7 Best Foods to Help You Stay on Track with Your Weight Goals
Want to lose weight without starving? These 7 nutrient-rich foods help you stay full, boost metabolism, and support healthy weight loss. Find out how to include them in your meals.
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Best Foods For Weight loss
To affect noticeable and lasting weight loss you have to find a diet that is actually sustainable and not just effective for the here and now. Many people starve themselves and think the key to weight loss is simply limiting your caloric intake.
While achieving a calorie deficit is certainly important for slimming down, you are likely to gain your weight back if you aren’t taking a maintainable approach to healthier eating.
In reality, the better approach may be to feel full between meals so you don’t snack as often and don’t eat as much with your regular meals. But how do you achieve that? The best foods for weight loss can help.
Weight loss foods tend to be the ones that are high in dietary fiber and lean protein because these kinds of foods help you feel fuller for longer. So in the end, you won’t be starving yourself but you will still be reducing your daily calorie intake - it’s a win-win!
In the following article, we are going to tell you about the foods to eat to lose weight and how you can incorporate them seamlessly into your meals.
Key Takeaways
- For many people trying to lose weight, the best approach is not to starve yourself but to eat healthier foods instead.
- What to eat to lose weight should include natural foods that are high in dietary fiber and protein.
- Some of the best weight loss foods include eggs, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fatty fish, and more.
- You can incorporate these foods into your diet by preparing meals like healthy omelets, grilled fish with vegetables, and more.
7 Best Foods for Weight Loss
Let’s not mince any more words and get straight into it. Here are the foods that you can stock your pantry and fridge with right now to help you lose weight:
Best Foods for Weight Loss
- Eggs - At the top of this article we mentioned that some of the best diet foods should be high in fiber or protein. For the most part, this is because high-protein foods fill you up and increase feelings of satiety. This means that you simply don’t have to eat as much to get yourself good and satisfied. However, the Cleveland Clinic also points out that, “Increasing the amount of protein you eat can help reduce the buildup of harmful fats in your body, especially around your belly (abdomen).” With that in mind, eggs are a great source of protein with small eggs containing about 38g of protein, medium eggs containing about 44g, and large eggs containing up to about 50g of protein each. Eggs can help you feel full and provide other helpful weight loss nutrients.
- Nuts & Seeds - Eating a diet food that is high in fiber can also help you lose weight by slowing the stomach-emptying process, increasing feelings of satiety after a meal, and feeding the good gut bacteria that can improve your digestive functions. Nuts and seeds are great sources of natural fiber and the great thing about them is that there are so many to choose from. You can add your favorite nuts and seeds to your diet easily as a painless dietary shift with significant body composition impact. For instance, nuts like almonds, macadamias, and hazelnuts all contain between 2.4-3.5 grams of fiber per ounce.
- Greek Yogurt - Greek yogurt is also often counted among the best foods for weight loss because of its probiotic effects. Your gut microbiota (the environment of bacteria in your stomach) plays a role in weight loss as the National Institutes of Health states, “Increasing weight loss is positively associated with increases in gut microbiota α-diversity and reductions in intestinal permeability.” Because Greek yogurt can help improve the state of your microbiota and your digestion, it can also help you slim down, making it a great option for a healthy meal for weight loss.
- Leafy Greens - Leafy greens are also good diet foods not just because they are nutrient-dense and pack a lot of dietary fiber; but also because they are good sources of compounds known as thylakoids. Clinical studies have found that thylakoids benefit weight loss by reducing feelings of hunger. So starting your meal with a salad of leafy greens is a great way to healthfully suppress your appetite without having to starve yourself.
- Lean Chicken or Turkey - Lean chicken (breast, white meat sections) and turkey are both rich sources of protein. For example, the average chicken breast contains about 31 grams of protein and the average turkey breast contains about 30 grams. Chicken and turkey are great protein staples for your weight loss journey and can be the cornerstones of your healthy meals for weight loss. Chicken and turkey are also essential for building and maintaining lean muscle. Plus, they can be used and cooked in a variety of ways.
- Fatty Fish - Fatty fish like tuna, salmon, and mackerel are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids which benefit your brain and they are packed with protein which can help you lose weight. Plus, fatty fish are also rich in iodine which may improve your gut microbiota and help prevent obesity, according to some scientific studies.
- Whole Grains - Whole grains like barley, quinoa, brown rice, millet, and oatmeal can slow the digestion of carbs and provide steady energy throughout your day which is why they are healthy foods to lose weight with. They can help increase satiety and make you more physically motivated to work out and exercise.
Healthy Meals for Weight Loss
To help you get started with these healthy diet foods, here are some meal planning tips:
- Breakfast - Start with a couple of medium eggs on the skillet with some olive oil as your non-stick agent. Add some leaves of spinach and top with grated cheddar cheese. As a side, try spreading a thin layer of olive oil over chopped potatoes and baking in the air fryer.
- Lunch - Grill up a filet of salmon with some paprika, garlic, powder, and freshly cracked black pepper for seasoning. Top with a squeeze of lemon and serve on top of a bed of steamed brown rice.
- Dinner - Butterfly a chicken breast and saute it with some sliced mushrooms, bell pepper, and onions. Serve with a salad made from arugula, spinach, and leafy kale with beets, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, broccoli, and raspberry vinaigrette.
FAQs
Conclusion
A weight loss diet doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. In other words, you can still eat foods that you love and lose weight. You just have to be a bit choosy about the types of food you choose to help you lose weight.
If you stick close to the list we provided above, commit to making healthy lifestyle choices, and speak with your doctor about the possible benefits of weight loss aids like supplements, you will be giving yourself a great shot at achieving the body and the health you have always dreamed of.
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References
References
- 4 Ways Protein Can Help You Shed Pounds: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-much-protein-to-eat-to-lose-weight
- Making one change — getting more fiber — can help with weight loss: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/making-one-change-getting-fiber-can-help-weight-loss-201502177721
- The association of weight loss with changes in the gut microbiota diversity, composition, and intestinal permeability: a systematic review and meta-analysis: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8796717/
- Effects of thylakoid intake on appetite and weight loss: a systematic review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32550209/
- The correlation between iodine and metabolism: a review: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1346452/full