With so many different diets and meal plans out there, knowing what to eat for weight loss can be unnecessarily challenging. To help set the record straight, I’m sharing specifically what you should be eating for weight loss.
Along with consistent exercise and a well-balanced life full of healthy habits like meditation, you’ll be on your way to losing weight. Cut all the fuss out and stick to these foods and food groups if you want to lose weight.
Start With Drinking Water for Weight Loss
Drinking water is so important for weight loss that I’m including it on this list even though it isn’t technically a food. There are numerous different weight loss benefits related to drinking enough water each day including:
- – Suppressing appetite
- – Removing extra body waste
- – Increasing your metabolism
Yep, just drinking enough water each day will help boost your metabolism. With a higher metabolism, you’ll burn more calories everyday even when you’re at rest.
In 2013, a study done on obese girls revealed that drinking water can directly reduce body mass index and body fat composition. Girls drinking 1,500 ml of water per day (almost 6 and a half cups), lost body fat just thanks to drinking water.
Also, drinking other healthy fluids such as tea is great for weight loss. Specifically, green tea is known as a power-house when it comes to weight loss. It actually helps increase the amount of fat that you burn during exercise. So, if plain water isn’t really your thing, you can opt for tea for a little extra flavor.
Protein Protein Protein
If you want to lose weight, then eating enough protein is essential for success. Protein has direct and indirect benefits for weight loss. It directly works to:
- – Improve weight-regulating hormone function
- – Increase metabolism
- – Reduce bad food cravings
Indirectly, protein promotes the building of lean body muscle. Having lean muscle not only makes you stronger and improves your physique, but it actually helps you burn more calories. That’s because muscle requires calories from your body’s fat reserves and food to survive. Therefore, with more muscle on your body, the more body fat and food it will burn up.
If you’re struggling to get enough protein in your diet, think about foods like:
- – Lean chicken
- – Fatty fish such as salmon
- – Beans and legumes
And, if eating protein isn’t your thing, you can also try drinking it in the form of a protein shake.
Foods High in Healthy Fats
Fat is no longer known as the evil weight-gain culprit that it used to. That is at least healthy fat isn’t.
In case you’ve missed it, healthy fat has become a superhero in the weight loss world in recent years. It has inspired several high fat-based diets such as the keto diet. But what exactly is healthy fat?
Healthy fat refers to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. In addition to weight loss, these types of fats have many wellness benefits including:
- – Decreasing your risk of developing heart disease
- – Helping your body better absorb vitamins and minerals
- – Powering your brain and nervous system
On the other hand, you want to stay away from eating too much of the bad fats. These include saturated fats and trans fats. While a little bit of saturated fat can be good for you, trans fats are particularly bad for your health. You should avoid eating trans fats if you want to lose weight.
Some foods high in healthy fats include:
- – Avocados
- – Olive oil
- – Nut and seed butters
- – Salmon
- – Coconut oil
Cruciferous Vegetables
One food group that has always been in the weight loss and wellness spotlight is cruciferous vegetables. Just to name a few, they include:
- – Arugula
- – Broccoli
- – Brussel sprouts
- – Kale
- – Cauliflower
Basically, most of your green vegetables fall into this category. There are a couple of ways that cruciferous vegetables help with weight loss including:
- – Packing in lots of fiber
- – Reducing cravings
- – Curbing overeating
The high levels of fiber is the most important weight loss element in cruciferous vegetables. Fiber helps you feel fuller sooner after eating and for longer after eating. The sooner and longer you feel full, the less likely you are to reach for bad high calorie snacks.
Also, fiber promotes a healthy gut bacterial environment. Your intestines are filled with millions of little bacteria. They help your body with several things including helping to maintain a healthy body weight. Without the right number of bacteria in your gut, you’re more likely to gain weight. So you should eat some fibrous foods to restore the bacteria levels and get back to losing weight.
Desserts With Dark Chocolate
Yes, chocolate! Believe it or not, dark chocolate is excellent for promoting overall wellness and boosting weight loss. In terms of weight loss, dark chocolate helps with:
- – Reducing body fat storage
- – Boosting energy levels
- – Reducing levels of ghrelin
Ghrelin is a hormone that makes you feel hungry. When you haven’t had enough to eat, it sends a signal to your brain telling you that it’s time to eat again. Dark chocolate works to decrease the release of ghrelin so that you’re not feeling that same sense of hunger.
If you want to make yourself a dessert while staying on track with your weight loss goals, try making:
- – Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate
- – Healthy peanut butter cups made with dark chocolate
- – Smoothies with cacao nibs
Like all things though, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And, dark chocolate is no different! Make sure that you’re sticking to a serving size between 1 and 2 ounces everyday. Otherwise, your dark chocolate could suddenly go from being a weight loss promotor to a weight loss inhibitor.
Final Thoughts on What to Eat for Weight Loss
Use my guide to know exactly what to eat for weight loss. Forget about all the fad diets and start here with these specific foods and food groups. Not only are they going to help you lose more weight, but they’ll also make you feel better in the process.
And, feeling better about yourself is another key to weight loss. When you have positive feelings, it’s far easier to stick to your healthy meal and exercise plan. Lose more weight and feel happier with my top weight loss foods.
