Don't let crash diets cause a weight boomerang. When you want to lose weight fast, stick with a broad diet of low-calorie foods in each food group. As you achieve your weight goal, you can expand the variety of your choices with foods in the next calorie tier that provide similar types of nutrition. If you eat lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and choose low-fat protein and dairy foods, you will satisfy your body's metabolic requirements and lose weight safely.
Fruits
Use fruits or healthy snacks to fill in whenever you feel hungry and need bulk in your menu. The National Institutes of Health report that the dietary fiber in fruit makes you feel full, helping you lose weight. Your body benefits from large amounts of vitamin C as well. High-fiber fruits include blackberries, Asian pears and whole oranges, rather than juiced. Pick kiwis, apricots, plums and strawberries for low-calorie counts of 50 or less per fruit or per ½ cup. Choose frozen or canned fruits with no added sugar.
Vegetables
Vegetables contribute to your daily fiber totals and offer a more diverse range of vitamins and minerals to sustain your metabolism as you eat fewer calories. This equation makes it easier to burn more calories than you consume. Non-starchy vegetables have the lowest calories; among them, cooked leafy greens have the greatest nutrient density. A single cup of cooked spinach offers significant vitamins A, B, C, E and K, protein, fiber, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium and in just 41 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA. Other low-cal veggies include carrots, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce and mushrooms.
Whole Grains
Energy for workouts can come largely from grain foods. The complex carbohydrates in whole grains such as oats, corn, rye, wheat and rice break down slowly, thus preventing the blood sugar crash that can send you to the pantry. Low-sugar wheat bran cereals represent low-calorie breakfast foods, while brown rice, rye crackers and whole-wheat breads provide similar filling fiber, vitamins and minerals in just over 100 calories per ½-cup serving or about 65 calories per bread or cracker suggested serving.
Low-Fat Protein and Dairy
Sidestepping the fat in protein and dairy foods minimizes the calories while still providing the full value of other nutrients. Low-fat fish choices and reduced-fat milk products will best help you achieve a negative calorie balance as you get your protein and calcium. Options with about 100 calories or less include 3-oz. servings of cod, sole, tuna and haddock and 1 cup of fat-free milk or 1 oz. of part-skim cheese.
Member Comments