Losing weight can be a difficult task especially when you start getting hunger pangs and want to reach for your favorite junk food. Snacking can make or break your diet if you reach for the wrong foods, but there is one solution which will keep you losing weight while satisfying your hunger. The answer? Dried fruit!
Now, not just ANY dried fruit isn't going to cut it. In fact, Dr. Kevin Soden of Realage.com shared that the best ones to eat happen to be …
Prunes! Why exactly are prunes the best dried fruits to eat when trying to lose weight? Well, prunes are perfect for those who want to get their sweet fix, but not sabotage their diet.
A study was done on 45 volunteers by feeding some a midmorning snack of white bread and cheese. Those who had prunes along with the white bread and cheese consumed 6 percent less calories when they had lunch. This is because prunes contain twice as much fiber, which means digestion takes longer, you eat slower, and your insulin levels remain steady since the rate of sugar absorbed by the body also takes longer to process.
I love adding dried fruit to my yogurts, oatmeal, or as a snack, but I never considered that one could be better than the other. In fact, I never really ate prunes since I considered them "old people" food (I know, that sounds horrible!) and something that helped with bouts of constipation. Turns out this miracle dried fruit does more than that!
So if you're doing well on your diet and fitness plan but are left feeling starved, why not give prunes a chance? Not only will you stay fuller longer, but it will help curb those cravings you get for those not-so-good-for-you foods. You may be hesitant about adding this special dried fruit to your diet now, but if you start now, the sooner the results will show in your clothes and on the scale!
Images via kharied/Flickr; dalvenjah/Flickr
