The 5 Best Weight Loss Foods out of 50 46-50

46-50

This dark, leafy green has a long list of benefits: it's a rich source of iron, folic acid, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, and powerful antioxidants that can help fight diseases like ovarian and breast cancer. Spinach is also loaded with magnesium, which can lower blood sugar and insulin levels (aiding your body in weight loss as a result), according to a 2013 study.

Make spinach the base of a nutrient-packed salad, use it to top pizza, mix into pasta, or sauté on its own with garlic and olive oil.

Like potatoes, sweet potatoes are a great source of slimming resistant starch, which triggers feelings of satiety. But they also boast nutritional benefits all of their own: just one baked sweet potato contains 438% of your daily vitamin A (versus 1% in a white potato), 37% of your daily vitamin C, as well as calcium, potassium, and iron.

They're also low-calorie (about 105 in a medium sweet potato) and contain 4 grams of filling dietary fiber, 16% of the daily recommended amount.

In addition to being low in calories, vinegar might also help prevent weight gain. A 2009 Japanese study found that the acetic acid in vinegar could increase feelings of satiety and prevent the accumulation of body fat.

"Vinegar is not only for salad dressing," says Sass. "Experiment with using it in slaws or chilled vegetable side dishes."

Add this to your list of reasons to drink plenty of H2O: Because the symptoms of hunger are similar to those of dehydration, it's possible for your body to mistake thirst for hunger, tricking you into eating more than you need to.

Drinking enough water can help you stay slim, too. Research from the American Chemical Society in Boston found that having two 8-ounce glasses of water before a meal while also reducing portion sizes could help you lose weight and keep it off. Not to mention, water fills you up, curbing your appetite: "In addition to slightly boosting your metabolism, drinking water before meals has been shown to help you eat less without trying," says Sass.

Going gluten-free may be a popular trend, but unless you're actually gluten-intolerant or have celiac disease, plenty of reasons exist to continue eating whole grains. They're a tasty way to fill up on both soluble and insoluble fiber, which help you feel full for longer and keep bowel movements regular (oats, barley, and bulgur are especially high sources). Whole grains can also help prevent weight gain: in one study, women who ate whole grains like wheat germ and dark bread had a 49% lower risk of "major" weight gain over time.

Whole grains also boast a slew of other enviable health benefits: 2015 research found that older people who eat whole grains could have longer lives. And another study found that women who consumed two to three servings of whole grains everyday were 30% less likely to suffer from a heart attack.

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