When you can feel the chill in the air and stockings are finally out, when cozy blankets are all you need and sweater-weather is knocking your door, you know that it's officially the soup season. As winters come in there is no space for mocktails and soft drinks on the table but the celebrations call upon for a steaming hot bowl of soup. One appetizer which is not just a treat to your taste buds but comes along with plenty of health benefits. From being creamy and tangy to being blunt and light, soup can come in all types. Where this appetizer is not just beneficial for boosting up your immune system and hydrating your body but can also be an effective weight loss technique. Who knew that your favourite winter appetizer can actually help you to lose weight? Here’s the catch, not ever soup will help you to shed those extra inches and some can actually contribute increased weight. In order to keep you healthy, your taste buds happy and your weight under control, here we have 5 soup habits that one must adapt in order to lose and manage weight this season. Get on this joyous steamy ride these chilli winters and get to know about the trick to make the best soups for weight loss.
#1. Texture
If you are someone who has been drinking up their soups from a cup instead of eating them in a bowl then you might be doing it all wrong. Drinking on the puree style soup requires no chewing and hence provides no satisfaction which leaves a person to be hungry. Moreover while preparing this kind of soup, the vegetable leftovers are thrown away which are a rich source of fiber. Cutting on the consumption of this fiber will make you gain weight instead of losing it and hence drinking up the soup puree is not going to help you in your weight loss journey.
Image Credits- Martha Steward
Also Read: 7 Reasons Why You Should Have Tomato Soup In Winters
If you are looking at soups in order to help you out with shedding those extra inches then do add some texture to your soup. When we talk about texture we do not mean those fried bread crumbs and croutons but the vegines. Adding in vegetables such as beans, carrots and other lean proteins will increase your protein and fiber intake, add in more nutrition to your soup and will keep you full and satisfied for long. Doing so will help in cutting down your snacking and binging episodes which will lead to less calorie intake and hence aid the weight loss process.
#2. From Creamy to Clear
Love topping your soup with a spoon full of cream, butter cubes and cheese? Well you surely gotta quit doing that and switch from consuming creamy soups to the clear ones. The creamy soups are high in sodium, calories and saturated fats which eventually lead to increasing weight. Add in that cheese, cream and butter are not going to help you in losing weight at all but contribute to excessive fat deposition. In order to stay fit and lose some weight, one must turn towards clear broth soups. These soups are low in calories, high in nutrition and eventually help you in staying on track of your weight loss goal along with providing enough energy to your body.
#3. Chose high Protein Soup
For years people have been gulping down that protein powder either with milk, water or sometimes even by means of dry scooping. To your surprise, one would not require those expensive synthetic powders to get the adequate levels of protein as soups can help. Many people often make a mistake of going for low protein soups such as tomato soup to satisfy their taste buds. Opting for high protein soups such as the chicken soup, bean soup, lentil soup or chickpea stew.
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These protein rich soups are low in calories and are also satisfying. These high protein soups help make you feel fuller for long and hence keeps you satisfied. Protein intake also helps in preserving the lean body mass during the periods of calorie deficit. It also helps in increasing the thermic effects of the food and due to which it takes a little energy to break down the food and hence helps in losing weight.
#4. Non-starchy vegetables
Low in calories, high in antioxidants, rich in nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, these non-starchy vegetables are noy just good for weight loss but your overall health as well. Food items rich in starch such as potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and squash are known to increase a person’s weight. As the starch gets digested quickly, it makes your glucose levels spike up. This hence makes you hungry soon after having a meal which results in overeating. With overeating being one of the most common causes of weight gain, it is important to include vegetables which have low levels of starch in them so that the process of digestion will go on for a bit longer and will keep you full and satisfied.
#5. Limit soup consumption
Where eating soup is a healthy habit and can help in weight loss, overdoing it can actually have reverse effects.
Also Read: Soups For Weight Loss: These 3 Vegetable Soup Recipes Can Help You Cut The Belly Fat
Consuming soup for almost every meal by thinking it is a healthy habit can lead to various health issues. Soup is a food item that is known to be sodium laded. As by eating soup for every other meal you are consuming so much sodium which eventually results in cardiovascular diseases, stomach cancer, kidney stones and high blood pressure.
That's not it but consumption of large amounts of sodium makes the water hold onto in our body which results in bloating, puffiness and weight gain.
