You may be on a diet to lose weight or maintain your weight loss. Eating nutritious but low calorie and low fat foods is one of the most important ways to accomplish these goals. Choosing the most nutrient-dense foods possible will supply you with many different vitamins and minerals for fewer calories than higher fat and calorie fare. Knowing some of your healthy options can help you reach a healthy weight and stay there.
Nuts
Many people shy away from adding nuts to their diet because they have a bad reputation of being high in fat. Ivy Larson and Andrew Larson note in their book, "Whole Foods Diet Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Optimal Health," that this is only partly true. Nuts do contain several grams of fat, but they are mostly the unsaturated kind, which helps you lose weight by keeping you full and satisfying your craving for something crunchy. Larson and Larson add that nuts contain magnesium, which helps quiet cravings for sweets, particularly chocolate. Add an ounce or so of walnuts or almonds to get these benefits.
Oatmeal
Whole grains, such as oatmeal, supply your body with several grams of fiber. Fiber is an important part of a diet because it fills you up, which may prevent overindulgence later. Larson and Larson report that whole foods, such as steel cut oats or unsweetened instant oatmeal, slow your digestion, which means that you do not feel as hungry and may not eat as much during the day. Oatmeal may also keep your blood sugar stable so you do not end up craving unhealthy foods because you get hungry before it is mealtime again.
Legumes
Beans, lentils and other legumes are another high fiber food that are good for dieters because you get full with fewer calories and stay full longer. Michael Pollan reports in his book, "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," that a diet that consists mostly of plant foods is far healthier than a diet filled with animal products. A plant based diet that includes foods like beans and lentils is also lower in fat and calories, which enables you to lose weight and keep it off. Dried legumes and canned varieties contain similar amounts of fiber and protein, but look for low-sodium cans to keep your salt intake at a healthy level.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables should make up about half of your diet because they are low in calories but high in nutrition. Pollan reports that fruits and vegetables are additional plant foods that can help you lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Adding fruits and vegetables to your meals fills you up because they contain several grams of fiber and will replace the fat and calories in other foods, such as red meat. Aim to fill half of your plate with fresh produce and you will cut calories and increase your intake of essential nutrients.
References
- "Whole Foods Diet Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Optimal Health"; Ivy Larson and Andrew Larson; 2009
- "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual"; Michael Pollan; 2009
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