Another study, published in the July–August 2016 issue of Annals of Family Medicine, found a significant association between inadequate hydration and elevated body mass index (BMI), and inadequate hydration and obesity.

A study published in 2014 the Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine found that drinking more water (more than the usual intake) reduced weight and body fat and suppressed appetite in overweight female participants. Water should be a staple on your list of foods for weight loss, even though it isn’t a “food” per se. Smart Snacking Tip Thinly spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter on a piece of whole-wheat toast for breakfast and add a sprinkle of slivered almonds on steamed green beans at dinner, says Kennedy. It’s also important to choose nuts without any added fat, sugar, or salt, which can decrease the overall healthfulness of the nuts, Kennedy advises. If you find that you’re not losing weight, take a look at your portion of nuts again and see if you need to make adjustments. (The amount of fat differs from nut to nut for example, 1.5 oz of whole almonds have about 21 g of fat). Kennedy recommends keeping your portion size to 1.5 oz, or a small handful of nuts, each day. While this fat is not a bad thing and is actually good for you, it’s important to keep an eye on portion size when consuming nuts. However, the calories from nuts and nut butters can add up quickly because they are such a rich source of healthy fats, says Kennedy. Another study published in the Journal of Proteome Research found that people on a 12-week diet that included a handful of mixed nuts daily had higher levels of serotonin, which is a hormone that can decrease appetite, than those who didn't eat nuts. A daily serving may also help you lose weight, according to a preliminary study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago. Nuts pack in protein and fiber, according to the Mayo Clinic, which makes them filling foods. Meal Prep Inspiration Add hard-boiled eggs to your salad for a low-calorie protein, or try egg whites and cucumber with salt and pepper for a snack, says Kennedy. The current recommendation from the American Heart Association is that most people should eat seven yolks or less per week. For the majority of people, eating foods with cholesterol does not significantly affect their blood cholesterol levels. Some people are considered “hyper-responders” to dietary cholesterol (cholesterol in the foods we eat), but it's a small percentage of the population, says Kennedy. If you're worried about high cholesterol, you may want to consider eating more egg whites than yolks, but odds are you don’t have to worry too much. Eggs may help with weight loss because they are high in protein (one large egg has about 6 g), and it requires more energy to break down a protein than it does a starch, which many breakfast foods, including bagels, cereals, and muffins, are made up of, Dr. In an eight-week study published in the International Journal of Obesity, overweight men and women who ate two eggs for breakfast lost more weight than those who ate bagels.

She also loves the convenience of canned beans, which can be rinsed (to reduce the sodium content) and added to a rice dish or on top of a salad for more protein and fiber. Meal Prep Inspiration A veggie chili or a bean-based stew will fill you up without weighing you down, suggests Kennedy. A study published in April 2014 the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics found that a high-fiber, bean-rich diet was as effective as a low-carbohydrate diet for losing weight. All of these benefits may lead to weight loss. A small study published in ISRN Obesity found that a high-fiber, bean-rich diet increased satiation and reduced hunger.īeans also stimulate the production of the gut hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), which slows gastric emptying and can help to suppress appetite, Kennedy notes.

Fiber also takes longer to digest and adds bulk to food, she adds. Plus, fiber helps to fill you up without adding any calories to food (since our bodies can’t digest fiber), explains Kelly Kennedy, RD, staff nutritionist for Everyday Health. And one-half cup of garbanzo beans has 6 g of fiber, or 24 percent of your DV. One-cup of red kidney beans has 8 g of fiber, or 32 percent of your DV. Firstly, beans are an excellent source of fiber, and any food that’s high in fiber will be filling, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, author of Doctor's Detox Diet: The Ultimate Weight Loss Prescription. One-half cup of black beans, for example, has 7 g of fiber, or 28 percent of your DV. There are lots of reasons to put beans on your shopping list.

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