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You don’t have to subject yourself to eating bland foods just because you’re on a diet and trying to lose weight. There are plenty of healthy, diet-approved foods you can eat every day and still stay on track to shed those stubborn pounds.
Not sure which foods you should be eating to help boost your metabolism? Here are five healthy metabolism-boosting foods that fitness experts swear by:
Healthy Foods To Eat While On A Diet
1. Tart Cherries
“Research shows that when we don’t get enough sleep and we feel tired, we crave more high-calorie foods. We’re probably also less active because we’re tired,” tells Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, a nutrition and diabetes expert, to Reader's Digest. “I generally recommend that people consume the tart cherries—fresh, dried, or in juice—within two or three hours before bed.”
2. Brown Rice
"People can burn up to 100 more calories a day when they eat whole grains versus fluffy white ones,” says Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD, a nutritionist based in New York City, which is why she recommends swapping refined carbs for brown rice.
3. Salmon
Salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which Irene Munro, study author and researcher from the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, Australia, notes are excellent for boosting the metabolism and supporting a healthy body. "Although the exact mechanisms are unknown, omega-3 fatty acids reduce fat mass,” she tells Reader's Digest.
4. Apples
Apples are rich in flavonoids, a natural chemical in plant foods that researchers have found to have a fat-burning effect. “Animal studies have shown that these flavonoids can increase energy [calorie] expenditure, increase glucose uptake into muscle, and increase fat burning,” says Laura Hughes, MSc, the study’s lead investigator and a nutritional epidemiologist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
5. Eggs
Eggs are great for weight loss because they're nutrient-dense and high in protein. Donald K. Layman, Ph.D., the Journal of Nutrition study’s lead researcher, explains that their protein count also "dampens hunger better than carbohydrates do."
