Add These Foods to Naturally Boost Weight Loss
Nutrition is a pillar of weight loss success.
Although there are no magic foods that can cause weight loss, there are some that can increase your chances of fat loss by keeping you full, fueling your body, increasing energy, and boosting metabolism.
As part of a healthy diet lower in calories than what you burn through activity each day, these foods can naturally help boost weight loss.
Try adding these 8 foods to help you lose weight to your diet and see what works for you!
Quinoa
Quinoa, which is a seed, is eaten similarly to grains as a base for meals. Replacing high calorie and low nutrient white rice with quinoa adds a ton of fiber, protein, B complex vitamins, and minerals that fuel your body much better than white rice or even brown rice.
Increasing fiber and protein are two of the best ways to keep you feeling full when trying to lose weight. Quinoa has both, along with B vitamins which are known to help boost fat loss through increasing metabolism.
Try using quinoa as a replacement for rice as a base for stir-fries, casseroles, power bowls, or even for breakfast.
Try these healthy oatmeal recipes!
Oatmeal
Eating low-calorie foods to help you lose weight that are bulky and high in volume is a top strategy for weight loss.
Often it isn’t how many calories a food has that keeps you feeling full, but the volume of the food. For example, a fresh apple will keep you much more satisfied for longer than a dried apple—this has to do with how food fills your stomach.
Oatmeal is a very high-volume food that is also rich in fiber and minerals. Try less processed forms of oatmeal such as steel-cut or oat groats rather than the instant kind. Steer clear of the instant packets with added sweeteners and artificial flavors.
You will especially benefit from eating oatmeal in your weight loss plan if you replace sugary, highly processed boxed cereals with oatmeal. It’s all about healthy swaps!
Read next: The 25 Healthiest Foods for Weight Loss
Broth Based Soups
Another tasty strategy for adding volume to your meals is by eating broth-based soups. Broth is a flavorful way to add bulk to your meals.
Studies have shown that consuming soups helps people eat fewer calories overall while still staying full.
Even more good news—eating soup increases people’s intake of protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber, as well as several vitamins and minerals—all essential parts of any weight loss plan.
Try to stick to homemade soups using no-salt-added broths or homemade stock. Processed canned soups contain a lot of sodium and should mostly be avoided.
Try this! Healthy Instant Pot Broccoli Soup
Chicken Breast
When it comes to foods to help you lose weight, chicken breast immediately comes to mind for many people.
Diets high in protein are far and away the best type of diets for weight loss. Low carbohydrate and low-fat diets do not compare to the effectiveness of a high protein diet.
This is because protein takes more calories to digest than other foods, helps you feel full longer, and prevents muscle loss when losing weight. However, some sources of protein are also high in saturated fats and calories.
Skinless chicken breast is a fantastic source of lean protein that is also high in iron, an essential mineral for energy, especially for women and athletes.
Walnuts
Walnuts, which resemble miniature brains, contain brain-boosting nutritional elements like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, folate, melatonin, and several antioxidative polyphenols.
When it comes to weight loss, all of those benefits can help, but what’s more, research shows that people who consumed walnuts every day—30 grams in the study—experienced weight loss benefits that non-walnut eaters didn’t.
Here’s what the researchers found happened for the walnut eaters after three months:
- Weight loss
- More likely to choose healthy foods
- Ate fewer unhealthy foods
- Were more likely to maintain weight loss after a year.
Dairy Products
Consuming dairy is known to help build lean body mass and reduce body fat.
Fermented dairy with gut-friendly probiotics such as yogurt reduces weight gain, and even cheese is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Consuming dairy foods to help you lose weight, such as yogurt, cheese, kefir, milk, and even dairy fat may protect you against type 2 diabetes.
Although dairy is less associated with weight loss, it is linked to fat loss and muscle gain. This means that eating dairy can help you build metabolism-boosting muscle while still burning off body fat.
What’s more, the size of your waistline can drop from eating dairy, according to the research.
Fermented foods rich in probiotics can improve blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance, leading to weight loss.
Learn how to make kefir!
Turmeric (Curcumin)
Turmeric is a root used in savory foods to add a rich, spicy flavor.
A review of the scientific research reveals that eating curcumin reduces body mass index (BMI), waist size, levels of the hunger hormone leptin, and increases hormone levels that help regulate blood sugar and fatty acid breakdown.
Turmeric could also help with inflammation which can make exercising and moving around painful and increase the risk of weight gain.
Pulses and Legumes
Beans are a filling, fiber-rich food that can be added to meals to boost nutritional content and help you feel satisfied with your meals.
Findings from 21 trials show that eating beans can lead to significant weight loss compared to those who do not eat beans.
They are an easily digested source of protein that is low in calories. The type of carbohydrates found in beans are digested slowly, meaning you will feel full for longer, and your blood sugar won’t spike as it does with faster digesting forms of carbs.
Try these! Healthy Flourless Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Choose Foods To Help You Lose Weight That You Love
If weight loss is your goal, adding these foods along with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains will help you reach a healthy weight when eaten as part of a diet lower in calories than what you burn off.
Pairing these foods with a solid exercise routine will boost your chances of success.
Try adding in one or two new nutritional foods to help you lose weight every week.
Replacing your less healthy foods with some of these will increase your chances of slimming down, improving your health, and developing lasting healthy habits.
Download the FREE Fit Food Grocery List in the Resource Library!
Article by Rachel MacPherson, originally written for Reshape.me
