Foods That Help Me Lose Weight

There's no magic pill for weight loss. As long as you're eating fewer calories than your body uses, you will lose weight. When you eat more than your body needs, you gain weight. Everything you eat has an impact on your health and your weight, but certain foods can make it easier to reduce your caloric intake.

Fruits and Vegetables

The key to losing weight is consuming less energy than your body uses. Energy density refers to the number of calories you consume in regard to the amount of food you eat. For example, you can eat a whole banana for around 105 calories, but 105 calories of a doughnut is only half of a 3-inch doughnut. Fruits and vegetables are the perfect low energy density food. Fill most of your plate up with low energy density vegetables at each meal and replace high-calorie snacks with fruit. Consuming a large amount of food helps control your hunger which can help you control your caloric intake and lead to weight loss. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables over dried or canned.

High-Fiber Foods

High-fiber foods can be your secret to weight loss. Fiber-rich foods can help you lose weight by staving off hunger. When you eat foods with fiber, as it enters into your digestive system, it absorbs water. This action helps with weight loss in two ways. First, it fills your gut, sending signals to your brain that you are no longer hungry. Second, the fiber inside your small intestine blocks the absorption of the glucose inside the food. This results in a slow and sustained release of glucose into the bloodstream, another mechanism that signals to your body that you are no longer hungry. High-fiber foods include fruits with their skins on, leafy green vegetables, oats, bran and barley.

Snacks

Believe it or not, snacks can help you lose weight. When you go too long between meals, your blood sugar drops. This can send a signal to your brain that slows your metabolism. A slowing metabolism is counterproductive to your weight-loss goals. To keep your metabolism going, you should eat a healthy snack between meals. Healthy snacks should be low in calories and consist of a complex carbohydrate and a protein to help keep you full. This can include a slice of whole-grain toast with peanut butter, 1 cup of yogurt, 3 cups of air-popped popcorn or a small bowl of cereal with fat-free milk.

Protein

Healthy proteins should be a key component in your diet and weight-loss program. According to a report published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2008, a slightly elevated protein intake while dieting can help increase satiety, increase your metabolic rate and encourage your body to hold onto lean body mass while burning fat mass. Choosing healthy, low-calorie and low-fat sources of protein is key. Opt for foods such as legumes which includes lentils, beans and chickpeas or poultry and soy, which provide a large amount of protein with less fat and fewer calories than red meat.