Foods you never ate previously, but which are key for your weight loss

Steel cut oats. Once I learned how to cook it I found out it beats regular oat-meal hands down.

I good bowl of oats in the morning fills me up for many hours...

Mostly I eat the same things as I did before, just in different proportions, and I've cut way back (near zero) on certain things (like deep-fried whatever). But I've been eating mostly healthy foods for a very long time - in the past, just way too much of them, and more calorie-dense ones than necessary.

But I've always liked trying new things, so when I hear about a new (to me) food that would help my eating/nutritional goals, I try it. If I find it tasty and satisfying, I will use it to replace less advantageous foods, or improve variety.

During the weight loss process, I've added, among others:

• matcha (cold, with a citrus wedge),
• jicama (yummy/crunchy),
• guava (fruit with protein!),
• PB2 original (helps make nice peanut sauce for Asian-style dishes) and PB2 chocolate (with plain yogurt & fruit),
• edamame/mung fettuccine (high protein, like it in Asian-style dishes)

Broccoli!!

Some basic changes for me that have made all the difference. For example, I am eating less bread, though do eat carbs. Less pasta dinners, and smaller portions of the carb sides if they are what is for dinner. But not a fan of excluding all carbs.

But the big differences for me have been breakfast and lunch. This works great for me, and obviously you can tweak for your goals and needs:

Eggs: I switched to egg whites over the full eggs, on most days, for breakfast, and I have increased my egg intake overall. I do scrambled or fried for breakfast, and have even done hard boiled; protein is great and filling, and low calories for the weight loss program.

For breakfast lately I make egg white wraps. Usually 3 egg whites, with salt and pepper, the smallest smidge of shredded cheese, maybe salsa if we have it in the house, a slice of deli ham or a cut up leftover sausage link, but the tortilla is the most calorie cost of it all. 190-210 depending on the brand. And so, depending what is inside, the wrap is never over 350 calories for a breakfast and is incredibly satisfying and with coffee I am at 285-350 for breakfast and good to go until 11:00am.

Lunch: Before I started my weight loss journey in earnest in January, I started to experiment with sardines, as I am a fan of fish. Tried a variety of preparation styles and brands/price points. And a can of sardines is not only low in calories, higher in protein, and great for the benefits of fish, but they are quite tasty and filling over Ritz crackers.

So now I stock up on cans when they are on sale at the market, and with crackers, here is the breakdown:
5 Ritz is 80 calories, Can of, say, Chicken of the Sea sardines is 120-150. If there isn't a flavor to the sardines, like if it is packed in oil and lightly smoked, as opposed to mustard, Mediterranean style or hot sauce, I will put a squirt of yellow mustard on the top of the fish. Add black pepper even if you wish. So my lunch comes to 200-230 calories. Add a fruit of some sort for another 80 - again, we are talking 300-315 for another full, satisfying meal.

And another great part of my sardine lunch - cost effective. Lunch costs me about $1.00 a day, maybe $1.10.

I do snacks like almonds, apples, cheese sticks - or sometimes combined with a meat stick.

Water: Gave up on sodas and sweet drinks years ago, will have the occasional of course, but during the work day at the office to make sure I make the water goals for the day, I usually have a can of sparkling water. There are some that are "infused" with flavors, that help some. But I usually drink the 4 cups (32oz) during the day, if not more, and then a can of the sparkling (12oz), and when I do that I make sure to drink the additional 4oz for the full 2 cups more, to get to 6 over the course of the day, and so I'll hit the 8 before I go to bed no problem. I have a large water bottle that has the ounces on the side to help keep track. Homemade unsweetened iced tea was an acquired taste for me but now, I am enjoying it, especially with flavored tea. And zero calories to boot.

Hope this helps. If you do the sardines, please let me know how that worked out for you.

kgirlhart wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

Apples. I never cared for apples. But it's because I didn't grow up with Pink Ladies. Now I love them.

You should also try honey crisp apples. I think that Red Delicious apples are the most disgusting tasting fruit and completely mis-named.

I haven't really added any foods that I didn't eat before. I do eat eggs more often and Greek yogurt because I'm always trying to add protien. And I also eat salmon more, but I ate those things before and I don't think they are key to my weight loss. The key to weight loss is eating at a calorie deficit.

Don't like most honey crisp apples. The last ones I got tasted like cardboard

I think PB2 and protein powders are the only new things I've added to my diet. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same as I ate before, just in different amounts and proportions. My plate used to look like:

2 parts pasta or bread or rice
1 part meat
1 part veggies

Now it looks like:
4 parts veggie
1 part meat
0.5 part pasta or bread or rice

I eat more peanut butter. Not a key to my weight loss, but tasty.

ThunderZtorm wrote: »

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

I switched from regular coke to diet coke to save calories, but otherwise my diet hasn't really changed. I just eat less.

The unfortunate side effect is then that you are getting a LOT of Aspartam, which is extremely unhealthy. Also, these artificial products increase your hunger.

From my experience, I also went from regular to coke zero and similar, but it was only when I stopped drinking them completely that I started really losing weight.

This is woo.

Diet cheery coke all the way