8 Fat-Blasting Fall Foods

By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

Fall is the perfect time to discreetly drop a little weight in order to look your best for the holidays, and many of the freshest fruits and vegetables the season has to offer can help you pare pounds. One of their secrets is generous amounts of fiber that satisfy your appetite and leave you feeling full for hours. Here are eight of fall's best fat-blasting foods:

1. Apples
 

Low in calories and sodium and high in vitamins and minerals, apples help keep you slim because the fiber they contain helps you feel full longer. Researchers at Penn State found that people who ate one-and-a-half apples (about 125 calories) before lunch ate 187 fewer calories during the meal.

 

"This suggests that eating something like a piece of fruit that's low in calories before your meal might be a great strategy for reducing calorie intake," researcher Julie Flood told USA Today. And researchers at State University of Rio de Janeiro found that women on a low-calorie diet who ate the equivalent of three small apples or pears a day lost more weight than women who didn't include fruits in their diets.

2. Grapefruit
 

Those grapefruit diets had some truth behind them. A study by the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic found that participants who added grapefruit to their diets lost weight. Those who ate half a grapefruit with meals lost 3.6 pounds and those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice before each meal lost 3.3 pounds.

 

"For years people have talked about the grapefruit diet, and some even swear by it, but now, we have data that grapefruit helps weight loss," Dr. Ken Fujioka, principal researcher, told Medical News Today. "Our study participants maintained their daily eating habits and slightly enhanced their exercise routine; the only dietary change was the intake of grapefruit and grapefruit juice."

 

 

3. Brussels sprouts
 

Brussels sprouts are low in calories — less than 30 calories a serving — but like all cruciferous vegetables, they are high in nutrients that protect us from cancer. They're also low in fat, but high in protein (when compared to other vegetables), although it's not a complete protein. Combining them with a whole grain, though, will provide a complete protein without the calories and fat of meat. Steam quickly and be sure not to overcook, since they will quickly lose both their nutrients and fresh taste.

 

 

4. Pumpkin
 

The bright orange color of low-calorie pumpkins indicates they are a great source of the antioxidant beta-carotene. They are loaded with vitamins C, E, and B-6, as well as fiber, which aids in feeling full and also helps digestion. Love pumpkin pie? Substitute evaporated skim milk for cream, cut the number of eggs in half, and bake in custard dishes. When baking, you can substitute pumpkin for some of the fats, especially in quick breads, such as muffins.

 

 

5. Sweet potatoes
 

Luscious, fat-free sweet potatoes are often ignored, but they pack a powerful nutritional punch for the calories they contain. Their large amounts of carotenoids help stabilize blood-sugar levels, making your body more sensitive to insulin, which aids in weight loss. A 3-ounce potato contains more than 11,500 mcg of carotenoids. The healthful amount of fiber in sweet potatoes helps your tummy feel full.

 

 

6. Broccoli
 

Known as "the little green giant," broccoli is tops in the vegetable world for its nutrients. It's rich in antioxidants and cancer-fighting substances such as quercetin. It also contains fully half the calcium of a slice of cheese — but without the calories and fat. In addition, broccoli contains generous amounts of chromium, a mineral thought to be useful in weight control.

 

Try broccoli in a satisfying low-calorie soup. Studies have shown that eating soup at the beginning of a meal can cut the amount of calories consumed in the rest of the meal by 30 percent. Even when the calories are equal, a meal with soup is better for the waistline than a meal without soup. “People who eat one or more bowls of soup each day lose more weight than those who eat the same number of calories but don’t eat soup,” Dr. Maoshing Ni, a longevity expert, told suite101.com.

 

 

7. Grapes
 

Grapes are bite-sized and portable, which are qualities that make them terrific snacks when you're watching your weight — as long as you don't overdo. A cup of grapes contains only about 75 calories. As a bonus, they're packed with phytonutrients such as catechechins, anthocyanins, and quercetin, which are believed to help fight cancer and cardiovascular disease. According to Livestrong.com, grapes improve metabolism, and contain a natural diuretic that helps reduce water weight.

8. Cranberries
 

Native Americans used cranberries as both food and medicine, and researchers are finding that cranberries contain organic acids that help dissolve fat deposits — an important component of weight loss because fat deposits can be difficult to evict. Some studies indicate that enzymes in cranberries boost metabolism, which can increase weight loss. They even help banish cellulite, according to brainyweighloss.com.

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/headline_health/fat_blasting_fall_foods/2010/11/04/360298.html?s=al&promo_code=B0CF-1

 

Neurologist and psychiatrist Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, found that the scent of cranberries can stimulate the part of the hypothalamus that controls satiety.