In general, all the foods shown on this page make great diet foods. Every food listed in this chart is a Filling food, meaning it helps you feel full more quickly and help you stay fuller longer, which helps you eat less and thus lose weight.

However, if you are trying to cut calories as low as possible then you should aim for the foods higher up in the chart (the lowest CD foods). The "Free Unlimited" foods column are foods you can eat anytime and in practically unlimited amounts. The Very Low CD (very low calorie density) column could be considered "almost free" foods meaning there is little to worry about but it's possible to go overboard. The Low CD column foods are similar in that you can eat until you are full, they are just slightly more calorie dense.

See Magic Meals for instructions on how to assemble an ideal meal or a daily diet in conjunction with this chart. Important: A Magic Meal contains protein. If you only eat the lowest CD foods and skip the protein you will likely have more problems with hunger.

Note About Carbohydrates: Truly whole grain (especially if you can see the grain, meaning it is not ground into flour) has been shown to be filling due to the high fiber content. Oatmeal is especially filling. But carbohydrates can still be a tricky category. If you're not certain, you may want to avoid the Grains and Cereals category below. See Control Carb Intake to help you decide.

	"Free" Unlimited	Very Low CD	Low CD	Filling	High Fiber	High Protein
Leafy Greens: Lettuce, spinach, other	x	x	x	x	x
Very Low CD (fibrous) Vegetables: Celery, cucumber, tomato, onion, pepper, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, bell peppers, raw carrots, squash, others.	x	x	x	x	x
Very Low CD Fruit: Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc) Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc) Peaches, oranges, apples, grapefruit, pears	x	x	x	x	x
Very Low CD Dairy: Fat-free, sugar-free yogurt (regular or Greek) Fat-free cottage cheese or fat-free cheese Egg whites		x	x	x		x
Very Low CD Soup: Vegetarian vegetable soup, tomato soup (prepared w/water or skim milk), chicken noodle soup, chicken broth		x	x	x
Smoothies If properly prepared (see Smoothies)		x	x	x	x
Starchy vegetables Peas, corn, beets, yams		x	x	x	x
Other Fruit Grapes, bananas Unsweetened apple sauce		x	x	x	x
Legumes, Tubers Beans (black, kidney, pinto, lima, etc) Lentils Potatoes (sweet, baked, boiled)			x	x	x	x
Low CD Soup: Clam chowder (w/milk or fat-free half & half) Split pea soup Beef stew Almost any other soup			x	x
Low CD Dairy: Low-fat yogurt (regular or Greek, fruit only; no added sugar) Low-fat cottage cheese			x	x		x
Extra Lean Proteins White-fleshed fish (tilapia, etc), albacore tuna Shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab) Turkey breast, skinless Protein powder (low-carb or sugar free)			x	x		x
Oatmeal (cooked; limit added sugars, use low-fat milk)			x	x	x
Lean Proteins Chicken breast, skinless Extra lean red meats (ham, beef) Beef jerky (no added carbs)				x		x
Fatty Proteins Salmon, tuna, catfish, bass, herring, etc Lamb, pork, ham, etc Regular beef Whole Eggs Cheese Nuts				x		x
Whole Grains Rice (white or brown) Quinoa Wheat berries / Cracked wheat cereal				x	x
Cereal, Whole Grain Flour Whole grain bread All-bran cereal (with low-fat milk) Shredded Wheat (with low-fat milk) Brown pasta (whole wheat)				x	x

Drinks

Dressings, Sauces

Seasonings

Snacks

Water
Calorie-free drinks
Broth
Vegetable juice
Skim milk, 1% milk

"Free" Choices:

Soy sauce, salsa, mustard, sugar-free syrup, fat-free dressing

Good Choices:

Ketchup, light sour cream, low-fat gravy, low-fat or fat-free dressings, tomato-based pasta sauce

Any - salt, pepper, herbs, spices

Popcorn (if low fat/low butter) is Low CD and surprisingly filling due to fiber and air content