10 Foods To Help You Lose Weight

Although some of us might not think so, especially here in UK right now, summer is on the way (honest) and we are going to be spoilt for choice with healthy, tasty natural foods  to help us in our healthy eating weight loss program.

Here I've put together a list of ten of my favourite vitamin rich foods to include in your diet to ensure that you never run the risk of deficiencies, not to mention helping out your brain, heart, vision, joints and just about everything else by consuming them....

Dark Leafy Greens

Dark green is the key, with examples of amazingly vitamin rich, leafy vegetables including spinach, mustard greens, beetroot greens, turnip greens and kale as just a few. Adding these to a salad will give you high amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and carotenoids.

Mustard greens themselves have an incredible array with vitamin A, C, E, and B6, folate, dietary fibre, tryptophan (one of the essential amino acids that the body uses to synthesize the proteins it needs), manganese, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and copper all being found in this green.

Asparagus

These fleshy spears are extremely high in vitamin K and folate and are also high in protein for a vegetable. It is also a superior source of vitamins C, A, B1, B2 and B6. It's high in essential minerals as well including copper, phosphorous, potassium, iron, manganese and magnesium.

Plus, asparagus is also a natural diuretic that provides benefits for the heart and also prevent birth defects (thanks to folates ability to protect against spina bifida!).

Blueberries

The blueberry is one of the healthiest fruits in the world, as well as being one of the tastiest. It has incredible amounts of vitamins C and E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, dietary fibre and riboflavin. Because of its dark blue/red flesh, it contains some of the most potent antioxidants around.

The phytonutrients contained in this amazing berry help to destroy free radicals that damage the body's tissues. They can help prevent heart disease, cancer, dementia, ulcers, varicose veins, cataracts and glaucoma. Blueberries also have anti-inflammatory abilities that can also protect brain cells from damage.

Other Berries

Berries are abundant in summer so consider having a berry fruit salad first thing in the morning or for a mid day snack. Cranberries are proven natural healers of the urinary tract (number one in fighting UT infections!) and as a digestive aid. They have incredible amounts of vitamin B2 alongside a few other B vitamins. They also host high levels of fibre, vitamin C, iron, manganese and copper.

The raspberry is rich in tannins, elagic acid and flavonoids. With potent antioxidants and antimicrobials, research has suggested that the mighty raspberry can even help fight cancer. They are high in fibre, vitamin C, B2, B3, B5, B6, folate, manganese and impact minimally on blood sugar levels.

Strawberries are well known for their phenols, which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities. Jam-packed with more than 12 essential minerals and vitamins, strawberries are very high in vitamin C and K and in dietary fibre.

Rock Melon

Although this beautiful melon peaks in summer, it is often available all year round. It offers an excellent supply of beta-carotene, potassium, and vitamin C. One cup of rock melon has under 60 calories, but is already well above the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

The orange flesh of the rock melon boasts vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, folate and great source of dietary fibre. The B vitamins combine to make a great energy producer for the body, helping to control carbs and blood glucose levels through processing the carbohydrates and slowing digestion with its fibre content.

Spelt Grain

Just two ounces of this ancient whole grain contains more than your daily requirement of vitamin B2. Though largely unknown to many, spelt can be found in cereals, crackers, breads and baked goods.

Your local health food store will have it in the form of grain, flakes or flour. It has a wide range of nutrients for a whole grain including an excellent source of niacin, thiamine, manganese and tryptophan. It also packs a decent amount of fibre, zinc, copper, protein and iron.

Broccoli

Broccoli, possibly my all time favourite veg is a nutritional wonder. The exceptional nutritional value of broccoli is most visibly seen in its vitamin K levels. It is also very high in vitamin A, folate and dietary fibre not to mention protein, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

This is a vegetable not to be missed! Who said Mum didn't know what she was talking about?

Lentils

Lentils can provide an upward of 80% of your daily value of iron in one cup! The same amount of this amazing food contains 230 calories and hardly any fat. Whilst its iron levels will boost the body's energy and help prevent anaemia, its fibre content will stabilize your blood glucose levels and also net you four B vitamins, seven other essential minerals and a heaping amount of protein.

All of the mighty lentil's nutrients can be found in high levels. As a note of interest, the history of lentils dates back 8,000 years! Found in archaeological sights in the Middle East, it is possible that lentils could be one of the first foods ever cultivated.

Black Beans

Also known as Mexican or Spanish black beans, they have a phenomenal source of molybdenum, a trace mineral that detoxifies sulfites in your body. Black beans (like most beans) are good for your heart, and contain an excellent source of dietary fibre, folic acid, magnesium, and polyphenols that bring down cholesterol levels.

They are also high in vitamin B1, tryptophan, phosphorus, iron, manganese and potassium. Each cup of black beans carries 15g of protein too!

Brussels Sprouts

Although a tough vegetable to get any child to consider (or some adults for that matter), the active constituents of Brussel sprouts are cancer fighters, great for skin, boosts the immune system and ensures the colon stays healthy. Best boiled or steamed, they contain gigantic amounts of vitamin K as well as high levels of vitamins C, A, B6 and B1, and fibre on top of a good amount of 14 other major minerals and vitamins.

And the best part for those needing to lose weight, you can eat as much of these as you want to alleviate those hunger pangs and not feel the slightest bit guilty.

Fat in the front can mean a pain in the back!

There are many people that struggle with weight loss on a regular basis, but the fact is, it may be more than a simple cosmetic issue. 

Lots of people who are overweight experience back pain, and are suffering needlessly, simply because they are having a difficult time in getting rid of the extra weight that they are carrying.  The truth of the matter is, if you are carrying around an additional weight in the front of your body, your back is going to suffer as a result.

The simple reason for this is because the spine was not designed in order to carry a load that is heavier than our body at its natural, lean weight. 

As you put on additional pounds, the spine begins to distort and to compress, causing a lot of the pain that you may be experiencing.  It can also have an effect on your pelvis, tilting it forward and perhaps causing it to pinch your sciatic nerve. 

This is one of the main reasons why people who are overweight tend to have problems with their lower back, either because of sciatica or because of the distorting of the spinal column.

If you are experiencing this problem then there is really only one thing that you can do in order to overcome it.  You need to get rid of some of the additional weight that you have been carrying around, and your spine will begin to ease up and go back into its regular position. 

Unfortunately, weight loss is not something that is simple and it is a bit time consuming but the benefits of losing weight far outweigh any inconvenience that you may experience from the effort.

Two things that you can do in order to lose weight naturally are to get a little bit of exercise, and to modify your diet so that you are taking in fewer calories than what you are using throughout the day.  Start exercising slowly, especially if you're having problems with back pain. 

You should also do stretching exercises as well as concentrating on your core body muscles so that it will help to strengthen this area of your body, further reducing the amount of pain that you are experiencing. 

Within just a week or two of being on this weight loss program, you should begin to notice differences in the way that you feel.