The best weight-loss friendly foods on the planet

A recent report published by Healthline, looked at some of the best weight-loss friendly foods you should incorporate in your diet if you want to keep your waistline in check, and I couldn’t agree more. These foods are scientifically proven to aid in weight loss and support a healthy diet long-term.

Because the thing is, when it comes to calories, not all of them are created equal. Different foods can have vastly different effects on hunger, hormones and how many calories you burn. That’s why, if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to know what weight-loss friendly foods to eat.

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Stock your pantry full of these healthy foods if you want to shed a few excess kilos:

Eggs

Once feared for being high in cholesterol, whole eggs have been making a comeback. New studies show that they don’t adversely affect blood cholesterol and don’t cause heart attacks.

What’s more, they’re among the best foods you can eat if you need to lose weight. They’re high in protein, healthy fats, and help you feel fuller for longer.

Eggs are also incredibly nutrient-dense and can help you get all the nutrients you need on a calorie-restricted diet. Almost all the nutrients are found in egg yolks.

Leafy greens

Leafy greens include kale, spinach, collards, swiss chard and a few others. They have several properties that make them perfect for a weight loss diet. They’re low in both calories and carbohydrates, but high in fibre.

Eating leafy greens is a great way to increase the volume of your meals, without increasing the calories. This means you’ll eat fewer calories overall but feel satisfied after a meal. Bonus!

Leafy greens are also incredibly nutritious and very high in many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This includes calcium, which has been shown to aid fat burning in some studies.

Salmon

Oily fish like salmon is incredibly healthy as it’s rich in high-quality protein, healthy fats and also contains plenty of important nutrients.

Fish, and seafood in general supplies a significant amount of iodine. This nutrient is necessary for the proper function of the thyroid, which is important to keep the metabolism running optimally.

Salmon is also loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help reduce inflammation, which is known to play a major role in obesity and metabolic disease.

Mackerel, trout, sardines, herring and other types of oily fish are also a great choice.

Cruciferous veggies

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts. Like other vegetables, they are high in fibre, which keeps you fuller for longer.

What’s more… these types of veggies also tend to contain decent amounts of protein. They’re not as high in protein as animal foods or legumes, but they’re higher than most other veggies.

A combination of protein, fibre and low energy density makes cruciferous vegetables the perfect foods to include in your meals if you need to lose weight. They’re also highly nutritious and contain cancer-fighting substances.

Boiled potatoes

The humble boiled potato has several properties that make it close to perfect food, both for weight loss and optimal health.

Boiled potatoes contain a diverse range of nutrients, a little bit of almost everything we need. There have even been accounts of people living on nothing but potatoes alone for extended periods of time.

They’re particularly high in potassium, a nutrient that most people don’t get enough of, which plays an important role in blood pressure control.

On a scale called the Satiety Index- that measures how fulfilling different foods are, white, boiled potatoes scored the highest of all the foods tested.

If you boil the potatoes and allow them to cool, they will form large amounts of resistant starch, a fibre-like substance that’s been shown to have all sorts of health benefits, especially for weight management.

Sweet potatoes, turnips and other root vegetables are also excellent choices for a healthy diet.

Lean protein

Although processed meat is unhealthy, studies show that unprocessed red meat does not raise the risk of heart disease or diabetes.

According to two big review studies, red meat has only a very weak correlation with cancer in men and no correlation at all in women. The truth is 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.

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Beans and legumes

Some beans and legumes such as lentils, black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas are beneficial for weight loss if eaten in moderation.

These foods tend to be high in protein and fibre, which are two nutrients that have been shown to lead to satiety. They also tend to contain some resistant starch.

If you tend to bloat after eating legumes, consider soaking them overnight first.

Cottage cheese

Dairy products tend to be high in protein. One of the best types is cottage cheese – calorie for calorie, cottage cheese is mostly just protein with very little carbohydrate and fat.

Eating plenty of cottage cheese is a great way to boost your protein intake -especially if you’re a vegetarian. It is also very satiating, making you feel full with a relatively low amount of calories. Dairy products are also high in calcium, which has been shown to aid in the fat-burning process.

Avocados

Whereas most fruit is high in carbohydrates, avocados are loaded with healthy fats. They’re particularly high in monounsaturated oleic acid, the same type of fat found in olive oil.

Despite being mostly fat, they also contain a lot of water, so they aren’t as energy-dense as you may think.

Avocados are perfect as additions to salad because studies show that the fats in them can increase the nutrient uptake from vegetables. They also contain many important nutrients, including fibre and potassium.

Apple cider vinegar

Several studies in humans suggest that apple cider vinegar can be useful for people who are trying to lose weight.

It’s 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. I use it to aid digestion and it works a charm.