Last Updated on February 26, 2021

As spring approaches, many people will be trying to lose weight by the tried-and-tested route of eating less and exercising more. But research has shown there are a number of food types that can help or hinder weight loss – with a few surprising discoveries.

Of course there are the usual suspects in the ‘avoid’ camp, which always strikes us as a shame (chocolate for one and takeaways for another) but there are also a few odd entries, such as bananas and avocados. It seems not all fruits are good when it comes to weight loss.

After much extensive research and quite a few eyebrow raises, here is our list of surprising foods that help you lose weight.

The most interesting discovery by far was the foods that actually help weight loss, because some of these would never strike many people as bring particularly great for dieting and certainly irrelevant when it comes to losing excess fat.  Some of them are barely foods at all.

Check out this quirky list of fat-burners:

Peanut butter

This energy-rich power snack surprised us by appearing on the list of ‘must have’ diet foods. Research showed that when dieters experimented with this one when they felt peckish between meals, it really helped to satisfy their hunger.

It turned out that a small snack of peanut butter spread generously on a piece of bread really helps to boost energy levels and abate hunger.

This quick snack can help you last through until dinner-time. As a mid-afternoon snack this gives a strong feeling of satiety, which would help you eat less in the long run. So it turns out that when eaten sparingly, peanut butter is a great food that helps you lose weight.

Surprising Foods That Help You Lose Weight - peanut butter

Dark chocolate

Another high fat treat that makes the list is dark chocolate. We are talking about the 75% minimum cocoa chocolate, not milk or white chocolate. Low-cocoa choc is a dieter’s enemy, while the dark version can actually help with weight loss.

You will probably find that you only need a couple of squares of the dark stuff to feel satisfied, whereas if eating milk chocolate most of us could quite happily eat the whole slab.

The strength and pleasing bitterness of the higher cocoa content satisfies a sweet tooth, so try eating just a square or two after dinner when you feel the desire for a dessert and this should actually stop you craving further sweet food.

Eggs

Eggs used to have a bad rep due to their cholesterol level, however, current advice is that eggs are actually a great idea for weight loss. The human body needs some cholesterol. If we get enough in our diet, by eating eggs for example, the body will simply need to make less itself. So health-wise we’re OK.

As for dieting, eggs are a great option because it actually takes a lot of metabolic energy to digest an egg, while eating protein also boosts the metabolism. So by increasing consumption of eggs we can burn more calories and keep satiated, which prevents us over-eating. Eggs really are a food that helps you lose weight.

Surprising Foods That Help You Lose Weight - Eggs

Grapefruit

Grapefruit kick starts the metabolism and reduces insulin in the bodies, which helps us use calories as energy and store fewer calories as fat.  Whole grapefruit is better than grapefruit juice because the fibre in a real grapefruit keeps you feeling full.

Try adding a half a grapefruit to your breakfast routine and not only should it make you feel good (almost self-righteous) for eating one of your ‘5 a day’ first thing, you will feel super-energetic all morning. And all that extra energy should help you lose even more weight.

Chilli peppers, herbs and spices

Scientists have long claimed that spicy food aids weight loss. Chilli peppers actually oxidise layers of fat in the body, pushing it to use more fat as fuel.

In a similar way, the spice turmeric, often used in curries (ah, that takeaway!) also causes the body to burn more fat and even prevents the regrowth of fat after weight loss.

Surprising Foods That Help You Lose Weight - chilli peppers

Other herbs and spices that can contribute to weight loss include cayenne pepper and coriander, which both increase the body’s ability to burn fat. Cinnamon is another great choice as this tasty spice controls blood sugar and insulin, while ginger and parsley can also be used to reduce the appetite.

You will also find adding lots of herbs and spices makes food much more interesting and flavoursome, which can help you eat less in general as you need less to feel satisfied on a purely taste level.

Try these foods for yourself and let us know how you get on!

Do you have any more tips for foods that help you lose weight? Let us know in the comments.