Spring has sprung, and you know what that means: Strawberries are in season, looking super fine, and tasting even better than they look. 🍓
If you’re working on your fitness, you might be wondering if strawberries can help out with weight loss. After all — they are a fruit and fruit is good for you, right??
Here are all the need-to-know deets about strawberries and weight loss.
Are strawberries good for weight loss?
The short answer? Yes.
While there haven’t been any studies specifically testing whether strawberries help with weight loss, these red berries are low in sugar and calories and high in soluble fiber and antioxidants — making them a great addition to most weight loss diets.
Strawberry nutrition info
Here’s what’s in one cup of fresh strawberries:
| Nutrient | Amount |
| calories | 48 |
| protein | 1 grams (g) |
| fat | 0.45 g |
| total carbs | 11.5 g |
| fiber | 3 g |
| net carbs | 8.5 g |
| potassium | 230 milligrams (mg) |
| vitamin C | 88.2 mg |
With just 48 calories for a whole cup, strawberries are low in calories. They’re also a great source of fiber, relatively low in carbs and sugar compared to other fruits, and loaded with nutrients like potassium and vitamin C.
Benefits of strawberries
There may not be any research directly linking strawberries to weight loss, but there are plenty of ways that they might help out.👇
Low in calories
To lose weight, you’ve gotta create that calorie deficit — which means either eating fewer calories (ugh), exercising more, or a combination of both.
And while eating fewer calories can be hard, it’s a little easier if you practice volume eating — that is, eating larger quantities of nutrient-rich, lower calorie foods to help keep you full. Examples include air-popped popcorn, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, most other nonstarchy veggies… oh, and strawberries.
At just 48 calories for a whole cup, they’re high in volume and low in calories, making them a perfect addition to your weight loss toolbox.
Lower in sugar than other fruits
Strawberries and other berries like blackberries and raspberries are lower in sugar and carbs than most other fruits, making them perfect for low carb diets, including keto. You just can’t go nuts with them, because they do still contain 8.5 grams of net carbs per cup.
Cutting back on added sugars and replacing them with less sugary sweets (like the always delicious strawberry) may help with weight loss by helping stabilize your blood sugar levels and your hunger hormones, reducing “hanger” episodes and food cravings.
Fiber filled
While we wouldn’t go so far as to say that strawberries are loaded with fiber, they do contain 3 grams per cup — which is roughly 10 percent of your daily fiber needs.
Fiber is famous for helping folks poop easier, but research has also found that upping your fiber intake can help reduce body weight without any other changes in your diet.
Fiber also serves as a food source for all the healthy bacteria that reside in your gut. And when these little bugs eat good, they do good.
Having thriving colonies of healthy gut bacteria is linked to better blood sugar control — which can help regulate your appetite — and lead to a healthier metabolism.
Best ways to eat strawberries for weight loss
It’s important to know that strawberries aren’t magical fruits that will miraculously make you lose weight after adding them to your diet. In fact, there’s no food, drink, or supplement that will do that.
However, because of the reasons we listed above, strawberries are a perf addition to a balanced and healthy diet.
The best way to use strawberries as a tool for weight loss is replacing higher calorie foods (sweets, in particular) with strawberries. This is an easy shortcut to reducing your calorie and sugar intake while still satisfying that sweet tooth.
Here are a few tasty, weight loss-friendly ways to use up those strawberries for breakfast, dessert, or a snack:
- strawberry protein shake with vanilla protein powder and unsweetened almond milk
- fresh strawberries sprinkled with a little bit of stevia and topped with whipped cream
- strawberries in plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey
When to avoid strawberries
If you’re on a zero-carb diet like a carnivore, then strawberries aren’t gonna work with your goals — but remember, they are keto-friendly in small amounts.
Additionally, you should avoid various forms of strawberries that are laced with added sugar and calories if you’re trying to lose weight. Some examples…
- dried strawberries
- strawberry syrups, jams, jellies
- chocolate-dipped strawberries (although… yum)
- strawberry cake, toaster pastries, ice cream, etc.
- strawberry flavored candy or sugary drinks
- “strawberry wine, and seventeen…”
tl;dr
There haven’t been any studies directly linking strawberries to weight loss. BUT, strawberries are definitely a solid addition to a healthy diet and a yummy alternative to any sweets with added sugar. They’re low in calories, sugar, and carbs, and they’re a good source of fiber.
Try replacing high calorie sweets with plain strawberries or low calorie strawberry recipes, like a protein shake or strawberries with Greek yogurt.
Remember they’re not a magic weight loss tool, though. Strawberries are a super healthy fruit, but your overall diet and lifestyle is really what matters when it comes to weight loss.
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