What Foods to Eat to Speed Up Weight Loss

It is tough to improve your ability to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner. It's hard not to be seduced by supposed quick fixes like fat-burning pills and energy drinks. The healthiest way to lose extra weight is to add healthier foods to your diet that can help to boost your metabolism. Consult your doctor before making major diet changes.

Raw Fruits and Vegetables

• Fruits and vegetables in their raw, uncooked form are very important to any healthy diet. Eating the foods uncooked may preserve their natural enzymes, which can expedite the digestion process. Raw food dieters take in most of their calories from raw fruits and vegetables and many have experienced a great deal of weight loss. Grapefruit is particularly good as it lowers insulin levels and contains fiber that causes your body to work harder than if it had just simple sugars to digest. Apples are similar in their high fiber content and they may actually give a natural boost of energy that can be likened to the caffeine in a cup of coffee. Jalapenos, red, and green chili peppers, contain capsacin which can temporarily speed up your body's metabolism. Berries and broccoli may also have metabolic effects. By eating more of these metabolism-boosting fruits and vegetables, you may be able to improve your energy and burn off more fat.

Nuts, Meat, Grains and Dairy

• Nuts like almonds contain monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been labeled "the good fats." These healthy fats can help to burn off fat while increasing your metabolic rate with their protein and fiber content. A serving of lean turkey can also add protein to your diet, which forces the body to work harder than when it burns carbohydrates alone. Oatmeal and other foods rich in whole grains and soluble fiber can lower your insulin level and increase your metabolism. Yogurt packs a double punch as it contains a good source of protein and has probiotic cultures that improve digestion by adding extra bacteria to your digestive tract. A great way to combine them all is by having a lunch of a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, with a side of oatmeal and low-fat yogurt with almonds or walnuts on top.

Spices and Drinks

• Here are a few spices and drinks you should add to make the fat-burning easier. Curry acts similarly to the capsacin in peppers by making your metabolism work faster. Adding cinnamon to your food or tea can improve the way that your body breaks down sugars and level out your blood sugar and cholesterol. Green tea is full of nutrients, including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This compound in particular can speed up the nervous system and speed up the metabolic process.

  Take all the above mentioned foods and create a checklist for use throughout the day. Make an effort to have all of these foods every day and you will have a good shot at an improved rate of weight loss.