What To Eat And Still Lose Weight

What if you concentrated on eating more foods that are good for you rather than trying desperately to completely avoid the bad ones? Can you actually eat more and still lose weight?

Registered dietitian Julia Zumpano, RD, LD, says you can. Here’s how it works.

Most trendy diets include some sort of restriction — such as cutting out carbohydrates, gluten or dairy products — which makes them hard to sustain. Typically, once you stop following the diet’s restrictions, the weight comes right back.

“However, if you focus on adding more nutritious foods to your meals, as opposed to restricting foods, you’ll be more likely to lose weight and keep it off,” says Zumpano. “You won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself, so you’ll be more likely to maintain healthy eating habits.”

And, if you concentrate on incorporating a certain amount of healthy food into your meals every day — like aiming for between five and seven servings of fresh fruits and vegetables — you may find that you’ll naturally limit the not-so-healthy choices.

Which Healthy Foods Are Best To Add?

Zumpano recommends these foods to eat to lose weight and to improve your health in general:

• Fruits and vegetables.
• Whole grains.
• Legumes like dried beans, peas and lentils (they also can be canned or frozen for convenience).
• Plant based oils such as olive, avocado, sunflower, grapeseed or peanut.
• Nuts and seeds.
• Avocados.
• Lean sources of protein like fish, shellfish, white meat, eggs or egg whites and tofu.
• Calcium-rich foods like low fat yogurt, cottage cheese and milk.

When adding fruits and vegetables to your meals, try to eat those first. They’ll help you feel fuller so you can cut back on your main-course portions to accommodate the extra calories.

“Keep in mind that healthy foods tend to have a lot fewer calories than other foods, so you can eat the same amount of food overall and still lose weight,” says Zumpano.

Quick Tips For Easily Adding Nutritious Foods

• Add something good to every meal: Start by adding a piece of fruit to your breakfast and a salad or other vegetable to your lunch and dinner.
• Be prepared: Rinse and cut up fruits and vegetables during the weekend or at the beginning of the week. Then store them in containers in the refrigerator for easy use throughout the week.
• Make it easy on yourself: If it helps you stay on track, you can buy fruits and vegetables that are already cut up and salad that is pre-washed and bagged. Or, buy frozen fruits and veggies to keep in your freezer so you always have them on hand. Try a fruit or veggie tray for convenience to snack on or pack up for meals.
• Go for easy add-ins: Boost the nutrition in your salads by adding diced vegetables, seeds and nuts and using an oil-and-vinegar dressing. Try balsamic vinegar, lime or lemon juice for extra flavor.

Swap Bad Foods For Healthier Options

After you start working more healthy foods in, take a look at the unhealthy foods you eat and see if you can come up with healthier alternatives. Here are a few examples:

• If you typically eat hot dogs a few times a week but also like roasted chicken breast, swap out hot dogs in favor of chicken most of the time.
• Replace ice cream with frozen yogurt or sorbet.
• Replace milkshakes with fruit-and-yogurt smoothies.
• Snack on a handful of nuts or seeds instead of potato chips.
• Try whole-grain toast or cereal instead of pastries.
• Commit to changing your dinner entrée from red meats to fish once or twice a week.
• Opt for beans instead of potatoes in several meals each week.

Health Benefits Of Adding Nutritious Foods To Your Diet

Eating additional nutritious foods and fewer foods that are unhealthy can do more than help you lose weight. It can also:

• Decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke.
• Help regulate your digestion.
• Lower your cholesterol.
• Help improve your mood and reduce depression.
• Allow yourself a few treats.

“It’s unrealistic to expect people to eat healthy all the time,” says Zumpano. “But if you want to lose weight and keep it off, aim to eat healthy foods at least 75% to 80% of the time. Allowing yourself to have some unhealthy foods will help you stay on track.”

When indulging in an unhealthy treat, try to choose food items that won’t exacerbate any chronic conditions you have, such as high cholesterol or diabetes. If you’re unsure which foods are safe and which you really should avoid, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. While weight loss is not a magic bullet for health, and not everyone needs to pursue weight loss, it might be something you want to work toward to feel your healthiest.

Coupled with regular movement, your diet can affect your health outcomes. (Just make sure to talk with a healthcare professional before making drastic changes!)

If losing weight is your goal, these 18 foods may help support a healthy weight loss journey, according to science.

Foods To Eat To Lose Weight

1. Whole eggs

Once feared for being high in cholesterol, whole eggs have been making a comeback.

These fears were rooted in misconceptions that overlooked how your body regulates cholesterol levels. Your body sources it, as needed, from your diet or your liver to maintain its baseline levels.

While people with elevated baseline levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol should be more conscious of how much cholesterol they get in their diet, moderate egg consumption — between 7–12 eggs a week — has been proven safe for many people.

Although a higher intake of eggs may raise the levels of LDL cholesterol in some people, eggs are one of the best foods to eat if you’re looking to reach or maintain a healthier weight.

Eggs are incredibly nutrient-dense. Interestingly, almost all its nutrients are found in the yolks — like choline and vitamin D — though egg whites deliver 4–6 grams of protein each.

Because they’re high in protein and fat, they help you feel full.

That’s key, because responding to your body’s internal fullness and hunger cues can help you reach or maintain a healthy weight. In other words, getting in the habit of eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full can help your weight loss goals.

Similarly, another study among 48 healthy adults found that those who ate an egg-based breakfast, either high or moderate in both protein and fiber, reported higher satiety than those who ate low fiber cereal and milk.

Since feeling satiated can help combat overeating driven by feeling overly hungry, eating eggs may support your weight loss goals while also packing a ton of healthful nutrients into your day.

2. Leafy greens

Leafy greens include kale, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, and a few others.

They have several properties that make them perfect for reaching or maintaining a healthy weight. For example, they pack fiber and nutrients that keep you satiated and hydrated.

What’s more, leafy greens contain thylakoids, plant compounds that have been linked with increased satiety and better appetite management in at least two human studies.

It’s worth noting, however, that both studies are small, and participants took a 5-gram thylakoid supplement — the amount found in about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of raw spinach.

Those receiving even a single dose of the supplement reported better appetite management, resulting in weight loss.

However, more research in humans is needed to understand the effect of thylakoids from food sources as a tool for achieving a healthy weight — as well as their long-term effects in supplement form.

In the meantime, leafy greens boast an assortment of fiber and micronutrients and are almost always a great addition to your diet.

Adding leafy greens to your diet can help you feel satiated and reduce cravings for less nutritious foods. Learning to respond to your body’s internal cues of hunger and fullness can aid your larger healthy weight loss goals.

If you’re taking medications, such as blood thinners like warfarin (Coumadin), speak with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian about how many leafy greens you should eat daily to find the right balance.

Leafy greens are high in vitamin K, which may interact with your medication. Consistent vitamin K intake is key.

3. Salmon

Fatty fish like salmon are incredibly nutritious and very satisfying.

Salmon is loaded with high quality protein, healthy fats, and various important nutrients. That combination keeps you satiated and can help you reach a healthier weight.

Salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce inflammation. Inflammation plays a major role in obesity and metabolic disease.

What’s more, fish — and seafood, in general — may also supply a significant amount of iodine.

The nutrient is necessary for proper thyroid function, which is important to keep your metabolism running optimally.

But studies show that a significant number of people don’t fill their iodine needs. Adding fatty fish to your diet can help you consume enough iodine.

Mackerel, trout, sardines, herring, tuna, and other types of fatty fish are also excellent for your health.

4. Cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.

Like other vegetables, they’re high in fiber and tend to be incredibly filling.

What’s more, these types of veggies contain decent amounts of protein. They’re not nearly as high in protein as animal foods or legumes, but still high for vegetables.

A combination of protein, fiber, and low energy density (low calorie content) makes cruciferous vegetables the perfect foods to include in your meals if you want to lose weight.

They’re also highly nutritious and contain compounds that may lower your risk of developing cancer. Keep in mind, though, that no amount of cruciferous vegetables can replace recommended cancer screenings or proper cancer treatment.

5. Chicken Breast And Some Lean Meats

Meat remains a controversial food group for many people.

Beyond issues of sustainability and ethics, we’re still not sure whether and how red meat raises the risk of heart disease or diabetes.

Research on meat consumption and health outcomes has yielded low evidence of causation.

That language can be confusing, and it’s often misinterpreted as a ringing endorsement to eat more meat, but it simply means that there isn’t enough evidence to say whether it causes unfavorable health outcomes.

However, a high intake of red and processed meats is associated with a higher risk of cancer, diabetes, premature death, and heart disease.

Eating unprocessed meat in moderation (i.e., 2–3 servings a week) alongside fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may mitigate some of the cancer risks associated with meat consumption.

Nutritionally, chicken and red meat are both high in protein and iron.

Skinless chicken breast and lean red meat like tenderloin or flank steak pack protein and iron and have less saturated fat than other cuts. Opt for these most of the time to better support weight management and heart health.

Saturated fat has been thought to drive inflammation, which is associated with chronic illness. However, research on this, too, has so far yielded mixed results.

How you prepare meat can also affect health outcomes.

Red meat that is cooked at high temperatures for a long duration, by smoking or grilling, for instance, renders fat drippings. Against hot cooking surfaces, these form a toxic by-product called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that may cause cancer.

Minimize this risk by limiting smoke, wiping away drippings, and eating lean meat in moderation. This means no more than a few 3-ounce (85-gram) servings per week. A serving is about the size of the palm of your hand.

6. Potatoes And Other Root Vegetables

White potatoes seem to have fallen out of favor — possibly, at least in part, due to the rise of lower carb diets.

For what it’s worth, potatoes and other root vegetables have several properties that make them wonderful foods for weight loss and optimal health.

They contain an incredibly diverse range of nutrients — a little bit of almost everything you need.

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

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

What this means is that by eating boiled white or sweet potatoes, you’re more likely to naturally feel full. You’ll also be providing your body with essential nutrients.

If you allow potatoes to cool for a while after boiling, they will form high amounts of resistant starch, a fiber-like substance that has been shown to have various health benefits, including weight loss.

Sweet potatoes, turnips, and other root vegetables are also excellent choices.

7. Tuna

Tuna is another satiating high protein food.

It’s a lean fish, meaning it has protein, which helps keep you full, as well as healthy fats. Among these healthy fats is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a form of omega-3 fatty acid, which may benefit your heart.

Eating fish like salmon and tuna can be a great way to increase your protein intake, with nutritious fish fats to support your eyes and brain.

If you’re eating tuna canned, choose varieties canned in water if you’re aiming to eat fewer calories. Tuna packed in oil ups the calories, fat, and sodium, but could be more filling. It depends on what your needs are that day.

8. Beans And Legumes

Beans and other legumes can be beneficial for weight loss. These include lentils, black beans, kidney beans, and some others.

Those foods tend to be high in protein and fiber, which are two nutrients that promote satiety. They also tend to contain some resistant starch

Due to their high fiber content, beans can cause gas and bloating in some people. Preparing them properly can help mitigate these side effects, though. Try buying your beans dry and soaking them for several hours before preparing.

9. Soups

Soup can be a delicious way to increase your intake of vegetables and whole grains you may not get enough of otherwise. However, soup varieties that are cream-based or that include processed meats aren’t going to provide the same nutritional boost.

Between the slurping, smelling, tasting, cooling, and chewing, soup takes some people longer to eat than other foods. Eating slowly may help you eat more mindfully. It could also help keep you from eating past fullness.

Feeling satisfied and nourishing your body while listening and responding to your body’s hunger and fullness cues are important in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

If you would like a richer soup, there are ways to increase its creaminess without the use of heavy cream, which can add less healthy saturated fat.

Try blending in avocado, which helps increase the fiber count of your soup, or cashews. You can also slice avocado on top as a garnish to the soup.

Because soups are inherently liquids, and therefore hydrate you, they may promote fullness and support weight management. Incorporating a vegetable-based clear soup before your meal can be a way to feel more satisfied and to lose weight healthfully.

10. Cottage Cheese

Dairy products tend to be high in protein.

One of the most protein-rich dairy products is cottage cheese, which is mostly protein.

Eating cottage cheese is a great way to boost your protein intake, which is important for building and maintaining muscle. It’s also very satiating and high in calcium.

There may even be a relationship between calcium intake and healthy weight, but more research is needed in this area.

Other high protein dairy products include Greek yogurt and skyr.