If you ask ten people what the hardest part of losing weight is, nine of them will say shopping for food. When you are dieting and trying to slim down, the most daunting place you can go is your local supermarket. There is just so much food and you can't get in and out without passing by your favorite sweet treat or deli counter. Having a weight loss discerning eye for food is invaluable. Find how.

Simple Ways To Choose Foods With A Discerning Eye For Weight Loss

Shopping for groceries when you are trying to lose weight takes a bit of practice, but once you've learned the basics, you'll be able to sail right past those cookie samples without even a glance. Here are a few tips to get you in and out without a hitch.

Shop the Perimeters

A good rule of thumb when shopping your local grocery store is to hug the outer lanes of the store to find the healthiest foods. Typically, grocery stores line the perimeter of the store with the produce cases, the dairy case, and the fresh meats and fish.  The inside aisles hold the majority of the prepackaged foods that you want to avoid.  This is generally speaking, of course, but give it a try at your grocery store and see if it works that way for you.

Shop for Color

As you push your cart along the outer walls of the store, look for the bright and vibrant-color foods.  We have learned in our nutrition classes that foods with rich, bright, or dark colors generally have more nutrients than those with a pale color. For instance, strawberries and eggplants have a higher nutrient-density than potatoes or onions. Even though potatoes and onions are perfectly fine and offer nutrition, to get the most bang out of your dieting buck, go for the bright colors. You can apply this to proteins in many instances, as well.  You know a deep red salmon fillet is going to be more nutrient-dense than a salmon fillet that has a light color.

Avoid Sugar by Any Name

You would be surprised at all the places sugar can hide in a grocery store. It is practically around every corner. Since sugar will rob you of your weight loss goals, it is important to turn into a detective in order to avoid it. Just for reference, here is a laundry list of aliases for sugar.

• Agave nectar
• Barley malt syrup
• Brown sugar
• Cane sugar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Dehydrated cane juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Powdered sugar
• Raw sugar
• Rice syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado sugar
• Xylose

Of course, not all sugar is created equal.  Raw sugar may be a better choice than refined sugar. However, when it comes to weight loss, your body isn't going to know the difference. It's going to want to turn that sugar into fat. Learn your sugars and learn what levels are tolerable for your diet. Be aware also that most processed foods that are labeled "low fat" have added sugar to adjust the taste. Here again, you need to know what is better for you and know your tolerable limits. Labels are your friends - get used to reading them.

Whole Grains versus Refined Grains

One of the easiest tips to remember when buying bread, pasta, flour, and any type of baking ingredients is to go for whole grains rather than refined grains. Eating whole grains add much needed fiber and nutrients to your healthy diet. Fiber helps speed digestion and metabolism both. Refined grains have all that goodness cleaned right out of them during the refining process. Eating whole wheat pastas and breads, and baking with whole grain products, will take some getting used to, but you can ease into it by using half refined and half whole grain to get started. It won't be long before you prefer the firmer texture and nuttier flavor of your favorite muffin recipe made with whole grains.

You don't have to carry a big list of foods allowed on a special diet along with you to the grocery store. You just have to shop smarter with these simple rules. It's easier to eat healthy when you have simple tricks to use when you're in the grocery store. If you fill your cart with foods from the perimeters, brightly colored foods, foods without added sugar, and whole grains, you are well on your way to eating a diet that will help you lose weight now and keep it off for a lifetime.

5 Tricky Foods To Help You Lose Weight

When you think of losing weight, your first thought is naturally about the foods you will have to eliminate from your diet. But, how often do you think about the foods you need to add? Probably not very often. While some diet and weight loss programs talk about eating less, others emphasize adding foods to your diet. Not just any foods, however. There are several foods considered to have some real tricks for anyone trying to lose weight. Here are a few foods that are right at the top of the list.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal and oat bran are loaded with fiber and when eaten can expand to almost 30 times their volume. The combination of these two effects decreases your appetite by making you feel fuller longer. You can go for long periods of time without eating while keeping your energy levels high at the same time. In order to increase the effectiveness of your weight loss program, eat oatmeal about two hours before doing your workout. Steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and plain or natural oatmeal are your best options. Avoid the instant flavored oatmeal in packets as they contain lots of sugar and other additives, and they are much more processed, meaning the fiber content is decreased.

Raw Fruits and Vegetables

Your body burns, on average, 15% more calories when your meals contain mostly raw fruits and veggies than if you ate a meal with no fruits or vegetables. It just makes sense, then, in order to lose weight you want to eat meals consisting of mostly raw ingredients. Since these ingredients still have all of their nutrients, your body gets what it needs while you feel satisfied. Also, fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C, like lemons, oranges, and pineapple help your body to mobilize and flush out extra body fat.

