Want to Lose Weight? Up Your Chances of Success With These 6 Foods

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Losing weight and keeping it off has never been easy. Oftentimes, it seems that every corner you turn, there are obstacles to keep you from your goals. Many factors are to blame, from the company you keep to the line of work you're in. Increased variety in stores plays a role in our obesity epidemic, as does the increased availability of getting from point A to point B (motorized scooters, elevators, etc.) One of the biggest mysteries surrounds food -- what to eat, what to avoid, when to eat and how much. Deceptive food labeling, which can make unhealthy food seem healthy, adds to this confusion, as do so-called "diet foods," with their multitude of ingredients, many only recognizable by a chemist. What if there were a few diet-friendly, or, rather, diet-perfect foods that helped you lose weight? What if we all went back to the basics and ate food with fewer ingredients? Here are six foods that can help you to satisfy your cravings, keep you full and ultimately arm you with the tools you'll need to finally fight the biggest battle of them all!

Foods That Promote Weight Loss

Foods That Promote Weight Loss

1 of 6 String Cheese Who doesn't love cheese? In fact, many of my patients start off with a common plea -- they could give anything up, but please, don't ask them to give up cheese! Well, there may be a happy medium. With just 80 calories, no carbs, portioned-controlled, easy to transport, and 100 percent satisfying, string cheese is perhaps THE perfect dieter's snack. A 2011 study in the Journal of Nutrition found that increasing consumption of dairy foods and protein during weight-loss efforts promoted fat mass loss and lean mass gain. Additionally, a 2005 study in the journal Obesity Research found that consumption of three dairy servings per day was associated with reduced belly fat in African-American women. String cheese is my only exception to the one ingredient rule due to the addition of enzymes in the processing of skim milk.

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For more by Kristin Kirkpatrick, M.S., R.D., L.D., click here.

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