8 Mandatory Foods for Weight Loss

Part of your success with your weight loss plans will come from being dedicated and committed to the food you are making and the food you are eating. 

To help you with this, and to ensure success with your goals, here are eights mandatory foods you need to help with weight loss: 

1. Nuts – Almonds, walnuts and Brazil nuts are all excellent, healthy nut choices to keep stocked in your pantry.  Not only are nuts a healthy snack option, but they but they are a crunchy treat which satisfies your desire for something with a crunchy texture in a much healthier way than chips or crackers. Nuts are high in healthy fats, a source of protein and are great for brain health and for filling you up.
2. Berries – While any fruit is a healthy snack option, berries are the best choice because of their lower content of sugar, high levels of fibre and great content of several vitamins, including vitamin C.  Their great colour palette also means that they are rich in antioxidants, essential for healthy detoxification of the body.
3. Hummus – Made from chickpeas, white beans, lentils or whatever kind of bean or legume you would prefer, hummus is a combination of legumes as a protein source, oil, such as avocado oil, as a fat source and legumes as a carbohydrate serving.
4. Seaweed – Seaweed’s role in helping you lose weight comes from it’s high content of iodine.  Iodine is the mineral found in large quantities in the thyroid ad is responsible for healthy thyroid function. The thyroid regulates metabolism, providing energy and reducing fatigue, and as such, with adequate energy, reducing your temptation to eat bad for you food because you are so hungry!
5. Homemade protein balls – A combination of nuts, seeds, dates and lots of different superfoods, and protein powder, homemade energy balls, are the perfect snack because of their combination of macronutrients.  Foods that combine a healthy fat, complex carbohydrate and protein source are the best choices to fill you up and keep you satisfied and will prevent you from overeating later due to poor blood sugar regulation.
6. Raw Veggies – Do yourself a favour, and every week, cut up some raw veggies and store in a container in the fridge.  The only reason you don’t eat healthy is because often, unhealthy food is easier, faster and more accessible.  If you make the vegetables more accessible, you’ll reach for these instead of anything else, and help melt the pounds away!
7. Whole grains – One of the best things you can do to help in your weight loss journey is choose filling foods.  Whether that is for snack or your main meals, foods that fill you up more mean you eat less and lose weight as a result.  One example of this is to switch to eating only whole grains – whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice and whole grain cous cous.  These options have a much higher fiber content than their non-whole grain counterparts.
8. Frozen Fruit – Frozen fruit is your treat for the days when you crave ice cream, but just know you don’t want to sabotage all your diet efforts by opening up a container of frosty delight.  Instead, add the frozen fruit to a blender, with a bit of coconut milk and some vanilla paste and you are well on your way to a healthy dessert or snack!

By: Laura Peill – (Check out her blog Viand Nutrition & Facebook)