13 foods for weight loss

Beans - They’re low in fat, and packed with protein, fibre, and iron – nutrients crucial for building muscle and losing weight.

Frozen berries, grapes or bananas - Frozen fruits are refreshing, satisfying, nutritious – and taste “smooth” like many fat filled desserts.

Apples – Along with strawberries, oranges, peaches and grapefruit, apples contain pectin – a form of fibre that can make you feel fuller for hours.

Oats – These contain soluble fibre which stays in your stomach longer than insoluble fibre. It also works like a bouncer for your stomach, showing trouble makers the door. For example, soluble fibre helps remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from your circulatory system.

Lean meat and fish – The news on protein is the amino acid leucine, found in meat, poultry, fish, is essestial for developing lean muscle mass and regulation hormones that control your appetite and help you burn kilojoules. Aim for two 55-85g serves a day.

Spinach and other green veges – It’s fibre rich, with high water content so it’ll fill your stomach. Pack a sandwich with the stuff, or stir fry it with fresh garlic and olive oil.

Yoghurt – A university of Tennessee, US study found that people who added three serves of yoghurt a day to their diets lost 61 per cent more body fat and 81 per cent more stomach fat over 12 weeks than people who didn’t eat yoghurt.

Olive or flaxseed oil- These cause the stomach to retain food for longer – so drizzle 1 tbls on salads to make them more filling. Monounsaturated oils also help keep your cholesterol in check, by helping lower bad fats(LDL) cholesterol.

Dates or dried mango – These little gems have all the sweetness of lollies, with bonus vitamin C and iron. And because they require more chewing time you’ll eat fewer.

Almonds – Perfect packages of protein, fat and fibre. When dieters followed a 4190Kj-a-day diet for 24 weeks, those who ate almonds lost 18 per cent of their body weight, compared to 11percent lost by people who ate carb-based snacks.

Eggs – Think of them as little protein bombs. Plus they’re a good source of iron, and lecithin, which is critical for brain health (so you can carry on making smart food choices). If you’re worried about cholesterol, leave out a yolk or two.

Wholegrain breads and cereals – You crave carbs because your body needs them – the key is to eat ones that have all their belly-melting fibre intact. Want to know if your cereal is wholegrain? Check the packaging .... wholegrains usually contain at least 2g of fibre per serve.

Low- fat dairy – A university of Tennessee study found that dieters who consumed between 1200 and 1300 milligrams of calcium a day ost nearly twice as much weight as those taking in less calcium.