Let's talk about foods to lose weight. There are certain foods that boost metabolic rate and encourage your body to burn calories and melt away stored fat to leave you slim, healthy and fit.

While you can find a more extensive list of 38 different foods to lose weight on our website, here are some of the 10 top recommendations by many nutritionists and fitness experts.

1. Choose foods which are rich in calories. Eat smaller quantities of dishes like soups, salads and smoothies that help lose weight. They package nutrients densely and the calorie concentration helps weight loss.

2. Include food with a high fiber content. Eat raw vegetables and fruits that not only have nutrients, minerals, vitamins and enzymes but are also rich in fiber. The fiber content slows down absorption of sugar, which in turn influences insulin metabolism and reduces fat deposition.

3. Avoid starch-rich food. Whole grain, pasta and foodstuffs rich in carbs are best avoided if you intend to lose weight. The only exception is when you eat following a weight loss workout, when replenishing calories is important.

4. Limit portion size. Weight loss means eating the right kinds of food to lose weight, but also restricting the quantity of each of them. Small portion sizes naturally ensure that you won't over indulge in the wrong kinds of food. Make it your choice to stop eating well before you feel stuffed.

5. Don't eat too little. This only leaves you hungry and tempts you to indulge in an unhealthy snack in between meals. Tight calorie restriction also pushes your body into starvation mode. It then tends to preserve fat stores, and burns off protein from muscles for energy instead. This is not at all desirable.

6. Add food supplements to your diet. Omega 3 fatty acids, minerals, enzymes and vitamins can supplement your regular meals and boost metabolism while increasing satiety. By suppressing hunger pangs, they can aid weight loss by avoiding snacks.

7. Intermittent fasting is the new kid on the block. Combined with foods to lose weight, the process of not eating for 12 to 16 hours every day can speed up weight loss. Forcing you to cram eating into a 8 to 10 hour window has the added advantage of limiting overall calorie intake.

8. Prefer coffee or tea over soda and sugary drinks. As they have caffeine and polyphenols, these drinks can help raise your metabolic rate and lose weight. They ward off hunger and increase the likelihood that your body will burn fat for energy. Limit yourself to 2-3 cups without added sugar.

9. Lower fat consumption. There is still some controversy over low fat diets, but there's broad consensus that eating less fat helps weight loss. Foods to lose weight are often those with low-fat content anyway. Choosing the right types of food automatically imposes a limit on how much fat you'll consume.

10. Watch out for hidden calories. There are many additives and preservatives in food that you eat every day that is rich in empty calories. Foods to lose weight have almost no concealed calories. Make it a habit to check food labels for any evidence of hidden calories.

There are many more foods to lose weight and also other pitfalls to guard against. If you take a little care to think about what you eat, you'll be able to lose weight in a safe, healthy and lasting way.

learn my recommended way to lose weight