Looking for foods that help you lose weight? Many people hope to find the 'miracle foods' that will magically speed up their metabolism to a sky high rate or burn off fat as they're being digested. Unfortunately these foods don't exist, despite diet myths to the contrary. But there are some foods that will help boost your weight loss more than others, including:
Fruit & Vegetables
OK, you've heard it before, but fruit and veg are among the best foods you can eat, both for weight loss and for the sake of your general health. They are low in calories, high in nutrients, and high in fibre too, so you'll feel satisfied for longer and be less likely to overeat. Luckily fruits and vegetables are both tasty and versatile, so most people find it's easy to include them in their diets. Boost your intake by adding some extra veg or salad to your main meals, and snack on fruit and raw veggies if you get hungry in between.
Beans & Pulses
Beans and pulses are excellent foods for dieters. They are fibre-rich and very filling, and are digested slowly, so your energy levels will stay high throughout the day. They're also very versatile, and can be used in soups, stews, stir-fries, casseroles and many other types of dish. Beans have also been found to contain a digestive hormone that helps to suppress the appetite, helping to reduce the likelihood that you'll overeat.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has had something of a bad rap in mainstream nutritional circles, thanks to a number of old flawed studies funded by the large vegetable oil companies. However people in tropical cultures have long valued coconuts and their oil for their beautifying and health-promoting properties, and now western societies are catching up too, as well as discovering coconut oil's suitability for dieters. This oil is valuable for weight loss because it is rich in medium chain triglycerides, which (unlike the long chain triglycerides that dominate in most vegetable oils) are actually burned by the body for fuel. And not only that, but consuming coconut oil may help to increase your metabolic rate too, so your body burns fat more quickly. Just make sure that any coconut oil you buy is virgin and preferably organic, as lower quality oils have usually been processed in ways that destroy its health and metabolism-boosting benefits.
Protein
Protein foods form the mainstay of low carb diets, but you don't need to go the low carb route (which many find to be unbalanced and unsustainable) to reap the weight loss benefits of eating protein foods. British researchers discovered that after a protein-rich meal, a hormone called PYY is released, which has appetite-suppressing effects. Although this hormone is also released after eating fat- and carb-heavy meals, protein-rich meals foods trigger the greatest quantity. So if your weight loss is being derailed by the desire to overeat, increasing the amount of protein in your meals could help to get your appetite under control.
So, rather than looking for the perfect 'miracle' food for weight loss, just make an effort to include these commonly available foods in your diet, and you might find that you're losing weight more quickly and easily, even without any additional effort.
