Watermelon: A Perfect Weight Loss Food!

July 4, 2012

First question: who doesn’t love diving into a juicy, crisp, slice of watermelon when it’s toasty outside?
It’s probably the most refreshing fruit one can think of and a great friend when it comes to fight the heat. But watermelon does much more than that as it is one of the most recommended fruits when it comes to weight loss. To the point that some dietitians have created a “watermelon diet”.

Why is it good for weight loss

Watermelon is considered a “high volume food”. High volume foods have a large amounts of air, water and fiber and, conversely, a low calorie count.
Watermelon is made up of almost 92% water, this alone helps curbing your appetite and increases your feeling of satiety.
To put it simply, high volume foods “take up space” for very few calories.
Watermelon weight loss properties are also connected to the fact that one cup scores only 50 calories (one of the reasons why it is recommended by the American Council on Exercise).
Also, since watermelon is pretty sweet (especially if ripe) it can be used as replacement for desserts, especially if you have a “sweet tooth” and you’re prone to binge on sweets.
In other words, if you replace watermelon for food higher in calories, sugars and fats, you will lower your caloric intake but not to detriment of your nutritional requirements. For instance if you eat 100 calories of sliced watermelon (roughly 2 cups) instead of a 500 calories ice-cream sundae you will eliminate 400, with just one simple substitution.

Watermelon is full of nutrients

But watermelon goes well beyond filling you up, as it is packed with many vitamins and minerals.
It’s particularly rich in potassium and vitamins A, C and B6 and it’s a very good source of the antioxidant lycopene.
Thus, eating watermelon while you’re on a low-calorie diet will help you make sure you get enough of certain key nutrients.
Watermelon flesh, being exceptionally nutritious, has no cholesterol and virtually no fat (almost none of which is saturated).
Needless to say it, since watermelon is rich in H2O it’s a perfect way to get your body perfectly hydrated during warm summer months.

Watermelon seeds

If you’re not one of those picky eaters that removes all seeds before eating watermelon you’ll be happy to know that watermelon seeds have a whole array of health benefits. Ok, we’re not talking about the next miracle food but they’re high in aminoacids (especially arginine), B vitamins and magnesium. So, think twice before discarding them...


Watermelon has many health benefits, and it’s also delicious and cheap (even in New York!)...so many reasons to eat it!

The Iron You


  1. I love watermelon- and it is SUPER filling. This post is great!
    Now I wonder... does dehydrated watermelon contain more sugar? That is one of my favorite things in the world (have you tried it?).

    1. I love dehydrated watermelon, it's so yummy!
      The amount of sugar contained in dehydrated watermelon is the same of fresh watermelon but since there's no more water nor air it's much more concentrated hence you can feel it much more. Also, with dehydrated foods the high volume food trick does not work... :-)