If I am going to lose weight and keep it off one thing I know I must do is change my eating habits. This was proven to me when I started the South Beach Diet last fall. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks just by changing what I ate – sweeet!

After doing a little bit of research I found some natural fat burning foods. These foods are said to contain special properties that give you energy and help your body melt away unhealthy pounds – AND they give your body the extra metabolic kick that it needs to shave off weight quickly. Now who doesn’t like the sound of that?

If you eat the right foods you can consume 1,500-1,800 calories per day and still lose weight without endangering your health.

Here are 10 fat burning foods that have been known to promote weight loss and at the same time are rich in nutrients.

Apples - They elevate your blood glucose (sugar) levels leaving you feeling satisfied longer, say researchers. They are also one of the richest sources of soluble fiber in the grocery store.

Beans – If you want to lose weight fast be sure to add this fat burning food to your diet. Beans are one of the best sources of plant protein. Most common beans have 215 calories per cooked cup (lima beans go up to 260). They have the most protein with the least fat of any food, and they’re high in potassium but low in sodium.

Grapefruit - Helps to dissolve fat and cholesterol. An average sized grapefruit has 74 calories, delivers a whopping 15 grams of pectin (the special fiber linked to lowering cholesterol and fat), is high in vitamin C and potassium and is free of fat and sodium.

Berries - This is the perfect weight-loss food. Berries have natural fructose sugar that satisfies your longing for sweets and enough fiber so you absorb fewer calories that you eat.

Broccoli – Delivers a staggering nutritional payload and is considered the number one cancer-fighting vegetable. It has no fat, loads of fiber, cancer fighting chemicals called indoles, carotene, 21 times the RDA of vitamin C and calcium.

Cabbage – There are only 33 calories in a cup of cooked shredded cabbage, and it retains all its nutritional goodness no matter how long you cook it. Eating cabbage raw (18 calories per shredded cup), cooked, as sauerkraut (27 calories per drained cup) or coleslaw (calories depend on dressing) only once a week is enough to protect against colon cancer.

Carrots – A medium-sized carrot carries about 55 calories and is a nutritional powerhouse. The orange color comes from beta carotene, a powerful cancer-preventing nutrient (provitamin A).

Cottage Cheese - As long as we’re talking about losing weight and fat burning foods, I had to mention cottage cheese. Low-fat (2%) cottage cheese has 205 calories per cup and is admirably low in fat, while providing respectable amounts of calcium and the B vitamin riboflavin.

Figs – Fiber-rich figs are low in calories at 37 per medium (2.25” diameter) raw fig and 48 per dried fig. A recent study by the USDA demonstrated that they contribute to a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating. Subjects actually complained of being asked to eat too much food when fed a diet containing more figs than a similar diet with an identical number of calories.

Fish – The health benefits of fish are greater than experts imagined – and they’ve always considered it a health food. The calorie count in the average four-ounce serving of a deep-sea fish runs from a low of 90 calories in abalone to a high of 236 in herring. Water-packed tuna, for example, has 154 calories. It’s hard to gain weight eating seafood.

Bonus: Only use Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – it’s mostly made of monosaturated fats, which are the ‘good’ fats that your body needs.

If you have fat burning food ideas please share in the comments below!

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