To many people the main reason to get fit is to lose weight. While exercise can help with this, the right diet is essential as well. If you need to lose weight then you probably have had some difficulty in choosing the right kinds of food and ingredients for your meals in the past. With the ingredients for a healthy diet five you can make sure that you in a better position to get fit and healthy and lose weight too.

Forget about dining on fast food or even out at your favorite restaurants. If you want to lose weight you need to be cooking your own food so that you know what ingredients are going into each dish.While you may already have many low-fat recipes at home, did you know that there are some specific ingredients that can contribute towards your weight loss goals? These ingredients are not just low in calories, but also have amazing components that increase your metabolism and help burn fat, thereby hastening your weight loss.

Chia seeds

Chia seeds might be really tiny, but they are attributed with having powerful weight loss properties. They are packed with Omega 3 fatty acids, which not only contribute to weight loss, but also help lower blood pressure and promote heart health. These fatty acids are good fats that help lower total cholesterol, thus helping you lose weight in a healthy way. Also, they are purported to help improve moods and make you feel full for a long period of time, being an excellent source of soluble fiber.

You can use chia seeds in oatmeal and add them to smoothies and non-fat yogurt. You can also use them to make puddings and as a thickener for gravies, soup, and meatballs.

Walnuts

If you love eating nuts but avoid them because you want to lose weight, then you will be delighted to know that you can eat a dozen walnuts per day and still lose weight. Just like chia seeds, walnuts are high in Omega 3 fatty acids and help lower low density lipoproteins, also known as bad cholesterol.

In addition, walnuts are rich in vitamins and minerals like vitamin E and magnesium. Your digestion can also improve be adding walnuts to your diet since they are rich in fiber.

Walnuts are common ingredients in many recipes, such as cakes, muffins, cookies, pies, pastas, fudge, soup, and even ravioli. You can also add a few chopped walnuts to your salad and trail mix.

Green tea

Green tea extract is known for boosting metabolism, which is why a lot of weight loss supplements list this as a vital  ingredient. It increases energy expenditure and promotes fat breakdown. It also contains an antioxidant known as epigallocatechin gallate, which is best combined with caffeine to increase metabolism and induce weight loss.

The benefits don’t end there however. Green tea also has an amino acid known as theanine, which is helpful for fighting fatigue and providing physical and mental energy. You can buy green tea from the market – the best kind is loose leaf from China – and drink it at least once a day instead of your daily coffee.

Cacao

Just when you thought that chocolate is off limits for people who are on a diet, you will be surprised to know that cacao can actually help you lose weight. As the main ingredient of chocolate, cacao contains polyphenols which fight against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. This ingredient can also help lower cholesterol and moderate your blood sugar levels.

The key is to pick the right chocolate. Milk chocolate doesn’t have a high level of cacao and tends to be fattier. What you should go for is dark chocolate. Look for chocolate with 80% cacao or above. You can also incorporate raw cacao in chocolate shakes, puddings, and cookies.Just be sure to leave the sugar out!

Cayenne pepper

If you love spicy foods, add cayenne pepper to your dishes to rev up your metabolism and promote fat burning. Its active component, capsaicin, enables cayenne to do just that. Since cayenne is a common spice, you can use it in many recipes, from scrambled eggs in the morning, to salad dressing at lunch, to chicken marinade for the evening’s meal.

Making these ingredients part of your daily dishes to ensure that your weight loss efforts don’t go to waste. Would you like more ideas on how you can incorporate these ingredients in your diet? Contact us!