7 Vegetarian Weight Loss Foods Your Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet Should Contain by Laura Ng

What weight loss foods should you include in your vegetarian weight loss diet for maximum fat loss? Of all vegetarian weight loss foods, vegetables help you lose weight most effectively, particularly these 7 super vegetables:

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #1 - Kelp

How does kelp help you lose weight? Besides being low in cholesterol, kelp provides your body with good amount of dietary fiber, vitamin C, pantothenic acid, calcium and minerals such as iodine.

Iodine in kelp keeps your thyroid function properly. It stimulates a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that's responsible for boosting metabolism, so you'll burn more fat. If your weight gain is related to thyroid disorder, kelp can help you lose weight. It has also been shown to lower the blood cholesterol levels.

However, seek your doctor's advice before loading on kelp as too much iodine can have a negative effect on your thyroid. Adding kelp moderately in your vegetarian weight loss diet is the key to lose weight optimally with kelp.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #2 - Celery

An 8-inch stalk of celery contains approximately 6 calories. But the mere act of digesting this stalk burns more than 6 calories, resulting in a negative calorie count. In other words, you'll use up more calories from your energy reserve (fat storage) to break down celery, achieving fat loss.

Not only that, celery provides a good source of vitamin C and fiber (as in kelp), and fiber is one key ingredient to help you detox and lose weight more effectively. It contains unique oil that helps to relax your muscles, which improves blood flow and regulates blood pressure. It's especially good for you if you're having hypertension.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #3 - Spinach

Spinach carries lots of fiber which helps you stay full longer and reduce the overall number of calories that you consume each day. You can also benefit from its rich content of vitamin K and calcium which help to prevent or treat osteoporosis and the loss of bone density.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #4 - Cucumber

Cucumber contains sterols which can help to lower cholesterol and prevent carbohydrates from converting to body fat. Filling yet low in calories, it's a great choice in salads. It also helps you digest better and bears a cleansing effect on your bowel. With normal bowel function, you'll lose weight efficiently with less effort.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #5 - Radish

As radish is rich in vitamin C but low in calories, fat and stimulates metabolism, it's popular as a weight loss snack. However, eating too much radishes is very cooling for your body, especially if you already bear a "cool" body constitution, defined in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms.

This means that your immunity to cold and cough could be affected, especially during winter. Thus, eat them in moderation.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #6 - Bean Sprouts

These refer to sprouting from mung beans, alfalfa, lentils, chickpeas and soya beans. Sprouting actually helps to turn the starches, oils and other nutrients in beans to vitamins, enzymes and other forms of proteins, minerals and sugars.

A single helping of fresh sprouted mung beans contains about three quarter of the daily requirement of vitamin C. Sprouting increases the presence of vitamin B in beans, including thiamin, folate, B6 and biotin and produces less intestinal wind when consumed.

How do these vitamins in bean sprouts help you lose weight? They'll nourish your body and keep your body metabolically active. When your metabolism runs at full tank, you'll burn fat and lose weight. Simple logic. Oh, you can buy them at cheap prices too. A cheap weight loss food to add into your vegetarian weight loss diet indeed.

Vegetarian Weight Loss Food #7 - Broccoli

Most vegetables carry lots of fiber that helps you feel full and satisfied easily and sustain your activity over longer period of time, but I highly recommend broccoli here due to its high nutritional value - rich in vitamin C and carotenoids, and also contains protein, all-important B vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, chromium and calcium etc.

You'll lose weight with broccoli when it stops you from eating more food, but you'll also gain health with its antioxidant properties and anti-carcinogenic (cancer-fighting) power. Hence, broccoli is a must-add ingredient in your vegetarian weight loss diet.

No doubt these 7 vegetables can help you lose weight effectively as a vegetarian, you should also include other varieties of plant-based foods to achieve both effective weight loss and excellent health.