In your quest to lose weight, there are a variety of foods that are not only healthy and nutritious, but help your body lose weight naturally and increase your bodys rate of fat loss. Incorporating some or all of these foods into your daily diet will speed up weight loss, burn fat, and help in your search for a better, healthier body.

* Apples and berries contain pectin. Pectin restricts the amount of fat the cells can absorb and forces the cells to discharge fatty deposits.

* Citrus fruits contain high concentrations of Vitamin C. Vitamin C burns fat by diluting or liquefying it. This makes it less effective and easier for the body to flush fat from the system. Vitamin C also helps burn out the cholesterol making it difficult for cholesterol deposits to form in blood vessels.

* Calcium in dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt plays an important role in weight loss by accelerating the fat breakdown in fat cells.

* Broccoli and Cabbage both contain very high quantities of calcium and Vitamin C and are full of fiber!

* Eggs are high in protein and essential in burning fat. If you are concerned about cholesterol, you can eat the white part as that is the most nutritious part of the egg.

* Garlic or garlic oil helps reduce fatty deposits in your bodys cells.

* Green Tea boosts metabolism and may aid in weight loss. It also contains anti-cancer properties and helps prevent heart disease.

* Hot Peppers can speed up your metabolism. This causes you to burn more calories.

* Lean Turkey fires up the bodys fat-burning abilities by boosting metabolism and building lean muscle tissue that, in turn, burns more calories.

* Oatmeal and Whole Grains are great sources of fat-absorbing fiber that keeps the body full by providing it with energy. They also rev up the metabolism, necessary for burning fat and calories.

* Soup is a terrific appetite suppressant. Burn fat faster by having a bowl of soup as an appetizer or a snack. Make your own with lots of fresh veggies.

* Soybeans contain lecithin, a chemical that protects your cells from accumulating fat. Lecithin prevents fat from forming on your cells and breaks down fatty deposits in your body.

* Eat the right type of fats:

Monounsaturated fats lower the risk of heart disease, burn fat, and reduce the bad(LDL) cholesterol, without affecting the good (HDL) cholesterol. These healthy fats can be found in olive oil, avocados and nuts (pecans, peanuts, almonds, and cashews). Omega 3 fatty acids have the same function as the monounsaturated fats and can be found in salmon, sardines, herring, and canola oils.

Dont forget. The first rule of a healthy and nutritious diet is to drink water, lots of water! Water flushes out the system and eliminates harmful toxins. It enables the body to run more efficiently, speeds up metabolism, and makes it easier to lose weight and burn fat. Your body is made up of 70% water and needs a lot of water each day to perform its necessary functions.