14 Nutrient-Packed Low Calorie Foods To Support Your Weight Loss

by DailyHealthPost Editorial

low calorie foods

Counting your daily calorie intake has long been the golden standard of weight loss and maintenance. But recognizing low calorie foods isn’t as straightforward as reading food labels. In fact, almost 50% of food labels inaccurately list their calorie content (1).

Below is a list of low calorie fruits and vegetables that will support your weight loss, but calories content isn’t everything.

The Truth About Calorie-Counting

Calories are essentially energy that your body uses to perform all of its tasks: from digestion to blood circulation, and other mechanisms of survival (2).

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While keeping track of calories ingested and burned can help you lose weight, there’s more to it.

Calories from modified foods that contain unhealthy fats and excessive sweeteners are not as satisfying as nutrient-rich foods like avocados and leafy greens.

These natural foods help your body burn fat through the digestion of their natural fibers. They also fill you up to make you less likely to overeat.

On the other hand, calories from processed foods are less nutritious, and therefore, less satisfying. This means you are more likely to crave sweets later in the day.

“…counting calories leads to failure 95.4% of the time—and often leaves people fatter,” insists Jonathan Bailor, author of The Calorie Myth. He’s isn’t wrong either.

“Food produces hormonal effects in the body,” explains Jonny Bowden, PhD., CNS, a board-certified nutritionist.”Some hormones say ‘store that fat’; others say ‘release sugar’; others say ‘build muscle.’ Study after study shows that diets based on the same amount of calories, but different proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrates, result in different amounts of weight loss.” (3)

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Instead of counting calories, make your calories count by eating smaller portions of protein, fat, or carbohydrate-rich foods and fill up on the low calorie fruits and vegetables below.

low calorie foods

14 Low Calorie Foods You Can Eat Every Day

One of these low calorie foods should make its way onto your plate every day.

1. Onions

Cooked onions contain roughly 44 calories per 100g. They’re also packed with phosphorous, potassium, vitamin b6, and vitamin C (4).

Onions are a part of the same family as chives, garlic, scallions and leeks. As such, it contains powerful compounds such as quercetin and sulfur (5). These compounds come together to give onions chemopreventive properties. In fact, researchers believe their rich organosulfur compounds inhibit tumor growth and mutation and fight free radicals.

Additionally, onions contain folate, which fights depression by controlling homocysteine levels in the body. Homocysteine stall nutrient flow to the brain and interferes with the production of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. They hormones affect mood, sleep, and appetite.

Onions add plenty of flavor to sauces, stir-frys, soups, and salads.

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2. Cucumbers

At 8 cal per ½ cup of chopped cucumber, the vegetables is as close as you can get to a zero calorie food. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin K and electrolytes (6).

Plus, cucumber contains the anti-inflammatory flavonol fisetin, which protects your brain. Among other things, it protects nerve cells against age-related decline and progressive memory and learning impairments such as with Alzheimer’s disease (7).

Lastly, flavonoids and tannins found in cucumbers fight free radicals and relieve pain.The Journal of Young Pharmacists even writes: “Traditionally, this plant is used for headaches; the seeds are cooling and diuretic, the fruit juice of this plant is used as a nutritive and as a demulcent in anti-acne lotions.” (8)

3. Celery

Celery isn’t a classic diet food without reason. 1 full cup of celery contains only 16 calories (9).

It actually requires more calories to digest than what it contains. Best of all, celery doesn’t lose its rich content of vitamin K, A, C, folate, potassium, and antioxidants after being cooked (10).

Fresh celery juice even has the ability to reduce the activity of inflammatory proteins tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-A) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-KB) (11). Celery also contains plenty of fiber and water, which improves digestion and hydration. However, celery has much more sodium than other vegetables, so sodium-conscious individuals might want to avoid eating too much celery.

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4. Brussels Sprouts

These notoriously avoided vegetables only contain 38 calories per cup. Best of all, they supply 125% of your daily value of vitamin C and 195% of your daily value of vitamin K. They’re also surprisingly high in protein (12).

As a cruciferous vegetable, Brussels sprouts contain glucosinolates, which lower the risk of lung and colorectal cancer in some individuals (13).

Properly cooked, Brussel sprouts have a sweet, slightly nutty and subtlety bitter taste. They make a great side dish when baked to a crisp and combined with pecans, goat cheese, and dried cranberries (14).

5. Apples

1 cup of chopped apples contains as little as 65 calories, making it a truly low calorie fruit (15). Plus, the fruit is chock-full of vitamin C and potassium, as well as quercetin, an anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-cancer and anti-depressant compound (1617,1819).

Additionally, apples also contain catechins, antioxidants that improve brain and muscle function, and chlorogenic acid, which lowers blood sugar and boosts weight loss (20,2122).

The antioxidants in apples, as well as their fiber content, slow down digestion to stabilize blood sugar and improve type 2 diabetes (23,24, 25).

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6. Oranges

At 62 calories per fruit, oranges are a low calorie way to get your daily dose of vitamin C.

They also contain some , folate, and potassium (26).

An orange actually contains over 170 different phytochemicals and more than 60 flavonoids. Many of these have anti-inflammatory effects as well as antioxidant properties (27).

The American Heart Association actually suggests that eating plenty of citrus fruits can reduce ischemic stroke in women by up to 19 percent.

7. Cabbage

At 23 calories per 100g, cabbage is a great low calorie food that can be steamed, stir-fried, or even added to soup. The leaf contains more than your daily value vitamin k, and more than half of your daily vitamin C (28).

In fact, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating cabbage and other flavonoid-rich foods lowers your risk of death by from cardiovascular disease. Polyphenols in cabbage also prevent cardiovascular disease by reducing blood pressure and halting platelet build-up in the blood vessels (29).

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8. Zucchini

1 cup of zucchini contains 20 calories and a third of your daily vitamin C requirements (30).

As a member of the squash family, the veggie contains pectin, a type of fiber. Pectin improves cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation. Its potassium content, on the other hand, lowers blood pressure to boost this effect (31).

Zucchini is wonderful steamed, stir-fried, or even barbecued. It can also be used in baking to add moisture to cakes and muffins.

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