Category: Best Picks

In short: The best drinks for weight loss are the ones that replace sugary drinks and add few or no calories. Water tops the list: in a 12-week trial, adults who drank about 2 cups (500 mL) before each meal lost about 2 kg (4.4 lb) more than those on the same diet without it. Sparkling water, unsweetened tea and black coffee follow, then protein-rich drinks such as skim milk and unsweetened soy milk. No drink burns fat on its own; what matters is what it replaces.

This list ranks drink types, not brands, using diet research and USDA nutrition data. Every calorie, protein and caffeine number is calculated from the USDA’s FoodData Central database for a 12-ounce serving (about the size of a can). If you’re looking for whole meals in a glass, see our high-protein smoothies or meal-replacement shakes; for snacks, see our healthy snacks guide. This is general nutrition information; if you have kidney or heart problems, diabetes or are pregnant, ask your clinician how much fluid and caffeine suit you.

Why drinks matter more than you’d think

Calories you drink are easy to miss. In a small crossover study, people given about 450 calories a day as soda didn’t eat less to make up for it, and their weight went up; when the same calories came as jelly beans, they ate less at other times. Larger reviews point the same way: in a 2013 meta-analysis, adults in trials who had sugar-sweetened drinks added to their diet gained 0.85 kg (about 2 lb) more than those who didn’t, and in long-term studies each extra daily serving was linked with weight gain over a year. So the biggest “weight-loss drink” win for most people is a swap: a zero-calorie or protein-rich drink in place of soda, sweet tea, juice or sweetened coffee.

The 10 best drinks for weight loss

How we ordered them, following our foods and drinks method: drinks with evidence for helping weight loss or replacing sugary drinks come first; then fullness and protein for the calories; then calories per serving; then cost and how easy they are to find. Zero-calorie drinks lead because research on liquid calories shows they rarely fill you up the way food does.

What the research says about each

Water. In the Virginia Tech trial, 48 adults aged 55 to 75 followed a reduced-calorie diet; half also drank 500 mL of water before each meal. After 12 weeks the water group had lost about 2 kg more, a 44% greater decline. At the start, a water “preload” cut the calories people ate at a test meal (498 vs 541 calories). It’s a simple, free habit, though this was one small trial in older adults.

Tea and coffee. Both are nearly calorie-free when unsweetened, which makes them excellent swaps. Claims that they “burn fat” are another matter: a Cochrane review of green tea preparations found an average weight difference of just 0.04 kg in trials outside Japan, too small to matter. Caffeine is the other thing to watch. The FDA says about 400 mg a day, roughly two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee, is not generally associated with negative effects for most adults; if you are pregnant, trying to become pregnant or breastfeeding, ask your clinician. Concentrated green tea extract pills are a different product; see our green tea extract page.

Milk, soy milk and kefir. These have calories, so they belong in your daily total, but they also bring 10 to 14 grams of protein per 12 ounces. Protein is the most filling nutrient, and higher-protein diets help people keep muscle while losing weight; our high-protein diet guide and protein calculator explain how much you might aim for. A glass of milk with breakfast or after a walk can replace a sweetened coffee drink or juice.

Diet drinks. The evidence here is mixed, and we rank them last for that reason. A 2022 meta-analysis of 17 trials found that replacing sugary drinks with low- or no-calorie sweetened drinks was linked with 1.06 kg lower weight, a similar direction to switching to water. But the World Health Organization’s 2023 guideline conditionally recommends against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control, saying they don’t provide a long-term benefit in reducing body fat (the guideline does not apply to people with diabetes). A reasonable reading: diet soda can help you step off regular soda, and water is where to land.

A day of better drinks

You don’t need to change every drink at once. Pick the one you have most often, swap it for two weeks and see how it feels. Keeping a filled water bottle in sight, adding citrus, cucumber or mint, and choosing a favorite herbal tea for the evening make the new habit easier. If you track food, log drinks too: their calories are easy to forget.

Drinks to limit

• Regular soda, sweet tea and energy drinks: about 155 to 160 calories and 37 to 38 grams of sugar per 12 ounces of cola or a sugared energy drink, with no protein or fiber.
• Fruit juice: 183 calories and 31 grams of sugar in 12 ounces of orange juice. Whole fruit fills you up more for the same calories; see our most filling foods.
• Alcohol: 153 calories in a 12-ounce regular beer, with no protein or fiber.
• Coffee-shop drinks with syrup, whipped cream or whole milk: check the menu’s calorie count before you order.
• “Detox”, “fat-burning” or “slimming” teas and drinks: no drink causes fat loss on its own, and some products marketed for weight loss have been found to contain hidden drugs. Our fat burners page covers the evidence.

