You are what you eat, and what you eat can determine what you weigh. You may have heard all sorts of things over the internet, like how coffee boosts your metabolism and how low-carb pasta is an excellent alternative when you’re dieting. But what about these food products make them perfect dieting or weight loss?

According to surveys, over 49 percent of people above the age of 20 in the United States expressed interest in losing weight. Determining the right food for your day-to-day consumption is crucial if you want to start losing weight.

Learn about the factors that make certain food suitable for your weight loss goals and discover which tasty food to add to your menu.

Food Factors that Affect Weight Loss

Food has certain features you need to keep in mind if you want to make sure you’re eating the right meals. These features make them valuable allies when you’re trying to shed some pounds, especially when you’re using effective fat reducing techniques.

Three of the most important features of weight-loss friendly food are as follows:

• Enhance Metabolism

Your metabolism is what determines how much you want to eat and how quickly you burn through your energy stores. If you have a slow metabolism, that means you burn your energy slowly but also require less food. When your metabolism is in high gear, you can burn a lot of calories faster, but you will also require a lot of energy to replenish yourself. Food that enhances your metabolism can help you exercise for much longer as well as burn your fat stores.

• Calorie Count

Each food you consume is full of calories, which represent how much energy they have in them. Calories can often be stored in food as sugars or fats. All food has calories, the trick is to determine whether a single serving will be giving you too many calories with too few vitamins and minerals. For example, a bag of potato chips can have hundreds of calories, but they aren’t very filling, which means you will want to eat more food despite all the energy they have. You must learn how to balance the calorie content of food with the quantity you consume if you want to lose weight.

• Sugar Content

Finally, the food’s sugar content can help determine both whether it’s full of calories or if it can help enhance your metabolism. Some foodstuffs may have high sugar content without being sweet. Certain carbohydrates like white bread are metabolized into sugars when eaten. Other food may not say they have a lot of sugar in their ingredients list, but may have a ton of corn syrup, which is much sweeter and contains more calories.

Food Perfect for Burning Fat

Now that you know what food features are better for your weight-loss goals, you should keep a hefty supply of the following foodstuffs in your pantry. These items are great for your body and can help you stay energetic without loading your body with unnecessary fats.

1. Eggs

Eggs are full of nutritional content, from the yolk to the whites. Egg yolks are often avoided because they have high cholesterol, but when eaten whole, eggs can help you stay satiated for hours. If you eat enough eggs for breakfast, you may avoid eating more calories for the rest of the day. Eggs are also full of proteins that can help you increase your metabolism for hours after you eat them, which may help contribute to the feeling of satiation.

2. Olive Oil

Olive oil is full of healthy kinds of fats. Consuming olive oil helps decrease your body’s triglyceride levels as well as increase the release of certain hormones in your body. Because of these properties, a diet that incorporates olive oil helps make you feel full for longer. It can also increase the number of calories you burn in an hour, helping you burn fat for the rest of the day.

3. Lettuce

Sometimes you need to eat a lot of food with only a few calories. This method can help you feel full and eat less while not saturating your body with calories. Lettuce is an ideal addition to your menu because you can use it to make a lot of salad. With the right seasoning, such as vinaigrette, olive oil and other ingredients, you can have a tasty and satisfying meal with fewer calories.

4. Nuts

There are dozens of kinds of nuts, and they’re all full of proteins and healthy fat. When prepared by toasting or air-frying, nuts can give you a lot of calories with only a few handfuls. What’s more, they’re also great if you’re burning fat and building muscle because of their high protein content. When you’re feeling puckish, you may want to eat a small serving of nuts rather than a large and calorie-laden meal instead.

Weight loss shouldn’t mean losing all your favorite food. Understanding what makes some food great for your weight loss efforts and which ones you should always keep in your larder can help you stay satiated while also trimming down.