Not all foods are created equal, including vegan foods.
Some foods are low in calories, others go through different metabolic pathways in your body, providing you with different effects in terms of appetite, hormones, and the number of calories you burn.
Vegan diets are known for their fabulous health benefits, namely in protecting you against certain types of cancer, lowering your risk of heart disease, and they can also help you lose weight. But it’s not enough to go vegan and expect to magically lose weight.
Even vegan diets can be unhealthy if you opt for all the wrong foods, namely processed foods like vegan cheese, vegan sausages, chips, cookies, and more.
If you want to lose weight or burn fat, you should know which foods are actually fine for you to eat, so I’m going to provide you with 10 foods (or types of food) you can eat to start losing weight and fat.
Foods That Will Help You Burn Fat
1. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens are foods such as kale, spinach, collards, and swiss chards.
They have characteristics that make them perfect foods for weight loss, namely the fact they’re very low in calories (and carbohydrates) but also high in fiber.
One great strategy to lose weight is by eating plenty of leafy greens. Your stomach will assume that it’s eating a lot of food, but since leafy greens are low in calories, you will end up eating fewer calories overall. Many studies show that meals and diets with low energy density make people eat fewer calories. (see study)
Leafy greens are also exceptionally rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
2. Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables are foods such as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage.
Like leafy greens, they are low in calories and high in fiber, which means they are incredibly filling and ideal for lowering the overall amount of calories you consume.
But unlike leafy greens, they contain decent amounts of protein. The protein content is not as high as in legumes or other proteins like tofu and seitan, but it’s still high compared to most vegetables.
A combination of protein, fiber, and low-calorie density makes cruciferous vegetables the perfect foods to include in your meals to lose weight. They’re also rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
3. Beans and Legumes
Some beans and legumes can also be beneficial for weight loss, namely ones such as lentils, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans.
These foods are quite rich in protein and fiber, two nutrients that are known to provide satiety, which is obviously great if you want to lose weight. They also have what’s called resistant starch.
Resistant starches are starch molecules that resist digestion and function like fiber.
Don’t forget to prepare both beans and legumes properly, otherwise, it may be difficult for you (or someone other than you) to tolerate them, namely in terms of absorption and digestion.
4. Soups
We have mentioned earlier that meals low in calories tend to make people eat fewer calories.
Most foods that are low in calories have a high-water content and are also rich in vitamins and minerals, which are generally fruits and vegetables.
One way to cook vegetables is by boiling them in water until they’re soft, and then you can pureé them using an immersion blender to obtain a creamy soup.
Some studies show that eating food that is turned into a soup rather than as solid food, makes people feel more satiated and eat significantly fewer calories. (see studies 1 and 2)
Naturally, you need to be careful not to add calorie-dense ingredients to the soup.
5. Whole Grains
Some whole grains can be incredibly beneficial for weight loss.
The most notable examples being oats, brown rice, and quinoa, which are loaded with fiber and decent amounts of protein – two nutrients that provide satiety.
Oats have beta-glucans, which are soluble fibers that have been shown, in studies, to increase satiety and improve metabolic health.
Brown rice (and other forms of rice) are known to contain a significant amount of resistant starch, particularly if cooked and cooled down afterward. These properties increase satiety, as well.
If you eat grains, opt for whole grains. Whole grains are significantly more beneficial due to their nutritional content, which becomes void when they are refined.
6. Nuts
Nuts are high in healthy fats, but they’re not responsible for people gaining unnecessary weight.
These include:
- Almonds
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Pecans
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
- And More
These will typically offer you a neat balance of protein, fiber, and fats, which makes them one of the healthiest snacks you can have. In other words, eat nuts, not granola bars.
Studies are showing that eating nuts can improve metabolic health and even