The Best (And Easiest) Superfoods for Weight Loss

Eating superfoods can make losing weight easy and a lot more enjoyable! But a lot of them are strange and expensive and generally not suited to the tastes, budgets, and lifestyles of anyone other than a health nut. So here is my list of the top superfoods for college students and fitness beginners to eat:

Apples have antioxidants that can help you cut down on belly fat. Also, studies have found that people who snack on apples before meals eat less than with any other snack!

Eggs are known for being bad for diets, but the opposite is true. Their protein will keep you full and kill your appetite. Go for egg whites when possible, but don't be scared of the yolk!

Salmon is another superfood that controls insulin with its omega-3 fatty acids. Stock up and try it on the grill, baked with vegestables, or even make burgers with it.

Blueberries may be the best type of berry to eat, with the highest antioxidant content and over 3.5g of fibre in a cup.

Small but powerful!

Chiles are one of the most flavourful (and hot!) ways to trim down! Chiles contain capsaicin which instantly revs up your metabolism and causes you to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat it, studies show. Try finding ways to add fresh chiles to your dishes to get the most out of them.

I burn calories and your tongue.

Avacados are known to be high in fat, but also to be extremely healthy. Both are true! The key is that avacadoes contain monounsaturated fat which is good for your heart and also helps you feel fuller longer. Do watch your portions though. Use avacadoes as a spread on sandwiches or make a healthy guacamole to use as a dip.

Olive oil is just like avacado in that it contains healthy fat that keep you feeling ful.. It should be your staple oil if it isn't already. The easiest way to get your fix is simply to cook with it! Also drizzle salads with it for extra benefit.

I'll keep you from reaching for a snack later!

Brown rice is extremely filling yet low in calories. Ditch white rice for it whenever possible to easily slim down. It also contains a special type of starch named resistant starch which is a metabolism booster and fat burner.

The 3 Best Potato Chip Replacements

I don't know about you, but I tend to get snacky when I study. The smaller meals I'm eating these days coupled with the dry boredom of textbooks always does me in. But what to eat? I eat fruit, veggies, yogurt, and granola bars, but I always miss eating chips. I just crave something salty and crunchy! But I certainly don't want to stuff my face with notoriously unhealthy fried, processed potatoes.

So I took a trup down my grocery aisle and discovered these yummy, satisfying snacks. Just remember: Follow the portion sizes or you can easily eat way too much and defeat the purpose.

Ritz Chips are Ritz crackers redesignd to be more crunchy and chip-like. They come in flavours like cheddar and sour cream and onion, and at 150 calories per 30g serving and 5g of fat (half that in a serving of Lay's potato chips!) they're definitely a great choice.

Special K Cracker Chips are pretty new to the market. My mom bought a box. They don't have quite the same crunch as a chip, but the taste definitely more than makes up for it. And they're 110 calories for a generous 27-cracker portion, so I'm definitely going to keep these in my cupboard!

No one I know likes Triscuit, but I love them! They might be an acquired taste, but they're definitely worth a try. They come in a range of interesting flavours, like Rosemary & Olive Oil and Roasted Tomato & Olive Oil. They're around 120 calories and 4g of fat per serving.

African Mango Complete

My mom is constantly on a crusade to get me to lose weight. She asked me if I wanted diet pills - I obviously balked at the idea - but she is went ahead anyway and presented me with a bottle of pills the next week anyway. The bottle said "African Mango Complete". I figured, "Oh, why not try it?" - but only after reading the bottle and pamphlet and some research online. All-natural ingredients, blahblah, nothing chemical or strange (well, relatively) in it.

Will these actually work?

The main ingredient in this is African Mango, or Irvingia gabonensis extract. It also has psyllium husk, red clover powder, artichoke leaf extract, and dandelion root extract, all of which togethere supposedly form a potent mixture that claim to burn body fat, control appetite, increase energy, cleanse, detoxify, and lower cholesterol. "Lose 25 lbs. in as little as 4 weeks!" is the bottle's claim.

You take two pills a day, one in morning and one in evening. I read on the Internet to take it before meals, so I took mine a half hour before meals when I could. The main things of the laundry list of claims I'm concerned with are losing body fat and supressing appetite. I've tried these for a few days, and I have to say when it comes to suppressing appetite and my cravings they actually seem to work. I have a terrible sweet tooth, but my sugar cravings are pretty much nonexistant when I take these, and my appetite does seem lower. I really only feel like eating when I'm actually hungry.

Of course, I've only taken these a few days, so I won't make any claims about them yet, except for the few observations I just made. Maybe I'm feeling a placebo effect. I'll update in a few weeks to give my full opinion on these.