Remember how our parents were always on our case to eat more vegetables? Turns out, they were on to something. Vegetables play a huge role in a weight loss diet. Besides all the fiber content and vitamins, vegetables can actually aid in building muscle mass and is even considered a “free food” – you can eat as much as you like without having to worry about gaining weight!
Vegetables are so versatile. You can eat them fresh (after washing and soaking them in water!), you can prepare a myriad of delicious yet healthy dishes, and of course, you can also juice them into delectable beverages!
A diet of just one particular type of vegetable is actually counterproductive, as just one type of vegetable cannot give you the variety of nutrients that your body needs. Below are a few examples of vegetable you can add into your weight loss regimen:
1. Broccoli
It’s such a shame how broccoli has such a bad rep. Broccolis are crisp and succulent in texture and taste respectively. Broccoli fills you up quickly, but releases its goodness slowly as it digested in your body. This means that you will feel fuller for a long time, and have your energy high for just as long.
The trick to implementing broccoli into your diet is to substitute higher calorie foods with the vegetable. For example, instead of noodles and soup, try substituting the noodles with a cup of chopped broccoli. Like most vegetables, the broccoli’s nutritional content stays at its peak when eaten fresh or after it has been steamed.
2. Cucumbers
Cucumbers, besides being refreshingly delectable, are packed full of dietary fibers and a variety of beneficial vitamins, such as Vitamin C and Vitamin B. Vitamin C is essential for cell metabolism. Sufficient intake can improve your overall metabolism and keep your energy up whilst ensuring that you feel full between meals. Vitamin B is known to help balance out brain chemicals and keep you cool emotionally and physically.
You can eat them fresh – sliced or by the whole; or you can eat them fried. They taste surprisingly like chips!
3. Carrots
Believe it or not, a carrot’s magic extends to the point where it acts as a sort of cream replacement – that means you don’t have to add any actual cream to cream of carrot soup at all. Carrots contain a surprisingly high amount of beta carotene. Beta carotene is one of the ways organisms store Vitamin A, which has antioxidant abilities. The fiber in carrots bind themselves onto bile acids, forcing the digestive system to pull cholesterol from the blood stream to make more bile acids, thereby lowering the cholesterol levels in the body.
Carrots can be crunched fresh or even juiced to make a delightful carrot smoothie. It tastes better than it sounds!
4. Celery
Celery is a weight loss enthusiast’s miracle. The vegetable is full of fiber and extremely high in water content. You fill yourself up with celery goodness and keep yourself hydrated at the same time. Celery is high in potassium and calcium, minerals which helps to increase your mobility – potassium prevents cramps while calcium increases your bone density. Work out longer, get that flat belly quicker!
The outer stalks are tougher, so it is more suitable for cooking. The tender inner stalks are best eaten raw!
5. Spinach
Popeye The Sailor Man was on to something, eating all that spinach. Not only does it fill you up with low calorie and fiber packed goodness, it is also a good source of iron. Iron is what blood is mostly made of. Keeping your iron up means better blood circulation, and a longer and more efficient work out session.
Spinach tastes great without too much preparation. Try a spinach salad!
6. Peppers
Fancy adding a little more spice into your diet? Try peppers! They come in a wide variety of colors and levels of spiciness to suit everyone’s tastes. The best part is, they are full of antioxidants that increase your metabolism with regular intake, helping you lose weight faster. Peppers are also known to increase testosterone levels in men!
Peppers can be chopped fresh and added to any dish to spice things up. They can also be eaten straight away… If you dare!
7. Garlic
Garlics are dubbed as a miracle food when it comes to weight loss. It can actually lower LDL, the bad cholesterol, while elevating amounts of HDL, the good cholesterol, in a short amount of time. The effects of daily intake can last up to three months! It is also believed that consuming garlic will make you less attractive to mosquitoes. No more excuses to escape that evening jog!
Garlic can be used to season food in a lot of ways. It can be deep fried to crunchy goodness or served raw with peppers.
8. Beans
Craving something sweet? Curb that urge with green beans! Snack on green beans instead of chocolates the next time you find yourself craving something sweet. They fill you up faster and have significantly lower amounts of calories to help keep you fit.
Pack some green beans and your favorite low-fat dip into your workout bag to bring along with you to the gym or jogging track. They make great quick fixes!
9. Cauliflower
With a taste strong enough to stand alone without any meats, the cauliflower is a great low-carb alternative for rice and potatoes. It is also tough and crunchy, requiring more time for you to chew before you swallow. Believe it or not, eating slowly in such a way helps your body to realize that it is full before you’ve eaten too much.
You can crush a cauliflower up to substitute rice. Or, if you’re really hungry, you can eat it fresh!
10. Tomatoes
Yes, tomatoes are a type of vegetable! They’re packed full of flavor and can add a zest to a boring salad. Tomatoes are also abundant with vitamin E, which helps to keep your stamina up during workouts. Their high water content also means it will fill you up very quickly and keep you full and hydrated.
Tomatoes can be eaten fresh in a salad or sandwich, and can also be added in a vegetable broth.
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