Very low-calorie density foods 🍎🫑

This category is easy to remember. These are basically all fresh fruits and vegetables.

No surprise there! You can enjoy as much as you like, either on their own or added to other meals to help fill your stomach.

They’re high in water (0 calories, remember?), packed with fiber (which has excellent health benefits), and contain almost no fat (except for avocados, nuts, and seeds).

Great examples: apples, pears, oranges, berries, grapes, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, leafy greens, etc.

What about dried fruit?

Dried fruit is much more calorie-dense because it lacks water. It doesn't take up as much space in your stomach, making it easier to overeat.

Example: Dried apple slices are 5 times as calorie-dense as fresh apples. Eating 100g of dried apples will give you 315 calories, but you’d need to eat about half a kilogram of fresh apples to reach the same 315 calories.

Juices are full of calories

Juices can be tricky—they lack fiber, and liquids don’t fill you up like solid food does, making it easy to consume more calories without realizing it. A glass of orange juice has the same number of calories as a glass of Coke. While healthier, the calories still add up, and if you don't burn them, they’ll be stored as fat.

Beware of nuts

Nuts are healthy, but they are calorie-dense due to their high fat content. Just a handful can easily add over 100 calories to your day. Snacking on nuts can quickly derail your weight loss progress if you're not careful.

Soups

Some soups and broths also fall into this category since they’re mostly water. However, watch out for cream-based or meat-based soups, as they can be high in fat and add more calories than you’d expect.