FILLING FOODS TO SPEED WEIGHT LOSS

It's the dieter's worst enemy — that gnawing hunger when you're trying to eat less and lose weight.

But fighting off those feelings of hunger could be as simple as a walk to the nearest soup and salad bar for lunch. Here's how you can make food choices that will keep you feeling full and help prevent the hunger pangs that lead to diet-busting snacks.

Food Strategies For Losing Weight

If you want to feel full all day on less food, focus on these eating strategies:

• Get enough lean protein and fiber.... a study of 22 men who changed the amount of protein in their diets for 18-day periods showed that those who ate the least protein were the most likely to report being hungry. "Protein is the number one thing to help you feel full," says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at Houston Northwest Medical Center. "The second thing is fiber."
  
• Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Researchers tracked the weight-loss success of 71 obese women between 20 and 60 years of age on a low-fat diet. Half of the women were also told to increase their fruit and vegetable intake. At the end of one year, both groups of women had lost weight, but the women who ate the most fruits and veggies reported the greatest weight loss and were less likely to say they felt hungry on any given day. In fact, when the researchers crunched the data, they found that whether the women reported feeling hungry frequently predicted their ability to lose weight. Other studies have shown that changing your eating habits to focus on these water- and fiber-rich foods will help you maintain weight loss for up to six years.
  
• Sip soup. Adding two low-calorie soups to your diet every day could stave off hunger pangs and keep you satisfied longer. Choose soups that are broth-based, not cream-based, to reduce the calorie count; also look for soups that are low in sodium. Consider chunky, pureed vegetable soups, as they have been shown to produce the most lasting full feeling. Timing your soup so that you have it before a meal also reduces the amount you eat at that meal by about 20 percent, according to a study of 53 overweight adults.
  
• Eat whole grains. A serving of whole grains will stick with you longer than a serving of refined wheat bread or any other refined flour product, for that matter. Most refined flour is white and often bleached.
  
• Pick "airy" snacks. If you must snack and you don't have a piece of fruit or a veggie tray on hand, choose the snack food that has more air in it — think cheese puffs instead of potato chips, rice cakes instead of cookies. You will feel just as full as you would if you ate the same serving size of another snack, but you will consume fewer calories on average.

Another way to fight off hunger is to develop a "low-energy density" eating plan. This means that you can eat a large quantity of foods that do not have a high calorie count. Learning about portion sizes and counting calories is one way to approach this, but you can also try the plate method, which dictates that half your plate be full of veggies, one-quarter dedicated to a starch (preferably whole grain), and one-quarter to a lean protein.

And speaking of plates, it's worth noting that a study of 45 adults demonstrated that the oft-repeated advice to eat on a smaller plate if you want to feel like you have more food in front of you actually has no effect on the amount you eat at a meal (if you are serving yourself) or your feeling of being full.

9 FOODS TO MAKE YOU HEALTHIER!

Eating a variety of healthy foods is the key to a good diet — one that will improve your overall health and help fend off disease. And while no one single food is a cure-all, there are some foods in particular do have superior disease-fighting properties that can make you healthier. Regularly incorporate some of these healthy foods into your diet, and the health benefits they deliver may stick with you for a lifetime.


1. SALMON: Salmon is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to decrease the risk of abnormal heartbeats, lower triglyceride levels, slow the growth of artery-clogging fat deposits, and reduce blood pressure. There is also evidence that omega-3s could be a "brain food," since they may reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.






2. BLUEBERRIES! Blueberries are another healthy food that can help protect against disease and potentially boost longevity. In addition to vitamins and minerals, blueberries, like many other brightly colored berries, are a terrific source of antioxidants, natural compounds that are thought to decrease inflammation, guard your cells against damage from free radicals, and reduce the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, and age-related brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's!





3. YOGURT! This healthy food is a great source of probiotics, which are "friendly bacteria" similar to the bacteria that are naturally found in your gut. Probiotics function to support your immune system, protect you against disease, and help your body digest and absorb foods and nutrients. There is emerging evidence that regularly consuming yogurt and other sources of probiotics can help bolster your general wellness, prevent certain cancers, and treat some health conditions including diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and irritable bowel syndrome.




4. SWEET POTATOES! Sweet potatoes are delicious vegetables that pack a powerful nutritional punch. They are good sources of potassium, which can help lower your blood pressure, and are also packed with vitamin A, which is important for your vision, bone health, reproduction, and cell growth and maintenance.







5. GREEN TEA! More and more people are learning about the health benefits of green tea, a rich source of antioxidants. Green tea has been shown to help keep you mentally alert, and it may also help with weight loss, regulate cholesterol levels, and prevent sun damage on your skin. There is preliminary evidence that regularly drinking green tea may even help prevent or slow the growth of certain cancers.







6. SPINACH! If your mother told you to eat your spinach when you were a kid, she had good reason. This low-calorie dark leafy green vegetable is a healthy food loaded with many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. A cup of spinach contains as much bone-building calcium as a cup of milk. It is a good source of magnesium, a mineral that helps your body's muscular and cardiovascular systems function as they should. It’s also loaded with vitamin A and vitamin E, which support the health of your cells.





7. TOMATOES! Tomatoes are one of those healthy foods that become even healthier when you cook them, since cooking releases and concentrates key nutrients. Canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and even ketchup are great sources of lycopene, an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce your risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. Tomato products also provide potassium, some iron, and vitamins A, C, and E.






8. CHOCOLATE??? It is not often that a healthy food is as indulgent as dark chocolate. But the next time you are nibbling on a piece of this sweet, savor the fact that it delivers antioxidants called flavonoids, which support the health of your heart and blood vessels. Just don't overdo it since chocolate is high in fat and calories. And remember: the darker the chocolate, the higher level of healthy antioxidants.







9. OATMEAL! Oatmeal is one of the best sources of soluble fiber, the type of fiber that can help lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad” cholesterol and control your blood sugar. This reduces your risk of developing heart disease or diabetes. Eating a bowl of this healthy food in the morning can also help you maintain a healthy weight, since soluble fiber helps you feel full longer.