Spices

For years, people have claimed that adding spices to your diet can help with weight loss. Recently, a professor at Oxford University, found that by eating just 3 grams of chili peppers in a meal can increase your fat-burning metabolism by 8% to 20%, for up to three hours after eating the peppers. Also, the addition of spicy mustard to your sandwich may burn an extra 45 to 75 calories over the same three hour time span. And, just by adding fresh ginger to your diet, you get a strong diuretic. Fresh ginger also increases growth hormone production, therefore increasing the amount of fat released from your body's fat stores for burning as fuel.

Apples

While eating raw fruits in general is typically considered a great way to lose weight, apples are especially important to single out. Apples contain pectin, which prevents your body from over-absorbing fat, as well as causing your body to release some of the stored fat. A study done in Brazil found that people who ate an apple before each meal lost 33% more weight than a group of people who didn't eat an apple. Pectin also acts as an appetite suppressant, so they are great snacks to tide you over between meals.

Fish

Not only are most fish loaded with tons of omega-3s, but fish like tuna, sardines, and salmon trigger the hormone leptin. Leptin is a fat-burning hormone that suppresses your appetite and determines whether you store the calories you eat as fat, or if you burn those calories for energy. The origin of the word is interesting, too. Leptin originated from the Greek word "leptos" which means slender. So, adding more leptin to your diet may just prove to be slenderizing for you.

Eating certain foods to lose weight is not a brand new theory. We've often heard about diet fads that include one or two foods that dominate the program. The idea of eating specific foods that have been scientifically studied is a much more recent development in the weight loss world. When you look at the reasons why certain foods actually help you burn fat and calories, it just makes sense to add those foods to your diet plan.

5 Surprising Foods To Help You Lose Weight

It may surprise you to know you don't have to nibble on celery sticks or carrots to get that metabolism going to burn calories to lose weight. Many foods are thought to be fattening, when in fact they actually can help your body burn fat so you can slim down faster. There are good reasons to re-think some of the “forbidden” foods when deciding what foods to choose for your diet. Let's take a look at a few of these much aligned foods to set the record straight.

Almonds

Who would have thought that this small nut would have such a significant impact on weight loss? A Purdue University study showed that when compared to eating rice cakes, people who ate a handful of almonds felt fuller longer. Surprisingly, almonds are loaded with fat, but it's good fat. It's the kind of fat that your brain and body needs to function. Enjoy about 16 to 20 almonds every day to satisfy your hunger without overloading on calories.

Olive Oil

A healthy intake of fats can help you lose weight. How? By controlling hunger. Fats make you feel full. Monounsaturated fats are a good choice because you will keep cholesterol under control while satisfying your cravings, and olive oil fits the bill. Eliminating fats from your diet to lose weight has been a dieting standard for many years, but certain fats are essential to a healthy diet. This concept is surprising to many long-term dieters. But, in these modern times, science has proven that oils, the right oil, provides nutrition that your body needs as well as weight loss benefits.

Peanut Butter

Who would have guessed that a kid-friendly food could be diet friendly, too? Peanut butter is packed with niacin, which keeps the digestive system on track and prevents belly bloat. Just keep an eye on portion size because peanut butter can have a lot of fat and even sugar. Limit yourself to no more than two tablespoons a day and be sure to pick a natural peanut butter so you avoid the added sugars.

Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Another on the list of unexpected foods to help slim you down is a particular favorite of most foodies. This low-calorie, calcium-rich treat activates the body's fat-burning hormones, say University of Wisconsin researchers. This cheese also has a higher protein content compared to other dairy products. Consider adding this powerhouse of flavor to roasted vegetables for that little extra boost.

Animal Fats

We've been told for so long that you have to eliminate animal fat from your diet to lose weight, that it's hard to wrap your head around this one, right? But, new research has proven that animal fat provides some nutritional value you need and may be a better choice than other forms of fat in some cases. Not only does fat in your food make you feel full, but certain animal fat may provide your body with some missing elements. Even the much dreaded lard has been making a dietary come back. Your body needs vitamin D to feel good and to function. Interestingly, foods that provide vitamin D, all of which are animal foods, tend to be high in cholesterol. What does this have to do with weight loss? If you are not getting enough vitamin D, you will not be active. Your bones and muscles are going to suffer, keeping you sedentary, which is a disaster when trying to lose weight. So, animal fats in moderation should be on your weight loss radar.

Through the years, there have been diet gurus who have pitched some pretty far-fetched ideas about weight loss. Usually, it comes down to moderation. Avoiding certain foods entirely, even the foods that "sound" fattening, may not be the best way to lose weight and keep it off. It's confusing, I know. But, give it some thought and decide for yourself which weight loss theories make sense to you.