Easy swaps that add up

Small daily swaps can make a real difference to a calorie deficit: 155 calories a day is about 1,085 calories a week. Our calorie calculator estimates your daily needs, and the weight loss calculator shows a realistic timeline. For more ideas on eating and drinking well, visit the nutrition hub or browse the 10 best diets for weight loss.

What a drink can’t do

No drink burns off fat, resets your metabolism or “flushes” weight, despite the marketing. The drinks on this list help in two plain ways: they replace higher-calorie drinks, and some help you feel a little fuller or get more protein. Pair them with filling meals, regular movement such as walking, and enough sleep, and the small changes add up. Weight-loss myths about drinks and more are checked in 12 weight-loss myths science has busted.

In short: The most filling foods for their calories are bulky, watery, high-fiber or high-protein foods: boiled potatoes topped a classic satiety study, broth-based soup before a meal cut total meal calories by 20%, and a big low-calorie salad first cut them by 12%. Greek yogurt, eggs, oatmeal, berries and beans round out a list that helps you eat less without feeling hungry.

This list ranks everyday foods, not products, using satiety research and USDA nutrition data. If you are looking for quick snack ideas by calories and protein, our healthy snacks guide covers that; this page is about which foods keep you full longest, for meals and snacks alike. It is general nutrition information; if you have kidney disease, diabetes, food allergies or a digestive condition, a registered dietitian can tailor it to you.

What makes a food filling

In a 1995 study, researchers fed people 240-calorie portions of 38 common foods and measured how full they felt for two hours, scoring each food against white bread (100%). Boiled potatoes scored 323%, seven times higher than the lowest-scoring food, the croissant (47%). Foods that scored high tended to weigh more per serving and contain more water, fiber and protein, while fattier foods scored lower. People also ate less at the next meal after the more filling foods.

Nutrition researchers, including Barbara Rolls and colleagues, explain the same idea as energy density: calories per gram of food. Foods with few calories per gram (soups, salads, fruit, vegetables) let you eat a satisfying amount for fewer calories. In a year-long trial, women told to eat less fat and more water-rich fruit and vegetables lost 7.9 kg, versus 6.4 kg for those who only cut fat, and reported less hunger, without being given any calorie goal.

The 15 best filling foods, ranked

Calories, protein and fiber below come from USDA FoodData Central for the portion shown. “Energy density” is calories per gram: under 1 is low, which means more food for the calories.

Volume first: potatoes, soup, salad and fruit

The top of the list is about volume. Water and fiber add weight and bulk without adding calories. In the soup study, 60 adults who ate a vegetable soup before lunch, whether chunky, pureed or as broth with vegetables on the side, ate 20% fewer calories at the meal overall. In the salad study, 42 women who ate a large salad with light dressing first ate 12% fewer calories at lunch; when the salad had full-fat dressing and cheese, they ate up to 17% more. The lesson is simple: start meals with something big and low in calories, and watch the toppings.

Protein next: yogurt, eggs, fish and chicken

A 2015 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher-protein meals modestly increase fullness and satiety hormones, though not always how much people eat at the next meal, and suggested about 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal as part of a higher-protein diet. In one trial, women who had a 160-calorie Greek yogurt snack with 24 g of protein asked for dinner later than after a lower-protein yogurt. In another, women with overweight ate less at lunch, and for the next 36 hours, after an egg breakfast than after a bagel breakfast with the same calories. These were small, short studies, so they show how foods feel, not long-term weight loss. Our high-protein diet guide and protein calculator help you set a daily target.

Fiber and crunch: oatmeal, beans, popcorn and almonds

Fiber slows digestion and adds bulk. Oatmeal kept 48 adults fuller over four hours than the same calories of a popular boxed cereal, likely because of its thick oat fiber (beta-glucan). Popcorn is a high-volume snack: six cups of air-popped popcorn (100 kcal) cut hunger more than one cup of potato chips (150 kcal). Almonds are calorie-dense but filling in small amounts; in a four-week trial, people who ate 43 g of almonds a day naturally ate less of other foods and did not gain weight. If you struggle to get enough fiber from food, our page on fiber supplements explains what the research says.

How to build a filling plate

These foods fit any eating pattern on our list of the best diets for weight loss, especially the Mediterranean diet. To see how many calories to aim for, use the calorie calculator (or the macro calculator for protein, carbs and fat), and read our calorie deficit guide for how filling foods make a deficit easier. If you use a protein shake, our list of third-party certified protein powders compares protein per calorie. More food ideas are in the nutrition hub.

What filling foods can’t do

Satiety studies mostly measure fullness over hours, not weight over months, so these foods help by making a calorie deficit easier, not by “burning fat” or changing your metabolism. No single food causes weight loss on its own, and how you cook a food matters as much as the food: fried potatoes, cream soups and heavy dressings undo most of the benefit. The satiety index tested 240-calorie portions, so a bigger portion of any food is still more calories.