Avocados have become a more popular fruitin modern cuisine not only due to tendencies but because they hold a lot of nutritional value. If you’ve been planning on going on a diet, here’s how to eat avocados for weight loss.
Avocados’ features make them different from other fruits – that is why they are so valuable in weight loss processes. Adding avocado to your recipes, substituting some ingredients with avocado, and using avocado to control your calorie intake are excellent ways to eat avocado for weight loss.
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Nutritional Facts
Avocados are great for your health because they provide a lot of vitamins. On a 2000 calories reference diet, the equivalent to one avocado with 201g contains Vitamin A (6% of the daily value, or DV), Vitamin C (33% of DV), Vitamin E (21% of DV), and Vitamin K (53% of DV). Moreover, they are rich in fiber (making up 54% of DV on 201g), potassium and copper. (1)
The avocado is very high in fat, however, it doesn’t just contain any fat. The majority of the fat in avocado is oleic acid, that is, monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are known for reducing bad cholesterol levels in your blood – lowering, thus, your risk of heart disease and stroke – and for providing nutrients to help develop and maintain your body’s cells. Monounsaturated fats are present in products such as olive oil, canola oil, nuts, and seeds. Regardless of the above-mentioned benefits, you should keep in mind that it’s fat, and, like all fats, it contains 9 calories per gram. (2)
How to eat avocados for weight loss
The ingestion of avocados results in a lot of benefits, as we’ve seen. From a vast selection of vitamins to advantageous fatty content, it’s becoming impossible not to run to the supermarket to buy some.
On top of the nutritional value, avocados are great for losing weight. They are high in fiber and very low in carbs – two attributes that promote weight loss as well. Its ability to lower cholesterol, suppress appetite, and even spot-reduce belly fat makes it a mandatory choice in coming up with a diet plan.
One more beneficial aspect of avocados is that it can boost your metabolism and exercise endurance. Studies show that avocados provide the same energy boost as pre-workout supplements. The help it gives you in exercising results in weight loss by burning calories and boosting your metabolism.
Nonetheless, one avocado, weighing 201g, has 322 calories. Despite its amazing nutritional value, avocados are still high in calories, so eat them in moderation as part of a healthy, reduced-calorie diet. If you eat too many of them, you may end up gaining weight.
To benefit from the features of avocados, you just have to know how to eat avocados for weight loss. There are a few directions you can follow that will help you.
Include avocado in your recipes
Avocados are incredibly delicious and their creamy, rich texture and nutty flavor go with many types of food. You can add them to salads and various recipes or simply eat them plain with a spoon.
Avocados can also help you lessen your appetite. Because the avocado is rich in fat, it can make you feel satiated for longer, meaning you won’t feel the urge to snack. Including avocado in your daily dishes may help you naturally eat fewer calories. You don’t have to ingest a whole avocado to squash your appetite – not even half an avocado. Studies show that people who ingest a few slices of avocado or a spoon of guacamole feel more satiety.
Tip: the nutrients in avocado can oxidize and turn brown soon after fleshing it, so add lemon juice to slow down this process.
Swap unhealthier ingredients in your meal for avocado
Imagine your favorite recipes. Now imagine the ingredients that make you think twice before you just give yourself to the pleasure of eating it. Now swap those bad ingredients for avocado. Researchers say swapping less healthy oils for varieties like avocado oil that are rich in monounsaturated and oleic fatty acids can prevent metabolic issues that might compromise your weight loss and even your health.
But besides swapping oil, there are a lot of ingredients you can take from recipes and include avocado in their place, or reinvent a whole recipe and include avocado. Just let your imagination go free and see to which delicacies it takes you!
Use avocado as a substitute for snack foods
Whenever you’re at home watching a movie, reading a book or listening to music, and you feel the urge to bite something that will harm your diet plan, lock eyes with the avocado instead. Besides being delicious, it will make you feel satiated for longer.
Diet Plan
You’re committed to losing weight and avocados seem like a good tool.
Losing weight is tricky. Different bodies require different diets, therefore, if you’re not completely familiar with your body and how it functions, you should first talk to your doctor or a nutritionist to be evaluated. If you’re comfortable with creating your diet plan, here are some suggestions of dishes for your daily meals. Alternate between these different recipes for each meal throughout the week and see that extra weight flying away.
Breakfast
Smoothies
A great way to start your day is with a delicious avocado smoothie.
Click here to get some of our smoothie ideas. Smoothies are easy to make and you can be inventive, so you can just take the recipe for your favorite smoothie and add a quarter or a half of an avocado.
Scrambled eggs with avocado
Scrambled eggs are a great way to start the day as well. There’s a whole variety of options when cooking scrambled eggs, be it scrambled eggs with toasted whole-wheat bread, scrambled eggs with creamy light cheese or – just what we want – scrambled eggs with avocado.
Enrich your morning by cooking a delightful bowl of scrambled eggs and avocado.
Take a look at this recipe by The Iron You for inspiration, but keep in mind that you can always transform it by altering ingredients until you fall in love with your healthy morning dish!
Avocado toasts
This one is very much known by all of us. The beauty of avocado toasts is that you can add just about anything. You can make a simple avocado toast or you can give it your best and make a not only great-looking toast but, most importantly, an amazingly-tasting toast.
Check out our suggestions for avocado toasts here and enjoy your tasty breakfast!
Lunch
Avocado pasta
Pasta dishes are undoubtedly delicious, but also very caloric when drenched in sauce or dressing. The avocado pasta dish is an excellent alternative. You just have to boil the pasta, add the avocado dressing, and it’s done! It’s easy, healthy and tasty.
Click here to see out the recipe for avocado and tuna pasta.
Grilled cheese with avocado
In need of a quick and easy lunch? It doesn’t have to be unhealthy! We are all familiar with the good, old grilled cheese. Two slices of bread, cheese, and put in the sandwich toaster. How about you add some avocado to it? We promise it will taste amazing, it helps you feel satiated for longer, and it’s good for you.
Bean salad with avocado
Beans are a nutritious base for salads. Avocado adds a nice contrast of texture as well as smooth flavor. Stir a chopped avocado into your favorite bean salad.
In case you’re not familiar with bean salads or are in a search for something different, take a look at our avocado grapefruit salad and enjoy!
Dinner
Soup with avocado
When it comes to soup, there are millions of recipes you can work with, which is great because soup is can be incredibly healthy and easy to prepare.
Grab your favorite soup recipes, add avocado to them, and you’ll have a great dinner.
Take a look at this recipe of tomato, avocado, mushroom, and corn soup by This Rawsome Vegan Life for inspiration, and then start making your soup with your preferred ingredients.
Fish with avocado
Fish is a great option for dinner: it’s light, healthy, and has a lot of vitamins. You can choose any fish – codfish, sea bass, tuna, or salmon – and just add avocado. Grilled fish with avocado is, to us, the best combination there could be.
Check out this simple yet delicious recipe of grilled fish with avocado and herb salad by Eat Well as a starter point and get your creativeness going!
Desserts / Having friends over
When on special occasions, like having friends or family over, we can help you find a way to go around the fatty foods and provide recipes that make everyone eat healthy and delicious food.
Offer your guest delicious snacks with avocado instead of the typical pastries. Take a look at our recipes of avocado chocolate cookies and avocado chocolate brownies.
To avoid the old oily French fries, try avocado French fries as a snack or to serve with fish, meat, or vegetarian/vegan options as well. Check out this recipe by Tasty to get you started.
For dessert, try this mouthwatering avocado cheesecake. It will definitely make your guests very happy.
