These are foods that will fill you up, shrink your appetite and help you drop several pounds:
Artichokes. Artichokes make an ideal appetizer—one has just 60 calories, and frontloading all the fiber they hold will help you eat fewer calories during the rest of your meal. When you can get chokes fresh (especially in the spring), they’re tasty steamed; just sprinkle with salt, pepper, or a squeeze of lemon juice and eat the leaves one by one. Canned artichoke hearts, come in handy when you need a easy but satisfying snack. Just puree them in a mixer or food processor with a little olive oil and fresh rosemary.
Chili Peppers. Spicy chilies increase your burn due to an antioxidant called capsaicin. Recent studies found that in the few hours following a meal containing capsaicin, calorie burn nearly doubled. The antioxidant also significantly improved fat oxidation, pushing the body to use more fat as fuel. Some studies have even found that meals flavored with capsaicin can reduce appetite.
Grapefruit. This citrus fruit won weight-loss fame after a study found that people who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost 3.6 pounds, while those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice three times a day lost 3.3 pounds. Many people in the study lost more than 10 pounds without making any other changes to their diets! If downing that much tartness leaves you puckered, try grapefruit as a delicious low-cal dessert: Add a tiny bit of honey, sprinkle on some cardamom, and leave it under the broiler for two to three minutes.
Pears. Apples may get all the nutritional glory, but a pear a day is a good idea too. Pears have especially high levels of a kind of fiber called pectin, which is known to help promote weight loss. Poached, they make a tasty warm dessert; raw, their creamy-gritty texture pairs nicely with cheese for a snack.
Tomatoes. Fiber and a high volume of water ensure that tomatoes fill you up for few calories. They’re also loaded with lycopene, and researchers have found that the higher the level of this antioxidant in people’s blood, the lower their level of heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Plus, tomatoes increase in nutritional power when cooked, so sauté or roast them, make sauce, or blend up tomato soup—on a low-energy day, it’s a true comfort food.
.