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When people are trying to lose weight there can be confusion on how to do it, understandably. So what are some ideas of what to eat? Keto’s popular, should they try that? Or how about the Atkins diet ? What about Weight Watchers? Or traditional bodybuilding chicken and rice?
Maybe all or none of those. Like most answers in the health and fitness industry… it depends on what works and sticks for them.
It’s more about picking overall food groups and combining them well with others. That’s easy enough right? Yep. Except the follow through is challenging part for people.
In this article, I’ll go through 8 foods for weight loss that work well for me and I’ll explain why those along the way.
What To Look For In Food To Help With Weight Loss
Before I get into the specific foods for weight loss let’s first check out what to look for in food that will help people make the right choices.
Specifically for weight loss there’s 2 main things to look at:
- Higher in fiber
- Lower in fat
In my experience, I’ve found by focusing on those foods that fit into those two categories help with weight loss and maintenance.
When it comes to protein, looking at complete protein foods that are lower in fat is good for losing weight because the fatty meats can stack up the calories quickly. Complete protein means they contain all 9 essential amino acids.
Higher In Fiber
Picking foods higher in fiber is helpful because fiber keeps people feeling full, it isn’t digested by the body (less calories) and most non-processed real food higher in fiber typically have vitamins and minerals in them.
Lower In Fat
Looking for foods that are lower in fat is a good idea because fat has 9 calories per gram compared to protein and carbs which only have 4 calories per gram of each. That’s over twice as many calories per gram of fat than other macros. That adds up quickly!
For example:
- 1 Cup Of Olive Oil = 1,900 calories
- 1 Cup Of Oatmeal = 300 calories
Fat also doesn’t fill people up as much as fibrous carbs or lean proteins. It doesn’t add as much in muscle growth as carbs or protein do (unless you’re going 100% Keto and doing it very well; which is difficult for most people) and it converts to fat on the body easier than carbs/protein do.
Best Foods For Weight Loss
1. Oats
Oats are excellent for weight loss because they meet both criteria of lower in fat and higher in fiber.
It can also be made, cooked, prepared and combined with other food in a way that can make it taste sweet, bitter, salty or plain.
Oats have multiple vitamins and minerals such as Manganese, Vitamin B1, Phosphorus, Copper, Iron, Selenium, Magnesium and Zinc which are good for overall health.
I love doing a mixture of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, banana and protein powder. You can find the recipe here.
2. Sweet Potato
Cut it, mix it, mash it, Bop It…Sweet potatoes are great for weight loss because of the diversity as well as them meeting the above stated criteria.
They are higher in fiber, lower in fat and contain vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, B6, calcium, magnesium and more.
There are dozens of different ways to eat sweet potatoes and probably hundreds of different recipes out there with them. If you don’t like them mashed then you can bake them as sweet potato wedges.
I think this is one of the best dinner foods for weight loss and what I’ll do is heat them up, take the skin off, mash it with salt and pepper added in. Then I’ll sprinkle some greens and herbs over it with a side of seasoned chicken breast; so delicious!
3. Banana
Bananas are great to incorporate in a diet for weight loss because they are a healthy sweet treat. Don’t mistake it though, they are a natural treat.
They’re great because they have fiber that keeps people full and contain only trace amounts of fat (.4g per serving). They have essential vitamins and minerals such as potassium, vitamin C and more.
If you haven’t noticed by now, they’re also incredibly delicious. Keeping fruit consumption lower is a good idea because fruit contains larger amounts of sugar compared to vegetables, oats, root vegetables and other carbs sources.
A combo I do everyday with 1 banana is my oatmeal/banana/protein mix that I linked earlier with the oats. It’s a great combination because all the ingredients mix together perfectly.
4. Blueberries
Blueberries are wonderful for weight loss because they’re so low in calories for the amount eaten. If someone enjoys fruit and their goal is weight loss, one strategy is to keep that fruit mostly berries because raspberries, blackberries and other berries are generally lower in sugar and calories compared to how much is in a serving.
They have great taste, are a good source of fiber, low in sugar compared to other fruits, are hydrating (because of the watery gel inside) and can be eaten in satisfying handfuls.
I’ll throw blueberries in with the oatmeal/banana/protein recipe I’ve been sharing throughout this article with you. The blueberries in there give it a fresh flavor and good texture.
5. Carrots
Not just for Bugs Bunny. They’re great for weight loss because they have such low calories for the amount in a handful. They have fiber, .1g of fat per serving, some sugar for sweetness, potassium and vitamin A for the eyes.
Unless you really like the taste of chewing on carrots, I love carrots but I can’t even stand that, one way to incorporate carrots is to get shredded carrots and toss them in with other meals.
For example, when I make the sweet potato mash and chicken for dinner I’ll also throw some carrots in with the greens added on top for a much needed crunch.
6. Romaine Lettuce
It’s no kale but it still deserves its place in culture. The crunch, the freshness, the neutral flavor and more make it an amazing addition to most meals (wouldn’t suggest it in the oatmeal/banana/protein combo however).
Romaine adds great texture with only 15 calories per serving, containing potassium, vitamin A and other micronutrients. If you can buy it organic, even better.
It’s also an exquisitely hydrating food. In the book Quench, the authors talk about hydration and the main point that stuck out to me was that foods can be hydrating and provide good amounts of water through a gel substance in water-rich foods.
Dr. Gerald Pollack first identified this new (new to us) state of water known as gel or structured water. He pierced the wall of a heart muscle cell and noticed the water didn’t come spilling out. He asked around, did research and after coming back with nothing he set out to learn what this was.
This gel in water-rich foods can help hydrate us in addition to the water we’re drinking.
I’m always thirsty, and no matter how much water I drink my thirst seems to never be quenched. So I always try to find hydrating foods I can include in my diet that aid in that.
Other water-rich foods are cucumbers, tomatoes and chia seeds. If you think about those 3 foods, they all have that gel structure to them; the chia seeds after you put them in water they puff up with the gel around them.
Hydration is also essential for weight loss.
7. Chicken Breast
The mother of all fitness meat. It’s notorious throughout the fitness industry and is a classic for bodybuilders, Crossfit and most fitness styles to include this in the diet…I couldn’t leave it out.
It’s a full source of essential amino acids, building blocks for polypeptides in the formation of proteins, is low in fat, has good protein to serving ratio and can be delicious if prepared properly.
I have chicken almost every day and when I first started working out I did the classic chicken and rice meal. However, I was not good at cooking when I first started working out so my chicken always turned out dry, stringy and bland. I thought that’s what I had to suffer through to pay the price for the body I wanted.
That’s just not true because the chicken I eat now is mouthwatering and tasty.
Here’s what I do for a delicious chicken breast recipe:
- Get enough chicken breast to serve dinner each night of the week
- Preheat oven 415 degrees
- Place down parchment paper on the counter large enough to fit all chicken spread out
- Put paper towels on top of the parchment paper
- Lay the chicken breast down on top of the paper towels
- Get each chicken breast dry by dabbing them with paper towels
- Take those paper towels and put one over each chicken
- Now hammer those chicken breasts with a meat hammer or your fist
- Get the chicken to be a consistent and cohesive height through hammering
- Put all the chicken in cooking trays
- Drizzle olive oil over
- Mix around with your hands and then spread them out equally
- Season one side with salt, pepper, paprika, coriander and cumin
- Flip and do the other side with the same seasoning
- Place in oven for 27 minutes
- IMPORTANT: Take the temperature, with a food thermometer, of the thickest part of the chunkiest chicken when the 27 minutes is up, goal is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Get it as close to that as possible, don’t go under because you’ll under cook it but if you go a few degrees over that’s okay. Just try to avoid going 170, 175, 185 because then it’ll get chewy and dry.
- Voila! Perfect, juicy and flavorful chicken breast to be stored in the fridge for the week
I know I suggested the use of what seems like a lot of paper towels but if you do it right you only have to use a couple sheets.
8. Canned Tuna
Hang with me here, I know anything canned is renowned for its unhealthy qualities. But there are a few brands that keep health and wellness in mind; I’ll share what I like best.
Canned tuna is convenient, versatile, usable in a variety of dishes, flavorful, high in protein and low in fat and has omega-3’s, DHEA and EPA that are good for anti-inflammation and brain health.
A brand that I’ve come to like is Wild Planet because they have BPA free lining, fish are pole caught and every step of the way they keep health in mind.
I like doing a tuna wrap for lunch. Tuna in a bowl, microwaved, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic, ginger, fresh herbs. MIX IT UP! Spread across a wrap and enjoy.
Conclusion
Weight loss can be complex but the key for people is knowing what works best for them. There’s confusion in the health and fitness industry because while keto works for one person, a high carb plant based diet works for someone else.
We’re all individual, diverse and unique humans with differing cellular and genetic systems; we must treat each person as such especially with weight loss.
The 8 Foods:
- Oatmeal
- Sweet Potatoes
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Carrots
- Romaine Lettuce
- Chicken Breast
- Canned Tuna
Disclaimers
I am not a doctor and do not recommend anything on this site, or blog post, for anyone without consulting with their doctor first. Please read the privacy policy for more information.
The information in this article is for educational and entertainment reasons, it should not be interpreted as medical advice or as a recommendation for a specific treatment. Always talk to your doctor and in the event of a medical emergency one should seek the help of a qualified and licensed health care provider.
There are affiliate links in this post where we’ll get a paid fee if you purchase something from that link – it won’t cost any more to you and in some cases may even save you money.
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