Foods That Help You Lose Weight

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Are you confused about what really works when it comes to permanent weight loss? Maybe you have tried one of the numerous fad diets flooding the infomercials and magazines only to realize that the weight loss was not permanent. Many fad diets list certain foods that help you lose weight, but they don't explain that no matter how healthy the food is…if you eat too much of it, it will turn to body fat!

In order to help you on your journey to permanent fat loss, I have compiled a list of 10 foods that help you lose weight when they are added in moderation to a healthy balanced diet.

Foods That Help You Lose Weight

1. Plain nonfat or low fat yogurt is a great replacement for sour cream. Use it to make salad dressings. It’s also good as an add-on to breakfast cereals and desserts. Any way you stack it, yogurt is a very healthy lean protein choice. Just be sure to avoid pre packaged yogurt that contains fruit. ( these yogurts contain a lot of added sugar!) If you like fruit in your yogurt, get in the habit of adding fresh fruit to plain yogurt sweetened with honey.

2. Dairy products such as yogurt, milk and cheese can help you lose weight while protecting muscle. A recent study of overweight people who ate three servings of yogurt daily for 12 weeks lost 22% more weight, 61% more body fat and 81% more abdominal fat than people who ate a similar number of calories but no dairy products.

3. Pass up peanuts for snacking. Two ounces of salted peanuts has 328 calories. Nibble on pretzels instead. 20 small pretzels have as little as 80 calories and most are fat free.

4. When planning your meals for the week, look for baked, roasted or grilled meats like fish, chicken, turkey or lean roast beef.

5. Avoid the breaded fish or fried chicken. These foods are high in unnecessary fat…avoid them at all costs!

6. Spicy foods curb appetite as noted in a recent study. People who ate a sauce containing capsaicin (the compound that makes hot pepper spicy), consumed an average of 200 fewer calories over the next three hours than those who didn’t eat the sauce. Consider eating more spicy foods.

7. All salads are not created equal. A taco salad is served in a fried taco shell filled with ground beef, cheese, sour cream and guacamole (just to name a few of the artery clogging ingredients). Generally, they contain about 1,100 calories and more than a full day’s quota of saturated fats! Yuck!

8. Not only is a single order of Fettuccine Alfredo an artery clogger, it also weighs in at a whopping 1,500 calories! When eating Italian food, opt for pasta topped with marinara or meat sauce (skip the meatballs), red or white clam sauce or chicken Marsala.

9. Eat fish at least twice a week. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish have been shown to reduce heart attack and stroke risk in addition to helping you maintain a healthy diet. If you are eating a well balanced calorie restricted diet, the natural fats in cold water fish will help provide sustained energy throughout the day. This should help to eliminate the all too common "energy crash" associated with most diets.

If you are just beginning your fat loss program, try to add a few of the foods listed above to your fat loss nutrition plan. When combined with a smart balanced nutritional approach, these foods that help you lose weight can lead to some impressive, permanent fat loss in a short amount of time!