Which foods help you lose weight?

The most important things in brief

• Loss weight while continuing to eat normally? Unfortunately, this is not possible in reality.
• If you want to lose weight, you have to be willing to make small sacrifices.
• The difficulty is, despite these sacrifices, to eat in such a way that there are no symptoms of deficiency.
• In this guide, we give tips on which foods you can really lose weight with and which also provide important nutrients.

But before we turn to those foods that really help you lose weight, we have to realize that weight loss is hardly possible without exercise. Because only exercise increases the body's basal metabolic rate, only through physical activity are enough calories burned for weight loss to actually work. The right diet is just an additional component in losing weight.

You can't lose weight without water

However, it makes more than sense to rely on a combination of exercise and proper nutrition. And the right diet starts with: water. Not with fruit juices and certainly not with soft drinks that contain industrial sugar. Water is able to give the body a feeling of satiety, which is why you should start drinking water first thing in the morning.

Whether you drink tap water, carbonated water or tea is entirely up to you. Especially in the morning, a hot drink with a little taste is more pleasant than, for example, sparkling water. However, it is important not to sweeten your tea. Neither with sugar nor with honey. By the way, unsweetened coffee is not forbidden either, as long as it stays at a maximum of four cups a day.

Fruits and vegetables

Fruit per se is not a panacea when it comes to weight loss. Because many varieties are full of fruit sugar (fructose), which in turn supplies your body with many calories. So you should eat fruits that have a comparatively low fructose content. In addition to grapefruits and oranges, this also includes apples and pears as well as watermelons.

It's easier with vegetables, they contain almost no fructose of their own. However, it should be unprocessed and fresh if possible. Potatoes and sweet potatoes contain a comparatively large number of calories, so you should make sure that you only eat small amounts. Vegetables such as spinach, chard, kale and broccoli, but also asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and carrots have only a few calories, but they contain many important nutrients such as vitamins or iron.

Nuts, grains, legumes and seeds

Don't nuts contain fat and therefore a lot of calories? That's right, and yet - taken in moderation - they are helpful in weight loss. They provide nutrients, fatty acids, fiber and protein and promote heart health. In any case, you should eat nuts unprocessed. And instead of grains, it is recommended to eat so-called pseudo-grains. These include buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa. They promote the feeling of satiety and contain additional nutrients, carbohydrates, fiber and proteins, but no gluten.

Whether lentils, peas or beans: legumes are very valuable when it comes to losing weight. They also contain valuable nutrients and should not be consumed in large quantities due to their high calorie content. For seeds, however, there are hardly any restrictions. Whether sesame seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds or chia seeds, they have a filling effect, contain many nutrients and provide the body with fiber and proteins.