you from feeling hungry between meals. While a typical carbohydrate can cause the blood sugar in your body to rapidly drop, making you feel hungry, oats get digested extremely slowly, according to Caring.com. Foods like steel cut oats, rolled oats and oatmeal are good sources of fiber and are very low in calories, promoting a lean body composition and weight loss.

References

Article reviewed by Kristen Douglas Last updated on: Oct 11, 2010

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments