15 Best Foods for Weight Loss and Happy Taste Buds

While there are no magic foods for weight loss food there that will make you instantly lose weight, good food choices can make a huge difference when it comes to keeping you full, fighting cravings, and how much you eat.

The foods that we have rounded up are going to make calorie-burning more efficient, plus they’re full of nutrients that support a healthy body.

Sugary, high-carb foods can make you feel hungry just an hour or two after you eat them. There are also foods that do the opposite by making you feel fuller and more satisfied.

The truth is that you CAN eat foods that help you lose weight AND taste delicious! Here are 15 foods for weight loss that are going to give you happy taste buds and an even happier body.

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1. Almonds

It’s true that almonds have a lot of fat in them, but they are healthy fats that can help you lose weight AND lower cholesterol. (1)

They’re also loaded with fiber and protein, which is a fantastic combination that will keep you feeling fuller for longer. A handful of almonds makes a great snack because it’s going to fill you up and help you eat less at mealtime.

Click here for You can find some yummy almond recipes here.

2. Avocados

Speaking of healthy fats, avocados have one in particular called monounsaturated oleic acid that’s also found in olive oil. These fats help your body use fat for fuel and help reduce insulin resistance. (2)

Who knew you could eat fat to burn fat?

They’re also great to eat with other veggies because they up the intake of nutrients in other foods. (3) Next time you have a salad, throw a few avocado slices on top for an extra vitamin boost.

3. Beans and Lentils

Fiber and protein are a dieter’s best friend because they fill you up. Your body gets tricked into thinking you’ve eaten more food than you have because they take more time to digest than other foods.

Beans and lentils are packed with the stuff, but some people don’t digest them well, which is the cause of their wretched reputation as a belly bloater and gas producer. They’ve got antinutrients like tannins and phytic acid that might make you toot more than just your own horn.

Soak beans before you cook them, and you’ll be fine. Try this black bean taco recipe for a delicious low-fat meal.

4. Chia Seeds

These teeny tiny little seeds are pretty mighty in the nutrient department. They’ve got 4 grams of fiber per teaspoon, which is over twice as much as a serving of cooked broccoli!

Chia seeds also have omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, and many other healthy nutrients, but they also have the superpower of being able to absorb 11 times their body weight in liquid. This makes them turn into a gel-like substance in your belly, which helps you feel more satiated after you eat. (4)

You can sprinkle them on anything. Throw them in a smoothie, on a salad, or mix a teaspoon in with your almond milk and granola in the morning.

If you love chocolate pudding but not the calories, try a delicious chia seed pudding.

5. Dark Chocolate

Yes, you heard that right. Dark chocolate can actually help you lose weight, but it’s got to be the right kind of chocolate.

It’s made from the seeds of the cocoa tree and has 11 grams of fiber in a 100 gram bar, 67% of your daily requirements of iron, 58% of the RDA for magnesium, and many more vitamins and minerals.

Use it in moderation, though, and steer clear of dark chocolate that has added sugar. It’s got saturated fat in it and stimulants like caffeine and theobromine.

Look for the bars that have at least 70% cacao.

6. Whole Eggs

You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t eat whole eggs because they are high in fat and cholesterol. Well, it has actually been proven that they have no effect on cholesterol levels and don’t contribute to heart problems. (5)

One study found that having an egg for breakfast can enhance weight loss because eggs fill you up and make you want to eat less. (6)

Try a muffin tin veggie-filled quiche for breakfast. They freeze well, so you can make a bunch ahead of time!

7. Grapefruit

Eating half of a grapefruit about a half an hour before you eat a meal is going to help you lose weight. Obese people who did this for a study lost an average of 3 ½ pounds over a 12-week period, just by adding it into their diet. (7)

Grapefruits also reduce insulin resistance, which is important when you’re trying to lose weight. Insulin resistance can cause diabetes and a bunch of other health issues that can affect your weight.

Make sure to eat the flesh of the grapefruit and not just drink the juice. The fiber also helps you shed pounds. If eating a grapefruit plain doesn’t sound enticing, try adding it to a salad.

8. Greek Yogurt

Everyone has a hormone called leptin that’s the boss of your belly. It tells you when you’re hungry and when you’re full, or at least it’s supposed to.

When you haven’t eaten, leptin tells the body to eat, so you do, and vice versa. This system can break down when you get inflammation, especially in the gut, and you can become leptin resistant, which can cause obesity. (8)

Greek yogurt helps fight gut inflammation with probiotics that balance gut flora in a delicious way. (9)

Mix plain Greek yogurt into a smoothie or throw some granola on top. Make sure to look for a brand that has 7g of sugar or less (with no added sugar – stay away from the flavored kinds!).

9. Leafy Greens

If you want to lose weight, or be a healthy person in general, you need to get your daily intake of fiber. It’s not just for older folks, kiddos.

Leafy greens like kale, spinach, Swiss chard, romaine, and arugula are going to give you a healthy dose of fiber, hydration, and nutrients that support weight loss. The problem is that some people don’t like the flavor of leafy greens, so they only juice them.

Green juices are great, but you lose the fiber when you take out the pulp. Try this fiber-packed high protein power paleo bowl for a scrumptious way to get your greens. 

10. Lean Proteins

Protein from meat has a bad rap in the diet industry, but the truth is that unprocessed lean beef, chicken, and fish are really supportive of weight loss.

Protein is hands-down the most filling and satiating nutrient out there. It even beats fiber. Upping your protein by 25% has been shown to decrease cravings by 60% and can cause weight loss by a pound a week. (10)

The key is that the amount of fat in your proteins should be balanced out by the amount of carbs you eat. Low-carb diets can handle meat with more fat in it, while high carb dieters should only eat lean meats.

11. Lemons

It’s weird that lemons are so acidic outside the body, but as soon as you eat them or drink lemon juice, they become one of the most alkaline forming foods out there. They clean your bowels, your liver, kill intestinal parasites, and restore balance to the body’s pH.

They also have pectin fiber which helps with hunger cravings and making the body feel fuller.

Try squeezing a few lemons into 8 ounces of fresh water and drink daily!

12. Pumpkin

People have been eating pumpkin to regulate their bowels for centuries. It’s a natural fat burner with high fiber and protein, and low sugar, even though it’s got a sweet taste.

There are so many ways to incorporate pumpkin into your diet, you might be hard-pressed to choose which way to go first! Check out these amazing recipes to get you started.

13. Quinoa

Quinoa is the savior grain of the gluten intolerant. It’s got 7 grams of protein in it, which you know is going to help keep you feeling full, plus it’s got a low-calorie count compared to other grains.

It’s a great substitute for rice or pasta, and you can even make pasta noodles out of it for a healthier, gluten-free option to wheat.

It also has a low glycemic index so it’s safe for diabetics to eat. Perhaps the best part about quinoa is that it’s one of the few complete vegetable proteins!

14. Soups

Have you noticed that most foods that are good for you, like vegetables and fruits, have a high- water content? That’s because they are low energy density foods, which means they have fewer calories so you can eat more of them.

A weird thing that happens when you add water to solid foods, is that you feel fuller when you add water to food instead of eating it without. Studies show that eating your food in soup form is going to make you feel more satisfied and help you with weight loss. (11)

Try out these recipes that include all the best foods for weight loss.

15. Sweet Potato

It’s a potato and it’s sweet. What’s not to like about that?

If you really love potatoes, but you don’t like the carbs that come with them, give sweet potatoes a try. While they only have a few less grams of carbs than white potatoes, they have a higher water content, which makes them less dense.

They’ve also got twice the fiber as a regular potato, which is good for the gut and supports weight loss.

Need a PLAN to put these foods together?

Our 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge has an entire list of approved foods as well as a plan for what to eat every day that you are on the diet!

The carbohydrate detox in the plan will help you reset your hormones, become more insulin sensitive, and prime your body for fast weight loss

Our clients lose an average of 10-21 pounds in just 21 days, but even better than that is the long-term healthy eating habits that they build to help them sustain weight loss in the long-term.

Click here to start YOUR 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge today!

If you enjoyed this article on foods for weight loss or have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below!