Most vegetables are going to be helpful when it comes to weight loss. After all, most vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. You need to get a good mixture of them into your diet. But, what about broccoli? What does broccoli bring to the table? Is broccoli good for weight loss, or should you opt for some other vegetable?
Yes. Broccoli is fantastic for weight loss. Not only is the calorie count low, but broccoli is packed to the brim with all sorts of awesome nutrients. This includes fiber, calcium, and vitamin K. Anybody that gets more broccoli into their diet is only going to end up benefitting.
Let’s go into a bit more depth on this. We are excited to tell you more about broccoli and the benefit that it can have on your health.
Why Is Broccoli Good For Weight Loss?
Broccoli is full of all sorts of wonderful benefits. There is evidence that it can reduce cancer. There is evidence that it can reduce heart problems. There is even evidence that it can reduce inflammation in the body. We aren’t going to talk about any of those benefits here. Instead, we want to focus purely on the benefits when it comes to weight loss.
Low In Calories
If you are serious about your weight loss, then you will probably be thinking heavily about your calories. After all, everybody knows that the secret to weight loss is burning more calories than you are taking in, right? Of course, you can’t just eat nothing. You have to consume something. You still need nutrients. Broccoli packs a real punch on that front without going overboard on calories.
A single medium stalk of broccoli contains around 45 calories. This is about 5oz of broccoli. This means that you get a decent amount of food without all of the calories. Mix some broccoli into your dishes and you will be bulking it up without the food becoming too unhealthy.
When you are losing weight, broccoli is the exact type of vegetable that you want to be getting into your diet.
Rich In Fiber
Fiber is one of the most important nutrients when it comes to weight loss. There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, many of those people that are looking to lose weight will have been overweight at some point, maybe teetering on the edge of being obese. While that poses several problems in itself, it also leads to an increase in the amount of bad cholesterol in your body. Bad cholesterol leads to severe heart issues, high blood pressure, etc.
Fiber can help to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in your body (known as LDL). It essentially stops it from being absorbed into the bloodstream and is gently escorted out of the body.
This isn’t the only benefit of fiber, though! Fiber is also bulky. If you eat something that is high in fiber, your stomach becomes fuller. This means that you want to eat a lot less. As a result, those eating broccoli will want to eat less. This means that there is less of a desire to overload your dishes or snack. This, ultimately, reduces calorie intake.
High In Calcium And Vitamin K
In most cases, calcium and vitamin K are not going to have an impact when it comes to your weight loss. However, they are still necessary. You see, calcium and vitamin K are fantastic for bone health. While you are improving the rest of your body, broccoli is also going to be giving your bones a little bit of a strength boost. This can help to prevent joint issues in the future.
If you are going through serious weight loss (i.e. you started very obese) then the calcium and vitamin K is going to be very important. Your bones are weaker. When you exercise, you are going to be putting a lot of pressure on those bones. Study after study has shown this. As you lose weight, your bones are changing in density (bones get bigger the larger you are!), and this happens at a rapid rate. They need all of the tools possible to ensure that they can keep up with your weight loss.
How To Cook Broccoli For Weight Loss?
It doesn’t really matter how you cook broccoli for weight loss. The vast majority of people will bake it, though. When you bake, it tends to have a little bit more of a pleasant flavor. That’s not to say that you can’t boil broccoli for weight loss. You can, but there is a reason why some people aren’t fans of it!
If you aren’t a huge fan of the taste of broccoli, then you don’t have to eat it ‘straight’. You can mix it into soups, healthy pies, etc. It is a pretty versatile vegetable.
We do want to steer you clear of frying the broccoli, though. Frying adds oil into the mix which is high in calories. While there are healthy ways to fry food, you still have to think about that calorie boost.
A Little On Calorie Deficits
Remember, at the end of the day, weight loss is all about taking in a lower number of calories than you burn. That really is the secret to weight loss. In theory, you could eat whatever you want as long as you create a deficit in calories.
Still, we suggest that you think long and hard about what you eat. Calorie intake is not the be-all and end-all. While it will help you to lose weight by limiting the number of calories, you do still need to think about what is going into your body. 100g of broccoli would be better than 100g of cake because broccoli contains much more essential nutrients.
Conclusion
Broccoli is tremendous for weight loss. Not only is it low in calories, but it comes jam-packed with a whole host of health benefits. Try and incorporate broccoli into your diet today. It shouldn’t be too difficult. It is cheap and easy to cook.
