As far as I'm aware, the idea of foods which speed up metabolism is unfounded. There are lots of ways in which you can focus on eating healthfully that are proven to be useful, such as eating more fresh vegetables, so I'd go for that instead.
Almonds are great things, but don't go too crazy with them as they are high in calories and particularly fat. A sprinkle of almonds in a stir-fry is healthy, but eating several handfuls of almonds as snacks is likely to cause trouble with the weight loss.
Chilli - yep, it has its health benefits, but also its risks. If you get any gastro-intestinal problems, then you're eating too much. A small amount may be useful if you're suffering the chilliness that affects so many dieters. Personally I've been treating that with ginger capsules as I don't get on with chilli, but I think chilli would work as well, they're both circulatory stimulants.
Here's my personal weight loss plan, in case any of the ideas are useful. I'm calorie-counting, vegan, eating a wholefoods diet, and due to being small and inactive am only on 1100 calories, so most people will be eating more than this.
Breakfast - porridge, made with oats, a couple of chopped dates, soya milk, and a tablespoon of protein powder. I'm perfectly happy with the plain oats-and-soya-milk version, I've just been told by my doctor to eat a higher-protein diet for medical reasons.
Lunch - soup and/or salad. A stand-alone salad will usually involve a small tin of chick peas or similar as well as the veg. If it's a Western-type soup, I will usually have it with a slice of wholemeal bread with almond butter or houmous, and sometimes a side salad, say of cucumber and tomato. About half the time I make myself fresh miso soup with red rice (any rice will do, wholegrain is better), tofu and vegetables. Miso is another purported metabolism booster, and I do notice that I feel a lot warmer after eating it and may even break out in a sweat, but to be honest I reckon that the benefit here is that all of these lunches are low in calories.
Supper - my usual style of meal, e.g. stir-fry and rice, pasta with vegetable sauce.
Snacks - fruit, especially smallish satsumas or strawberries, rice cakes, occasional very small pieces of dark chocolate, that sort of thing.
I'm an evening person and get gradually more hungry throughout the day, so a light but sustaining lunch works well for me. It also means that my partner (who isn't dieting) and I can eat supper together.
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