Cherries aren’t just delicious to eat; they are also pretty low in calories and sugar. Moreover, they are a low-glycemic fruit and will help with blood sugar regulation.
Cherries are also rich in resveratrol, an antioxidant that has been proven to help reduce weight. Research conducted by scientists at Washington State University, Pullman, showed that when mice were given food that contained high doses of resveratrol, they ended up converting the excess white fat from their bodies into brown fat, which can increase metabolism and aid weight loss by burning calories.
2. Tomatoes
Tomatoes have high amounts of water and fiber and are extremely low in calories. A medium-sized tomato, for example, has just 22 calories. These juicy and versatile fruits are also packed with antioxidants, particularly lycopene, that can reduce inflammation in the body and hence help control leptin levels, a hormone that suppresses food intake and thereby induces weight loss.
The great thing about tomatoes is that you can use them in a variety of ways in your meals - in soups, salads, curries, or salsa. Just start eating them regularly and reap their benefits for shedding weight.
3. Watermelon
90 percent of a watermelon's weight is water, making it one of the best fruits to eat if you're trying to lose weight according to health experts. Studies have shown that eating fruits with high water content may help you shed extra weight. Being so rich in water also makes these delicious fruits the best ones to have to fend off dehydration-related hunger.
Furthermore, a 100-gram serving contains only 30 calories. More importantly, watermelons are a great source of arginine, an amino acid that stimulates the production of brown fat in turn helps burn fat quickly.
Apart from being low in calories, watermelons are rich in fiber, potassium, and antioxidants, like vitamin C, beta-carotene, and lycopene.
4. Cantaloupe
Cantaloupes are always a hit during the summer months, when these fruits are at their freshest and sweetest. This nutritious food is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, potassium, along with small amounts of zinc, copper, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals.
This juicy melon is one of the most filling fruits you can eat and having just half a cup of the fruit will squash hunger pangs for at least a couple of hours. Further, cantaloupe doesn’t contain any fat and has only 60 calories, making it a great addition to any weight loss plan.
5. Beetroot
Beetroot isn’t most people's favorite food, due to its earthy and slightly bitter taste, but this root vegetable is packed with fiber, which reduces appetite and helps keep you full for a longer period of time. Also, a 100 gram serving of cooked beetroot contains only around 37-40 calories and has virtually no fat.
If you don’t like cooked beetroot, try having beetroot juice instead. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
* 2 cups chopped beetroot
* Half cup water
* 5 tbsp. lemon juice
* A pinch of salt
* A few mint leaves
* You can even add other veggies such as carrot, apple, or lemon, to improve the taste.
Method:
* Add the beetroots (and any other veggie you have chosen) and mint leaves to a blender and blend them thoroughly.
* Add water, lemon juice, and salt.
* Stir well, and pour in a glass.
A fresh glass of beetroot juice every morning will fuel your body with nutrients and will be ideal for keeping your weight under check.
Related: 5 Delicious and Healthy Recipes You Can Make with Beets
6. Yogurt
Having a cup of yogurt during the summer months won’t just help you cool down, it may also help burn fat and promote weight loss, according to a study published in an issue of the International Journal of Obesity.
Researchers found that those obese adults who ate three servings of fat-free yogurt a day lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than those who just cut calories. The study also found that the participants who ate yogurt lost 81% more fat in the stomach area than non-yogurt eaters. "Not only did yogurt help the study participants lose more weight -- the average weight loss was 14 pounds -- they were about twice as effective at maintaining lean muscle mass," says Michael Zemel, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at the University of Tennessee, one of the researchers of the study.
Yogurt is filled with calcium, protein, and vitamins. Low-fat Greek yogurt, particularly, contains twice as much satiating protein as traditional yogurt and can keep you feeling fuller longer, thus controlling appetite. Furthermore, research has associated calcium with lower levels of abdominal fat as it may help increase fat burn, reduce fat absorption, and slightly speed up metabolism. So now you have more reasons to eat yogurt every day during summer.
7. Spinach
Spinach is popularly used in refreshing summer salads and is easily one of the most nutritious foods you can have. One cup (30g) of raw spinach contains:
- Calories: 6.9
- Protein: 0.85 g
- Fats: 0.11 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.09 g
As you can see, this leafy vegetable is quite low in calories and is high in proteins. It is also loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, folate, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
There's also some research on spinach's effectiveness in helping losing weight. For instance, a study published in the US National Library of Medicine - National Institute of Health found that women who were on a three-month weight-loss plan and consumed 5 grams of spinach every day registered 43 percent greater weight loss than others.
Spinach is also rich in insoluble fiber which is the key element that aids in weight loss as we mentioned before. It’s low in calories and very low in fats and can easily be added to your summer salad.
8. Chilled Soups
Cold soups can be amazing to cool down your body when the weather heats up. Chilled soups like Gazpacho, Carrot Summer Soup, or Cucumbers with Dill which consist of plenty of chunky vegetables will make for great additions to a weight-loss diet plan. Research suggests that having low-calorie, broth-based soups will help fill you and hence reduce meal energy intake. This will ensure that you don’t end up unnecessarily overeating or stuffing yourself with some unhealthy foods.
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