Great Foods for Weight Loss

A nutrition PhD's guide to simple weight management

Are you ready?!?  For the new list of foods that will blow your mind, sweep off the pounds, and basically make you Superman’s equal?

Whoa…  cause I’m not.  I don’t really think any list of foods is going to be magic for weight loss overall.  All healthy foods are going to be pretty good for you in moderation, any one thing eaten in extreme excess going to do some weird things to you – for a little while…

Sorry to disappoint.  But here’s what I do know – you can eat any foods you want – ANY! – and as long as you’re eating less calories then you expend, you’ll be on the path to weight loss.

Will you be super-healthy?  Maybe not.  There are food recommendations for a reason.  But are they ever vague!  I’m trying to think of one thing to say here without putting my foot in my mouth – I can’t really.  Please don’t eat solid lard all the time?  But if it’s all in bacon… maybe that’s different?

Click here for reasonable food guidelines – Eat Stop Eat.

So, specific food recommendations are out.  If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.  If it triggers a pre-existing craving that you know about it… make sure you can’t eat a lot of it (or other things it triggers) if you do have it around.

What you want to make sure you find are foods that work well for you, in your quest for weight loss.

  • Does it make you feel good to eat?
  • Does it fill you up before you eat the whole 4-serving package/plant/animal/mineral?
  • Does it make sense for you to prepare and eat?
  • Does it work with your lifestyle?
  • Do you like it?
  • Can you live with the amounts of other food you get to eat (to stay on your weight loss plan) if you also eat this?

For example, I had given up on buying ice cream for my house.  It certainly made me feel good, it made sense with my lifestyle (who can’t take two seconds to grab a spoon and open the freezer?), I certainly liked it… but I couldn’t keep myself from eating too much, and it would definitely have cramped the amount of other food I was eating if I had been keeping track of calories.

My solution though, that I love living with?  Homemade ice cream…  It is AMAZING!  I love making it as ‘unhealthy’ as possible – cram it full of as much cream as possible, whole milk – basically a big ball o’ fat. I can’t even stand much sugar in it, it’s that rich. And guess what?  That ice cream sits around in my fridge FOREVER!  I still love it as a treat… but I simply can’t eat much of it.  I used to think people that said that were ridiculous – the “there’s always enough room for desert!” thinking was strong with me.  I could still certainly go overboard with the richest grocery store ice cream around, including ben and jerry’s or hagen-daz.  Not this.  Two spoonfuls that look just pathetic in bowl – and I’m done.  No more.

I love having it in the freezer – I know I have a really decadent treat around, one I can have every day – but one that checks positive on all of my questions.

That’s why I consider (homemade only) ice cream as one of my best foods for weight loss – how about yours?

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Click here for more reasonable food guidelines – Eat Stop Eat.