The best filling low calorie foods contain essential nutrients including fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants without providing a lot of calories. These foods include colorful fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, squash, peaches, strawberries, whole-grain bread, beans, and whole-grain cereals, according to Merck. These foods are among the healthiest and most filling low calorie choices as long as you prepare them with as little saturated fat or sugar as possible.
High Fiber Foods
High fiber foods have several advantages to help you lose weight. Foods such as melons, fresh peaches, fresh citrus fruits with the membrane, berries, colorful fresh peppers, potatoes with the skin, brown rice and bread with seeds will make you feel full fast and for a long period of time. They provide bulk in your diet and take longer to leave your stomach. High fiber foods require you to chew more, which makes you eat slowly. Eating slower and chewing more may cause you to eat less and be more satisfied. High fiber foods are also generally low in cholesterol.
Portion Control
Extra calories are added to foods that come in large portions. Starches such as cereals, potatoes, rice, pasta, beans, peas and corn, and fruits are filling and low in fat and calories when consumed in moderate amounts. They become high in fat and calories if covered with high-fat toppings such as butter, sour cream, or mayonnaise. Foods high in starch are an important source of energy for your body, says the Weight-control Information Network, an information service of the National Institutes of Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Low fat Foods and Healthy Types of Fat
Select fat-free or low-fat milk and other dairy products, and lean meats such as sirloin, tenderloin and round cuts, as well as skinless turkey or chicken. Other low calorie, high protein foods include bison or buffalo meat and fish or shellfish.
Many healthy oils come from plants, nuts, olives, and fish. When adding fat in food preparation, use small amounts of canola, corn, cottonseed, olive, safflower, soybean and sunflower oils. Adding a small amount of oil may help you stay full longer since fat slows down the rate at which food leaves your stomach.
