Foods to Make You Lose Weight on Your Legs

You can't spot reduce, or lose fat from only one chosen area of the body. You can, however, lose weight from your legs if you lose weight all over. Follow a reduced-calorie diet to lose weight from your entire body, and part of the weight loss will be from your legs. Perform toning exercises, such as squats and thigh lifts, to improve the appearance of your legs.

Fruits

To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than your body uses. Fruits are a good choice because they are low-calorie but full of water and fiber, so they fill you up. You can have a larger portion size of fruit for fewer calories than many other snacks. For instance, a 1-ounce snack-sized bag of corn chips has the same number of calories as a small apple or a cup of whole strawberries. Add blueberries to your breakfast cereal. Top whole grain waffles with raspberries. Snack on whole or cubed fruit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 2 cups of fruit per day for someone who consumes 2,000 calories a day.

Vegetables

Vegetables are also filling but low-calorie. Substitute some spinach, onions or mushrooms for one of the eggs or half of the cheese in your breakfast omelet. Remove some of the meat and cheese from your sandwich and substitute vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers or onions. Prepare pasta or rice with vegetables. Make sure that vegetables take up the largest portion of your dinner plate. Snack on raw baby carrots with light ranch dressings. If you consume 2,000 calories a day, you should eat at least 2.5 cups of vegetables.

Whole Grains

Whole grains haven't had their bran and germ stripped during the milling process, so they are good sources of filling fiber. Eat high-fiber breakfast cereals, such as oatmeal or bran flakes. Choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread. Select whole grain bagels instead of those made with refined flour. Swap white rice for kasha, brown rice, wild rice or bulgur. Prepare soups, stews, casseroles and salads with wild rice or barley. Try to choose grain products with at least 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Look for foods that bear the Whole Grain stamp.

Lean Proteins

Choose lean forms of meat and poultry. When purchasing beef, choose round, chuck, sirloin or tenderloin cuts. Select beef that is labeled "Choice" or "Select" instead of "Prime," which usually contains more fat. Look for beef that is 90 percent or higher lean meat. Lean pork or lamb includes tenderloin, loin chops or leg. The leanest poultry is skinless white meat from the breast. When buying ground poultry, choose ground breast meat or select low-fat ground chicken or turkey. Trim any visible fat from meat and poultry. Western Michigan University recommends eating less 3 oz. of meat per serving, which is about the size of a deck of cards. Alternatively, get your protein from other low-fat foods, such as beans and legumes.