7 Best Low-Calories Foods
Reducing calories is a real challenge in a diet with the purpose to lose weight. There are many factors to consider in order to get a balanced and healthy diet. We all know which foods must be avoided because of their high content in calories such as candies rich in sugar, high-fat dishes such as fries, chips, fast food and processed meals as well as alcoholic beverages.
If you want to lose weight, it’s necessary to rely on foods that contain fewer calories. Then, what are these healthy foods?
Have a look at 7 best low-calorie foods.
Vegetables
Vegetables are probably the first thing we think of when it’s about a healthy diet. In fact, vegetables are the best low-calorie foods. Low-calorie vegetables are mainly made of water, fibers.
Among these vegetables, we find cucumber. This water-rich vegetable is perfect as it contains only 12kcal per 100g. Moreover, there are lettuce, black and pink radish, fennel containing from 13kcal to 18 kcal per 100g. In addition to these low-calorie foods, we can’t help thinking of green vegies including zucchini, spinach, green pepper, green asparagus, chicory, watercress but most importantly broccoli. For example, this superfood contains less than 21 kcal and is one of the best foods in the world.
Read –> Why is broccoli the best food in the world?
Fruits
Apart from vegetables, fruits are also one of the best low-calorie foods. However, some fruits aren’t low in calories because of the sugar content. Even though most of them are full of excellent nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. In this category of high-calorie fruits, we find some varieties fruits including pears, apples, grapes, mangoes, bananas or pineapples. They mostly contain more than 50 kcal per 100g. Therefore, if you’re looking for low-calorie fruits, favor exotic fruits, red fruits and citrus fruits such as rhubarb, strawberry, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, and papaya.
Grains
Grains are particularly recommended during a process of weight loss. They have a low amount of calorie which makes them very useful in any healthy and balanced diet. In grains, we include chia seeds, oats, and popcorn among the most important.
We already tackle the benefits of eating whole grains. And for good reason, oat – as part of whole grains – are very low in calories and are easy to include during a breakfast.
Besides, popcorn is probably a food that you love which are surprisingly healthy. Indeed, it contains many fibers which make it very low-calorie food. So, don’t hesitate to consume popcorn as a snack.
Meat
Meats that are low-calorie that are mostly lean meat.
It exists some lean meat that are beneficial thanks to their low content of calories such as chicken and turkey. The best benefit is that they are high in protein content. In this way, you can reduce your calorie intake and hunger as proteins play a huge role in filling your appetite.
Turkey breast, chicken breast, turkey legs, for instance, are thus recommended as low-calorie foods. In 200g of turkey breast, we find 220kcal!
Fish
Like meat, fish with low-calorie content is lean fish. Lean fish are mainly found in cod, flounder, halibut, sole or mussels.
Similarly to meat, lean fish are very rich in protein. It helps to reduce hunger and appetite and thus to make you fuller. And on the contrary of fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, lean fish are very beneficial because of the low content of calories.
Dairy foods
Even if lactose cannot be properly digested for some people, dairy food remains a great low calories food.
Egg, Greek yogurt, mozzarella, lean milk provides not only a few calories but also a large range of nutrients essential for good health including calcium and protein. If you’re looking to lose weight, there is no need to forsake dairy foods. Some lean dairy products are low-calorie foods and can bring all the nutrients you need.
Read –> Plant milk vs Animal milk
Water
The ultimate low-calorie food or perhaps the no-calorie food. Water doesn’t contain any calories, proteins, and carbs. Drinking water is the most beneficial thing for your health. It obviously plays a major role in weight loss. It’s regarded as a food that regulates satiety and prevents you from eating too much food. It’s thus very good to prevent a high number of calories. In addition to helping in a weight loss, water is definitely a perfect food for your mental and physical health. Drinking much water is thus essential.
Read –> How much water should you drink a day and why?
Conclusion
Finding low-calorie foods can be a tough challenge! It’s sometimes difficult to know which foods are healthy or which ones aren’t. Moreover, it’s important to rely on healthiness to calories which are written down the packages of foods.
Fortunately, it exists many foods that have content of calorie very low. And particularly in every field of foods such as vegetables and fruits. These ones are obviously one of the best low-calorie foods to enjoy them without hesitation. In addition, we can many other low-calorie foods in meat, fish, especially in lean meat and fish. And also in dairy products. Finally, you can really enjoy a few calories in water, besides its numerous properties for health.
For now on, you have all the major foods to make delicious and low-calorie meals!
Sources and further readings
Newairz: 7 healthy foods to lose weight
NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/understanding-calories/
Health: https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20640804,00.html
Photos
Photo from Dana Tentis of Pexels.
Photo of Vegetables by Dominik & Frederike Schneider from Pixabay
Image of grains by Klaus Beyer from Pixabay .
Photo of dairy food by Imo Flow from Pixabay
