Believe it or not, one of the hardest things to do is to lose a significant amount of weight within a short period.
Weight loss is all about burning more calories than you consume every day, either by eating or by drinking.
Vegetables are parts of plants that are cultivated and consumed by humans or other animals as food, edible herb and root.
Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants that prevent many diseases, and dietary fiber making them one of the most potent weight loss foods in the continent.
If you’re looking for an effective way to get rid of stubborn fat in your belly and other body areas, there’s nothing like fresh vegetable produce!
The major challenge encountered during weight loss is not identifying these nutritional vegetables, but to stick to a healthy eating diet and also avoid sweet junk foods which most times we find irresistible.
This post contains a list of nutritious vegetables to eat and include in your diet to maintain your weight and get your desired body shape within a short time in United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Dubai, Malaysia, and perhaps anywhere else in the world.
10 Best Vegetables to Eat for Weight Loss
1. Broccoli
Broccoli is the key for successful weight loss and better health.
Adding broccoli to your diet is a brilliant choice for weight loss because it’s so low in calories, prevents cancer, improves digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar, curbs overeating, and boost immunity.
2. Cabbage
Cabbage also helps keep skin looking healthy, toned, blemish-free and glowing; it’s rich in antioxidants (including Vitamin C and beta-carotene).
You can lose weight on the cabbage soup diet because it drastically limits calories.
3. Carrot
Carrots are low in calories yet highly nutritious, making them a weight-loss-friendly food.
Carrots cleanses the liver; hence, they also make an essential part of a detoxifying diet.
Adding carrot juice to your daily diet could be one of the good ways to lose weight and burn belly fat.
You can blend it with other fruits or vegetables to make a healthy, nutrient-rich fat burn juice, or stir-fry it along with your meat dishes to make this veggie work its magic on you.
4. Chilli Pepper
Addition of chilli pepper to your diet and meals can be helpful for your weight-loss journey because it contains capsaicin – which aids in reducing appetite and increasing fat burning.
Also, consuming chilli pepper is great for healthy skin, hair and nails maintenance, as it contains beta-carotene.
5. Cucumber
Cucumbers are low in calories and contain a good amount of water and soluble fiber, fills your tummy up quickly and ideal for promoting hydration and aiding in weight loss.
Cucumbers are enriched with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that help fight cancer and lowers your risk of heart diseases.
Cucumber juice can boost your metabolism and promote satiety, aiding weight loss.
If you are serious about losing weight, then eat cucumber or include them to your salads.
6. Garden Egg
Garden egg has many medicinal and health values.
Though technically a fruit, it is usually picked when it is green and is eaten as a vegetable; cooked into stews and sauces, or even consumed raw.
Garden eggs help with digestion of food by ensuring the smooth passage of food in the body so that there is no chance of bloating.
Also, if you belong to the class of people who are constantly trying to watch their blood sugar level, garden egg is one of the best fruits for you.
It contains low soluble carbohydrates and can reduce glucose absorption in the body.
Garden egg is also essential in terms of health benefits for pregnant women.
Eating of eggplant, especially the greenish type, is beneficial in weight reduction because they contain low carbohydrates and calories essential for weight management.
7. Okra
Okra is a vegetable high in fiber, which will improve your digestion, regulate bowel function and encourage the growth of friendly bacteria in the belly.
Apart from that, including okra in your diet provides flavor and substance that satiates the senses and the appetite, while maintaining a low-calorie level diet that improves weight, thus minimizing your food cravings.
In addition, it contains essential nutrients that boost your body’s metabolism, strengthen your core muscles, stabilize blood sugar levels and lower high cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart diseases.
Endeavor to cook your okra soup with little oil, then you’re ready!
8. Potatoes
Whether white or sweet, potatoes are one of the most filling, nutrient-dense and low-calorie foods that makes an excellent addition to any weight-loss diet.
Potatoes are high in fiber and many vitamins and are actually very good for you, especially if you’re trying to lose weight or belly fat – as long as they’re not fried or served the French fry way.
9. Pumpkins
Pumpkin is a very rich source of fiber and devoid of cholesterol, sodium and fats, which can help curb your appetite, reduce your weight, improve vision, strengthens the bone, immunity and overall blood circulation.
10. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are low in calories and high in vital nutrients, making them an ideal choice for any weight loss meal plan.
Tomatoes are important because not only do they make our food taste better, they’re full of antioxidants and they aid in weight loss by reducing inflammation and water retention in the body.
Also, they help in reversing leptin resistance (leptin is a hormone predominantly made by adipose cells and enterocytes in the small intestine that helps to regulate energy balance by inhibiting hunger, which diminishes fat storage in adipocytes).
Tomato juice makes for an excellent belly fat burning juice, too.
You can add other fruits or veggies and herbs to make it more palatable and filling.
8 Best Herbs and Spices for Weight Loss
Here are some essential herbs and some spices that not only add tastes and flavour to our foods but also have some weight loss benefits.
- Aloe Vera
- Cayenne Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green Tea
- Turmeric
- Zobo Leaf
Asides from helping with weight loss, there are other many health benefits of some of these herbs and spices.
Cinnamon helps lower blood glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity and slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates.
This means it can help manage type 2 diabetes mellitus conditions.
Turmeric, which contains curcumin, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects.
This makes this herb useful in fighting oxidative stress or damage, which plays one of the key roles in ageing and disease development.
Capsaicin in cayenne pepper has anti-cancer effects and reduces appetite.
Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and can help treat nausea and also helps with pain management.
Conclusion
Vegetables provide substantial amounts of fiber to our diet and offer many essential vitamins and minerals.
Herbs can help combat most of the serious health conditions people are battling, such as cancers, diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, high blood pressure.
When purchasing vegetables, herbs and spices for your consumption, it is often better to go for natural and fresh organics.
This ensures that you are feeding on healthy foods that are not irradiated or preserved with harmful chemicals.
So, make these listed weight loss vegetables, herbs and spices a regular part of your diet to boost metabolism, cleanse your colon, prevent weight gain and belly fat.
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