7 Foods You Need in Your Diet to Lose Weight Without Hunger

The mechanics of weight loss are pretty simple: Eat less and move more to create the kilocalorie deficit that forces your body to use stored body fat for fuel.

However, despite this apparent simplicity, losing weight is seldom easy, and many people struggle to shed those unwanted pounds and keep them off.

In fact, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), only 11% of dieters are successful (1). The remaining 89% either fail to reach their goal weight or regain the weight they lost in 12 months or less.

There are several reasons for this low success rate, including following an unsustainable diet and trying to lose weight too fast. I also think that most dieters focus too much on what they can’t eat and forget all about the foods they can consume in abundance.

This creates a very negative mindset and thinking about what you can’t eat invariably leads to feelings of deprivation and cravings.

Revealed: The Most Common Weight-Loss Mistakes That Nearly Every Dieter Makes

I’m a veteran personal trainer and it’s my job to help people lose weight and keep it off. In my experience, the key to effective weight loss is creating a diet that is both sustainable and enjoyable.

In this article, I share a list of seven foods that should be included in every weight loss diet. Building your meals around these foods will make it much easier to lose weight and keep it off.

What’s So Great About These Foods?

There are dozens if not hundreds of so-called diet foods. However, some are decidedly better than others. Being low in kilocalories is not enough; diet-friendly foods also need one or several of the following positive characteristics:

High in Protein

Protein is the unsung hero of weight loss and fat burning. Foods that are high in protein are filling and eating them causes a small but welcome increase in your metabolic rate. Those same foods also help stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels.

Numerous studies indicate that high-protein diets are better for weight loss than those that are low in protein (2). Consequently, high-protein foods are very helpful for losing weight and keeping it off.  

Related: Protein Calculator: Find Your Daily Protein Intake

High in Fiber

Fiber is often missing from the modern diet. That’s because most people eat a lot of ultra-processed foods, which contain very little of this critical nutrient. Like protein, fiber is very filling. However, despite its bulk, it’s also entirely free from kilocalories, so you can eat large portions of most high-fiber foods without derailing your diet.

Studies indicate that high-fiber foods are very helpful for weight loss (3). They are also incredibly good for digestive function, blood lipid profile, and heart health. We obtain fiber from plant foods, especially those that are unprocessed.

Related: Fiber Calculator: Find Your Daily Fiber Intake

High in Essential Nutrients

Most diets focus too much on kilocalories and ignore your body’s need for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other nutrients. While kilocalories ARE important, your body cannot function correctly if it is starved of essential nutrients.

Just because a food is deemed to be diet-friendly doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Invariably, eating for better health naturally leads to weight loss, and many of the foods that are good for your health are also good for your waistline.

Availability, Versatility, Cookability, and Enjoyability

Some diet-friendly foods are boring to eat, hard to cook, or difficult to obtain. And yet, despite these obvious drawbacks, a lot of diet designers include such foods in their weight loss eating plans.

Needless to say, this is why so many of them fail!

So, you won’t find any exotic or nasty-tasting foods on my list of weight loss staples. Instead, they’re foods you can buy in most grocery stores that can be prepared in a few different ways so you can easily create tasty, varied meals.

Seven Foods to Include in Your Weight Loss Diet

Whether you want to lose a few pounds, shift your post-birth baby weight, or get shredded for the summer, these are the foods you need to eat to make your next diet as successful as possible.

Don’t like some of them? That’s okay – none of them are compulsory. Just build your meals around the ones you do enjoy, paying attention to portion sizes and your total daily kilocalorie intake.

1. Eggs

Eggs are a bodybuilding staple. However, they’re also an incredibly useful weight loss food.

Packed with protein, eggs provide plenty of the amino acids you need to gain and retain muscle. Their high healthy fat content also helps keep you feeling fuller for longer.

You can buy eggs relatively cheaply from even the most basic grocery store, and they can be cooked in numerous ways, including scrambled, poached, fried, and boiled.

Related: Eggcellent Nutrition Tips: Healthiest Ways to Eat Eggs

Yes, eggs DO contain fat, which is mostly found in the yolks which explains why a lot of people just eat the whites. However, that fat is mostly healthy, and the yolks are where the majority of the nutrients are found. Plain egg whites also taste very bland compared to whole eggs.

Suggested Serving Size: 2-3 whole eggs or 4-5 egg whites plus 1-2 yolks.

2. Fibrous Vegetables

Whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, or omnivore, veggies should make up a large part of almost every meal you eat. In fact, in my experience, the more vegetables a person eats, the more likely they are to be lean and healthy.

Related: The Best Vegetables for Building Muscle

Vegetables contain all the nutrients you need to be healthy, are low in calories, and contain plenty of satiating fiber. There is no need to discriminate between vegetables, as almost all of them can aid you during your weight loss journey.

However, here’s a list of 20 particularly useful varieties:

Artichoke	Brussels Sprouts	Eggplant	Turnips
Asparagus	Carrots	Green Beans	Zucchini
Beets	Cauliflower	Kale	Leeks
Bell Peppers	Celery	Spinach	Radishes
Broccoli	Collard Greens	Swiss Chard	Onion

Suggested Serving Size: Include a large handful of 2-3 different fibrous veggies in most main meals.

3. Greek Yogurt

Desserts are off the menu on most diets. However, creamy and delicious Greek yogurt is very weight-loss friendly. Greek yogurt contains protein and gut-friendly probiotics and can be eaten straight from the pot or used instead of high-calorie cream to make delicious dips and sauces.

Related: Greek Yogurt – The Perfect Bodybuilding Snack

While you can buy low-fat and fat-free Greek yogurt, they often contain added sugar and are best avoided. In addition, beware of “Greek style” yogurt, which is not as healthy as the real thing.

