Fat-Fighting Foods

Summer is all about being fit and healthy, so you look good in that swimsuit and feel great, too! If you’re more disciplined than I am, the whole year (not just bikini season) is about eating right and exercising. But eating healthy doesn’t always have to mean preparing elaborate, low-fat meals or complicated vegan dishes with a lot of ingredients. According to an article by Lisa Drayer in Women’s Health, nibbling on these simple items can really help you fight fat and stay in better shape:

Turkey
Turkey has the fewest calories per ounce of any animal protein. Like dairy, it contains the amino acid leucine, which helps preserve muscle mass during weight loss, keeping metabolism running at full speed. Protein is also more satiating than fat or carbs, so you're less likely to overeat. Turkey makes for a simple lunch at the office.

Peanuts
Ironically, this elephant favorite fights weight gain, slows rises in blood sugar, and curbs hunger. A study from Purdue University found that people who added 500 calories of peanuts to their diet for three weeks experienced almost no change in body weight and a 24% drop in triglycerides – the blood fats associated with heart disease. In addition, peanuts tend to help people eat less overall.

Low-Fat Yogurt
Plain, low-fat yogurt is one of the best sources of calcium, which helps fight fat. According to Michael B. Zemel, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the of Tennessee, not getting enough calcium triggers the release of calcitriol, a hormone that causes us to store fat, whereas meeting our daily calcium needs helps us burn fat more efficiently.

Breakfast Cereal
You don’t have to skip breakfast to lose weight…in fact, you shouldn’t, since breakfast is the most important meal of the day. By boosting fiber and providing fewer calories from fat than other popular breakfasts (bacon and eggs, anyone?), ready-to-eat cereal can help you fill up and slim down. A study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who ate cereal were 30 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate other breakfast foods. To get the most bang for your breakfast buck, choose fiber-rich (aim for 5 grams per serving), low-fat cereals like Kashi Heart to Heart.

Enova Oil
Enova — made from soy and canola oils — is made of diglycerides, a type of fat that's metabolized differently from triglycerides (found in other oils – even olive) and so not stored as fat as easily. In a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, dieters who used Enova lost more weight than those who used other oils.

Berries
Fiber is the magic bullet of weight loss. It keeps you satisfied throughout the day (and away from the fridge). But did you know that berries are an excellent roughage source? Raspberries are fiber queens, with 8 grams per cup. Blackberries come in a close second with 7.4 grams, and blueberries have 3.5 grams.

So how many of these foods do you work in to your diet? What are your other healthy weight loss tricks?