8 Low-Calorie Foods for Weight Loss – Dieting is an essential part of weight loss. What you eat is an important determinant of whether you would gain or lose weight. There are certain foods that add more pounds (in the form of calories).
While there are also foods that do not add up to body weight. It ‘s nice to take low-calorie foods for weight loss because while they supply the needed nutrients and energy to the body, they do not add weight to the body.
In the last few years, a lot of diet gurus have tried to argue that calories don’t count… And to be honest I understand why. It’s what we all want to hear!… But to be blunt — It’s also the biggest lie in weight loss
Let’s define a calorie. Basically, it’s a way of talking about the “energy” stored in the food you eat.
It’s also used to talk about the “energy” your body burns to live — and to do whatever activities you do throughout your day. To lose weight you must eat below a certain threshold of calories.
Here are 8 Low-Calorie Foods For Weight Loss
Reducing your calorie intake can be an effective way to lose weight and here is a list of 8 low-calorie foods that are perfect for weight loss with most of them highly nutritious.
1. Whole Eggs
Once feared for being high in cholesterol, whole eggs have been making a comeback. What’s more? They are the best foods you can eat if you need to lose weight. They’re high in protein, healthy fats, and can make you feel full with a meager amount of calories.
One study of 30 overweight women showed that eating eggs for breakfast, instead of bagels, increased satiety and made them eat less for the next 36 hours. Another 8-week study found that eggs for breakfast increased weight loss on a calorie restricted diet compared to bagels.
Eggs are also incredibly nutrient dense and can help you get all the nutrients you need on a calorie-restricted
2. Lean Beef and Chicken Breast
Many people have unfairly demonized eating meat. They see it as the source of all sorts of health problems, despite no real evidence to back it up.
Although processed meat is unhealthy, studies show that unprocessed red meat does NOT raise the risk of heart disease or diabetes. According to two prominent review studies, red meat has only a very weak correlation with cancer in men and no correlation at all in women.
The truth is that meat is a weight loss friendly food because it’s high in protein. Protein is the most fulfilling nutrient, by far, and eating a high protein diet can make you burn up to 80 to 100 more calories per day.
Studies have shown that increasing your protein intake to 25-30% of calories can cut cravings by 60%, reduce the desire for late-night snacking by half, and cause weight loss of almost a pound per week, just by adding protein to the diet.
If you’re on a low-carb diet, then feel free to eat fatty meats. But if you’re on a moderate- to high carbohydrate diet, then choosing lean meats as one of the low-calorie foods for weight loss may be more appropriate.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Water
Apple cider vinegar is incredibly popular in the natural health community. It is popular for use in condiments, like dressings or vinaigrettes. Some people even dilute it with water and drink it. Several studies in humans suggest that vinegar can be useful for those who are trying to lose weight.
Taking vinegar at the same time as a high-carb meal can increase feelings of fullness and make people eat 200-275 fewer calories for the rest of the day. One study in obese individuals also showed that 15 or 30 ml of vinegar per day for 12 weeks caused weight loss of 2.6-3.7 pounds or 1.2-1.7 kilograms.
Vinegar has also been shown to reduce blood sugar spikes after meals, which may lead to all sorts of beneficial effects on health in the long term.
Read Also: Apple Cider Vinegar for Fast Weight Loss
4. Whole Grains
Though grains have gotten a bad rap in recent years, there are some that are healthy. These include some non-gluten, whole grains that are loaded with fiber and contain a decent amount of protein as well.
Notable examples include oats, brown rice, and quinoa.
Oats contain beta-glucans, soluble fibers that increase satiety and improve metabolic health. Rice, both brown and white, can also contain significant amounts of resistant starch, especially if cooked and then allowed to cool afterward.
Keep in mind that refined grains are a disaster, and sometimes foods that have “whole grains” on the label are highly processed junk foods that are both harmful and fattening.
If you’re on a very low-carb diet, then you’ll want to avoid grains, because they are high in carbohydrates. But there’s nothing wrong with eating some of the healthier grains if you can tolerate them and are not on a low-carb diet.
Add these low-calorie foods that aid weight loss to your diet and feel your body slimming down fast.
5. Fruits
Most health experts agree that fruit is healthy and belongs to the class of low-calorie foods for weight loss. Numerous population studies have shown that people who eat the most fruit (and vegetables) tend to be healthier than people who don’t. Of course, correlation does not equal causation, so those studies don’t prove anything, but fruits do have properties that make them weight loss friendly.
Even though they contain sugar, they have a low energy density and take a while to chew. Plus, the fiber helps prevent the sugar from being released too quickly into the bloodstream.
The only people who may want to avoid or minimize fruit are those who are on a very low-carb, ketogenic diet or have some intolerance to fructose. For the rest of us, fruits can be an effective (and delicious) addition to a weight loss diet.
6. Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are among the most nutritious low-calorie foods on the planet. They do contain 12 grams of carbohydrate per ounce, which is pretty high, but 11 of those grams are fiber. This makes chia seeds a low-carb friendly food, and one of the best sources of fiber in the world.
Because of all the fiber, chia seeds can absorb up to 11-12 times their weight in water, turning gel-like and expanding in your stomach. Although some studies have shown that chia seeds can help reduce appetite, they have not found a statistically significant effect on weight loss.
However, given their nutrient composition, chia seeds could be a vital part of low-calorie foods for weight loss diet.
7. Full-fat Yoghurt
Another excellent dairy food is yogurt. Yogurt contains probiotic bacteria that can improve the function of your gut. Having a healthy gut may potentially help protect against inflammation and leptin resistance, which is the main hormonal driver of obesity.
Just make sure to choose full-fat yogurt. Studies show that full-fat dairy, but not low-fat, is associated with a reduced risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes over time. Low-fat yogurt contains excess sugar, so it is best to avoid that stuff like the plague.
Read More: Healthy Low-Calorie Foods for Lunch
8. Cottage Cheese
Dairy products tend to be low-calorie foods and high in protein. One of the best ones is cottage cheese. Calorie for calorie, it is mostly just protein with very little carbohydrate and fat.
Eating plenty of cottage cheese is an excellent way to boost your protein intake. It is also very satiating, making you feel full with a relatively small amount of calories.
Dairy products are also high in calcium, which has been shown to aid in the fat burning process.
Conclusion
Losing weight has always been a challenging process whether it be through exercise, the latest diet fad, or simply through calorie counting. These 8 low-calorie foods are perfect for weight loss and are great for the body.
Even though not all of them have a very low calories count per se, these foods are tasty, packed with nutrients, and will help you reach your weight loss goal.
These 8 low-calorie foods also are very diverse and can be made into a number of tasty dishes which can make your dieting experience fun