Suggested Serving Size: ½ to 1 cup served with a little honey for sweetness. Alternatively, use as an alternative to cream, butter, and other high-calorie ingredients.

4. Fish

Like eggs, fish is another excellent source of protein and healthy fats. While not to everyone’s taste, fish is an awesome weight-loss food that provides a great alternative to meat.

Fish is generally easy to cook, but you may need to learn how to clean and de-scale some varieties. That said, you can buy prepared fish fillets – both fresh and frozen – which will save you a lot of time and effort.

Related: Fish Protein Calculator

Fish can be cooked in numerous ways, including grilling, poaching, baking, and shallow frying However, it’s best to avoid fish cooked in batter or breadcrumbs as it tends to be much higher in kilocalories.

There are lots of tasty varieties of fish, but some of the best include:

1. Cod
2. Flounder
3. Haddock
4. Halibut
5. Mahi-Mahi
6. Salmon
7. Sardines
8. Sole
9. Tilapia
10. Trout

Suggested Serving Size: 150 to 250 grams (5.3 to 8.8 ounces).

5. Potatoes

A lot of dieters avoid potatoes and other root vegetables because they believe they’re fattening. However, it’s not the humble spud that’s the problem but the way they are prepared.

100 grams/3.5 ounces of plain potato contains just 77 kilocalories. In comparison, the same amount of French fries contains a whopping 312 kilocalories.

Related: Which is Better: White Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes?

Potatoes are high in satiating fiber and are a good source of several essential nutrients, not least vitamins C, B3, B6, potassium, iron, and magnesium. They’re also cheap and can be cooked in a variety of ways. Just remember not to add fattening ingredients to your potatoes if you’re eating for weight loss.

Good potato preparation methods include:

• Baking
• Boiling
• Mashing
• Steaming
• Roasting

Suggested Serving Size: 150 to 200 grams (5.3 to 7 ounces) of plain potatoes as an accompaniment to a source of protein and servings of fibrous vegetables.

6. Chicken, Turkey, and Lean Meats

Chicken, turkey, and lean meats are very helpful weight-loss foods. They’re high in satiating protein but low in fat, so their kilocalorie content is relatively low. They can all be cooked in a variety of ways, and they’re tasty, too.

Related: Turkey vs. Chicken: Uncovering the Healthier Choice

Of course, some people prefer not to eat animal-based foods, and that’s fine. However, not eating poultry and meat can make it hard (but not impossible) to get enough protein for muscle building.

Related: Best Vegan Bodybuilding Meal Plan for Bulking and Cutting

The trick to making chicken, lean beef, etc. as weight loss-friendly as possible is to avoid adding fattening ingredients, such as butter and cream-based sauces. Instead, plain grilled meat and poultry provide metabolism-boosting protein without excess kilocalories. Season with herbs and spices to add an extra layer of flavor to your meals.

Suggested Serving Size: 150 to 250 grams (5.3 to 8.8 ounces).

7. Whole Grains

Dieters are often told to limit their intake of grains and grain-based foods. This is because many of them are very high in kilocalories, e.g., most breakfast cereals, cookies, cakes, cereal bars, bread, etc.

However, while some of these foods will impede weight loss, the grains from which they’re made are actually very weight-loss friendly.

As is often the case, it’s what’s added that makes them problematic.

Whole grains are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and generally low in kilocalories when served in their unprocessed form. Some, like teff and quinoa, contain an abundance of protein. They’re also cheap, versatile, and easy to cook, making them perfect weight-loss foods.  

There are lots of whole grains to choose from but some of the best include:

1. Amaranth
2. Barley
3. Brown Rice
4. Buckwheat
5. Bulgur
6. Farro
7. Freekeh
8. Millet
9. Oats
10. Quinoa
11. Sorghum
12. Teff

Suggested Serving Size: 150 to 200 grams (5.3 to 7 ounces) of cooked whole grains as an accompaniment to a source of protein and servings of fibrous vegetables.

Closing Thoughts

While this article is titled “Seven Foods You Need in Your Diet to Lose Weight Without Hunger,” it actually contains nearly 50 diet-friendly foods that will help prevent hunger. Each one is widely available, easy to cook, and can be prepared in several different ways.

Between them, they provide an almost endless variety of diet-friendly meals. Add some herbs and spices and the taste possibilities are never-ending – you won’t need to eat the same meal twice!

Eating for weight loss need never be boring or unhealthy. Build your diet around these foods and your diet will be as enjoyable as it is effective.

Related: Fix your Diet in Six Weeks

References:

1. Martin, C. B., Herrick, K. A., Sarafrazi, N., & Ogden, C. L. (2018). *Attempts to lose weight among adults in the United States, 2013–2016*. NCHS Data Brief, no. 313. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved January 8, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db313.htm
2. Soenen S, Martens EA, Hochstenbach-Waelen A, Lemmens SG, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Normal protein intake is required for body weight loss and weight maintenance, and elevated protein intake for additional preservation of resting energy expenditure and fat-free mass. J Nutr. 2013 May;143(5):591-6. doi: 10.3945/jn.112.167593. Epub 2013 Feb 27. PMID: 23446962.
3. Miketinas DC, Bray GA, Beyl RA, Ryan DH, Sacks FM, Champagne CM. Fiber Intake Predicts Weight Loss and Dietary Adherence in Adults Consuming Calorie-Restricted Diets: The POUNDS Lost (Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies) Study. J Nutr. 2019 Oct 1;149(10):1742-1748. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz117. PMID: 31174214; PMCID: PMC6768815.

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