Best Foods for Dieters

Dieting can be downright difficult, especially if your diet includes foods you don't  enjoy. After all, how much cabbage soup can a person stand? The good news is that there are thousands of diet foods that are taste great,healthy, , and can help  you stick to your weight loss plan  .

 Visit any grocery store to witness the explosion of lower-calorie, lower-fat, or portion-controlled options.

Here are just a few of the best foods for dieters

1. Calorie-Controlled Snacks.

 Plenty of consumers are buying the 100-calorie (more or less) snack packs of everything from chips to cupcakes, but are they really the answer for weight loss?

Carolyn O'Neil, RD, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous,

 likes calorie-controlled packages because they eliminate the chance for mindless overeating. "Foods packaged in 100-calorie packs do the work and calorie math for you so you can enjoy snacking on foods that need to be enjoyed in limited amounts," she says.

Quaker Mini Delights (90 calories) and Hostess 100-calorie cupcakes are among the more addictive options.

But Lona Sandon, MEd, RD, says that though these snacks can satisfy a sweet tooth, "many of them won't fill you up for very long, and can't replace a more nutritious snack."

Sandon suggests checking the ingredient list and nutrition  facts on the package. "Look for products that offer some nutritious benefits, such as ones that contain less than 3 grams fat, less than 140 milligrams sodium, 15 grams or less sugar, and are made from whole grain with about 2 to 3 grams fiber and about 7 grams protein," says Sandon, assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

2. Healthier Fast Food.

 Fast food restaurants don't have to spell disaster for dieters. 

Try Quiznos' Flatbread Sammies without cheese or dressing (all less than 250 calories,except the Italiano) or a small Honey Bourbon Chicken sub (275 calories); Taco Bell's Fresco-style items (less than 180 calories); McDonald's Southwest salad with grilled chicken (290 calories without dressing); or any of Subway's subs with 6 grams of fat or less (230-380 calories).

3. Low-Fat and Fat-Free Dairy Products.

 Milk, yogurt (solid, frozen, and drinkable), cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese are available in lower-fat varieties that offer both healthy nutrients and great taste. Laughing Cow light cheese has only 35 calories per individually wrapped wedge, and Yoplait Fiber One nonfat yogurt combines yogurt crunchy cereal for a fiber boost and only 50-80 calories per 4 oz. cup.

Fat-free half-and-half is a suitable substitute for heavy cream with a fraction of the calories.

 And lower-fat and fat-free cream cheese and sour cream can easily pitch-hit for their fattier counterparts, particularly in recipes.