There are lots of great choices for low calorie high fiber fruits and vegetables year round but the pickings are best in the summer! If you are on a weight loss diet or would like to simply maintain your weight, filling up on delicious fruits and vegetables is the way to go. The fiber and high water content help keep your hunger at bay.
Although there are dozens of possibilities, I picked ten fruits and vegetables that hopefully are readily available (in the United States). In addition, they are relatively low in energy density yet high in nutrient density (low calorie, packed with nutrients) as well as being a good source of fiber. Nutrient density is particularly important in low calorie diets to help you achieve nutritional balance. This in turn contributes to you having a sense of satisfaction that goes beyond the feeling of fullness.
Whether eaten cooked or raw, the calorie counts are based on the fruit or vegetable as prepared or served without added sauces, sugar, or other added calories.
Vegetables
Broccoli: ½ cup of broccoli provides 3 grams of fiber with a mere 26 calories!
Carrots: ½ cup of carrots has 2.5 grams of fiber with 27 calories.
Sweet Yellow Corn: the equivalent of ½ cup prepared on the cob or sliced off has 2.5 grams of fiber and 65 calories.
Snap Green Beans: ½ cup of cooked snap green beans has 2 grams of fiber and 22 calories.
Edible Podded Peas such as Snow peas and Sugar Snap Peas: ½ cup of cooked pea pods has 2 grams of fiber and 33 calories.
[When watching calories take note that vegetables such as corn with higher starch content (carbohydrates) have more calories.]
Fruits
Blackberries: ½ cup of fresh blackberries provides 4 grams of fiber with only 31 calories!
Raspberries: ½ cup of fresh raspberries yields 4 grams of fiber with only 32 calories!
Blueberries: ½ cup of blueberries has 2 grams of fiber and 42 calories.
Peaches: 1 medium peach provides 2 grams of fiber and 59 calories.
Nectarines: 1 medium nectarine has 2 grams of fiber with 62 calories.
[When it makes sense, do eat the skin and seeds of fruits and vegetables for the most fiber. If you are concerned about possible pesticide residues on the skin you might want to read an article I posted on my Chocolate Veggies site entitled “Risks Associated with Eating Fruits & Vegetables.”]
Keep in mind that even on a 1200-calorie diet, there’s room for several servings of fruits and vegetables. In addition to whole grain breads and cereals, small amounts of lean meat, fish, or poultry and low fat dairy select 2-3 servings of fruits and 2-3 servings of vegetables. On a higher calorie diet choose to include 5 to 9 servings.
If you’d like to read more about the benefits of fiber for weight loss read the article I posted earlier on Dietary Fiber: Can it Help You with Weight Loss?
And for additional ideas on ways to include fiber in your diet more often you’ll want to read High Fiber Diet for Weight Loss
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I was looking at the calories in fruits and was wondering why there’s some discrepancies with the low calorie fruits/veggies and the specific season ones. For example in 1 cup of blackberries it says there are 90 calories. However in the summer season fruits, it says there’s only 31 calories in a half cup of blackberries. I’m just trying to make healthy choices and try calorie counting, etc and wanted to make sure that I’m not under-counting:) Thanks for your help.
Hi Katie,
Where is the reference that says 1 cup of blackberries has 90 calories? If it is on my website it is a mistake and I would like to fix it. Thanks!
A cup of blackberries have approximately twice the estimated calories of 1/2 cup. From the best I can determine 1/2 cup has 31 calories and 1 cup has 62 calories. I believe that refers to the berries as loosely packed.
Lori
Yes under the heading “Low Calorie Fruit: 100 Calories or Less” it has 1 cup of blackberries for 90.
Thank you Nicky and Katie for pointing this out! I’ve now corrected the reference to read 62 calories per cup of blackberries. Really appreciate the help so I can be consistent.
hi, i am 31 years Indian working woman, with a weight 120lb and height 60 inches. need to lose my weight, to attain proper height weight ratio.please give me a proper diet plan.
waiting for your reply
Hi,
Given your height and current age and weight it would seem a 1300 calorie diet would be the best choice for you. You could follow my basic 1200 calorie diet plan if it makes sense for the way you eat in India. Simply add 100 calories of your choice. If you do much exercise you might want to compensate for those calories also. The plan I created is for a basic healthy diet but it was designed with Americans in mind. So my aplogies if it doesn’t fit your circumstances as well.
I wish you the very best,
Lori
Hello. I am 23, male, and need to make a change. I am 6 foot tall and weigh in at 290 pounds. i dont look it, but thats what the scale says. At first i wanted to lose the weight so i could enlist in the military, but after i saw the 290, i want to lose weight so i can be healthy for my kids. I am going to dedicate myself to the 1200 calorie diet with 1 hour strong exercise a day. i am curious what you could tell me about a meal plan or good foods to eat, and foods not to eat. any advise will help me greatly. Thanks for your help
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
I’ll give you my thoughts as best I can. I must be honest that I work primarily with women so I am not as current with my knowledge on weight loss for men.
One thing I can tell you is that 1200 calories is not enough for you to succeed with weight loss. Men need a minimum of 1500-1600 calories to meet nutritional needs. Women are generally advised to not go on a weight loss diet with less than 1200 calories because of the challenge of meeting nutritional needs even so for women who weigh 160 lbs. or more 1200 is not enough.
You want to be sure to have enough calories in your diet to meet your protein needs. Men need significantly more protein than women. Getting enough protein makes it easier to stick with a low calorie diet and helps keep your body from burning lean body tissue such as muscle in an attempt to make up for the missing calories.
Another factor to keep in mind is your basal metabolic needs (BMR). BMR represents the number of calories you need each day to keep your body functioning even while at rest (lungs breathing, heart beating, blood pumping, etc.). The number of calories needed for these basic functions is much more than the number of calories needed for physical activities for the average person. The exception for this might be a very active athlete or someone doing hard physical labor on a job.
I’m sharing this because my quick estimate of your caloric needs to cover your BMR seems to be about 2600 calories. I would advise you to start out with this amount for weight loss. By doing this you will be less likely to hit a plateau and have weight loss slow significantly or stop. Giving your body enough calories to meet your BMR will help to keep your body from thinking you are starving and in turn slowing your metabolism. Slowing your metabolism will make weight loss even harder. As you begin to lose weight you can gradually decrease your caloric intake. But I’m thinking you wouldn’t want to go with less than 2000 calories because of your age and height.
As for the kind of foods to eat I would recommend that you choose lean meats, poultry without skin, fish, low fat or nonfat milk products especially Greek yogurt, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds for a good sources of protein. Then you will want to round out your diet with some whole grains such as oats (oatmeal), brown rice, or whole wheat, lots of vegetables, and some fruit. Some low fat cheese is also good. You’ll find eating these kinds of foods will enhance your weight loss efforts.
As much as possible avoid fried foods, breaded foods, soda pop, white bread, too much pasta, and all manner of sweets (cakes, pies, cookies, candy, etc.) It’s fine to have these foods occasionally as treats and it’s better that you do. If you avoid them completely you may find it too difficult to stay on your diet.
I encourage you to go after your goal of losing weight and being healthier for your family. Good for you! You can do a world of good for yourself and your children by setting a good example. Exercise also helps.
Best of luck,
Lori
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