When trying to lose weight, you may focus on the foods you can't eat to keep your weight under control. However, you can enjoy plenty of healthy, low-fat foods to make losing weight a pleasant experience. Introducing and keeping these foods in your regular diet helps with short-term weight loss and maintains a healthy weight over time.
Fruit
Fruit works effectively during weight loss with all your meals and as a healthy snack. Fiber-rich fruit, low in fat, digests smoothly and satisfies your hunger needs. Add fresh fruit to cereals or yogurt for breakfast. A piece of fruit helps boost your energy in the morning when in a hurry. Include fruit in salads or as sides with your meals. Fruit for dessert provides a nutritious option to fatty sweets. Fresh fruit gives you plenty of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. When buying frozen or canned fruit, purchase products in water or natural juices. Avoid frozen or canned fruits with added sugar or syrup.
Vegetables
Vegetables also contain fiber and aid in digestion. Vegetables have low-fat and low-calorie contents and are a great addition to your meals, or you can enjoy them as snacks. Top salads, pastas and other dishes with fresh or steamed vegetables, avoiding heavy sauces. Fill your plate with more vegetables and smaller meat portions to decrease your fat intake. Use extra vegetables on your sandwiches. Eat raw carrots or celery for snacks. Like fruit, vegetables fill you up, so you don't need unnecessary fatty foods or additives. Avoid creamy style vegetables when buying packaged or canned products.
Grains
Grains include bread, pasta, cereal and rice. Grains provide good sources of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and have low-fat contents. Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients than refined grains as refined grains lose some nutritional value during the milling process. High-fiber, whole grains make you feel full longer to avoid temptations to eat unhealthy foods. Whole-grain bread, pasta and cereal, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat crackers and barely are some examples of whole grains.
Low-fat Options
To reduce your fat intake with protein foods high in saturated fat, choose low-fat varieties. However, eat them in small portions and try consuming fresh, whole foods as replacements as often as possible. The Cleveland Clinic recommends eating less than 6 oz. meat, poultry and fish a day. Choose lean meats with all visible fat trimmed off and poultry without skin. Bake, broil or grill your foods instead of frying. Substitute low-fat, high-fiber beans and lentils for animal protein once in a while during your meals. Consume low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Use low-fat yogurt as a topping for your baked potato instead of butter or sour cream. When choosing low-fat or fat-free snacks, eat them only once in a while. Even low-fat foods contain calories the body converts to fat when you consume too much.
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