Incorporating fish into your diet can be a balanced and nutritious approach to supporting overall health, regardless of your specific goals. Fish is a versatile protein source that can be included in meals to help with muscle gain, weight maintenance, or weight loss. The best fish for weight loss reveals a shocking truth: not all fish are created equal. Many tasty fish exist and are ideal for weight loss journeys. However, some fish might leave the scale stagnant when in excess.
However, low-calorie fish isn’t the only consideration for weight loss. The best fish for weight loss includes healthy options and a few considerations, depending on what you mean by healthy. Ultimately, the best fish for weight loss will follow the evidence to support the best diet interventions for weight loss.
Understanding Weight Loss Fundamentals
Before diving into specific types of fish, it's crucial to understand the fundamental principles of weight loss. The Seoul National University Bundang Hospital reviewed over 90 studies to discover the optimal conditions and diet strategies for weight loss (37). Various studies on keto, Mediterranean, and other diets indicated similar conditions that promote weight loss. However, low-fat and low-carb calorie intakes showed the most promise across studies. Various reviews confirm the low-fat, low-carb, and high-protein but low-calorie, was the golden weight loss ticket.
The Role of Exercise
Fortunately, the Mayo Clinic suggests 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts weekly, with two strength training days as a general guideline (26). Exercise for weight loss is up to you. Reasons why BetterMe is a safe bet: a wide range of calorie-blasting workouts, finger-licking recipes, 24/7 support, challenges that’ll keep you on your best game, and that just scratches the surface! BetterMe app will provide you with a host of fat-frying fitness routines that’ll scare the extra pounds away and turn your body into a masterpiece! Get your life moving in the right direction with BetterMe!
Protein and Fat Burning: What the Science Says
A critical review by Harvard didn’t find enough evidence to suggest that high-protein meals could help burn fat (46). However, omega-3 in fatty fish is often the epitome of studies related to burning tough visceral belly fat. The argument isn’t over yet. A later study in Turkey on 40 overweight individuals revealed that omega-3 PUFA combined with a weight-loss diet reduced abdominal fat (45). However, it may help to burn fat with a proper weight loss plan. Keep in mind, you can’t target weight loss to specific areas.
Read also: The Ultimate Guide to Male Diet Supplements
Cooking Methods and Nutritional Value
The cooking method used with fish also determines the nutritional values. Let’s use salmon as an example of how cooking methods alter the nutrients within fish. Grilled salmon has more calories and higher fat because you add fat like oils or butter when preparing it. This can suit the higher omega-3 portions. Farmed versus wild-caught fish also differ in nutrients. Wild-caught salmon is lower in calories, fat, and protein for low-fat diets, whereas farmed salmon has higher calories, fat, and protein suitable for higher-fat, higher-protein diets.
Best Fish Options for Weight Loss
Let’s look at the best fish for weight loss for different people, including white fish, frozen fish, and the ultimate fish. Let’s discover fish or seafood you could use from frozen, focusing on lower calories. Also, take note of the specified cooking methods for some seafood macros. Always prepare fish the way specifically mentioned in these tables to get the same macros per serving.
Fatty Fish for Dinner
Muscle gain becomes possible with high-protein food. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) states that protein is essential for muscle growth and repair (30). Fatty fish are better for dinner because of the omega-3 fatty acids. More evidence is necessary to confirm whether omega-3 or fatty fish can improve sleep. However, let’s look at the fatty fish with more omega-3 PUFA.
Top Choices for Low-Calorie Diets
Flounder and sole are the best fish for weight loss in the world if you want low-calorie and low-fat fish to eat on a diet (14). The top 10 fish to eat for weight loss include the fish shared in tables with 110 or fewer calories, no carbs, and less than two grams of fat per serving.
Delicious and Healthy Recipes
Sizzle Fish has a delicious air-fried halibut recipe using olive oil to increase fat content (1). The smoked paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper with lemon wedges sounds tasty with halibut. Feel Good Foodie has an incredible salmon recipe for an air fryer (2). It only has one gram of carbs per serving but gives you an enormous 34 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat. Daily Yum inspires this mouth-watering, low-fat, and low-calorie COD air fryer recipe (4). The recipe only counts the macros per fish serving, without any side dishes. All Recipes has a simple recipe for broiling haddock for a low-fat and low-calorie option (42). The recipe adds the garlic, butter, and lemon combo, ideal for most fish recipes. Finally, Eating Well has a shrimp recipe with cauliflower rice, avocado, and vegetables for a complete meal (43). The carbs seem higher, but the fiber content brings the net carbs to only 18 grams.
Read also: Meal replacement guide for women
Mercury Levels in Fish: A Word of Caution
Some fish contain high amounts of mercury, which you should avoid. A 2003 study at the California Pacific Medical Center examined mercury levels in 123 patients consuming 30 different types of fish (31). Meanwhile, a 2023 Polish analysis found that tuna, particularly yellowfin tuna and bluefin tuna, had the highest levels of mercury in marine fish (3). The same study found the lowest marine mercury levels in Atlantic salmon and brown trout for freshwater fish. A Norwegian study found dangerously high mercury levels in older Atlantic orange roughy fish but lower levels in younger specimens (6).
Frozen Fish Stick Taste Test: A Detailed Review
Breaded seafood from the freezer section is a dinner staple in many households-not because it’s necessarily healthy, of course, but because it’s easy. It’s quick to prepare, and it typically doesn’t garner many complaints from the little ones. In my house growing up, our marine-based meal of choice was always popcorn shrimp, a dinner my sisters and I would gobble down on Monday nights right before heading to dance class. However, I had much less exposure to fried fish. My mom would occasionally swing by Long John Silver’s for a few pieces of either pollock or cod, which she would generously douse in vinegar-a controversial choice among other members of the household. So, I was able to approach this fishy taste test with fresh eyes.
Diving right in, I rounded up six different brands of fish sticks from my local supermarkets. I also went bold and decided to use my air fryer to cook them up. As I began my assessment, I did have a few standards that needed to be met for each stick. Even with my limited experience, I knew that each one needed to include noticeably real-looking white fish. More often than not, this ended up being pollock. The batter or breading also needed to be nice and crisp with at least a little bit of added flavor but not overwhelming to the star of the show. And that’s it.
Seize the Bay Fish Sticks
If you’re throwing a neighborhood fish fry, Seize the Bay is a name you’ll want to know. The brand’s fish sticks come in a massive four-pound bag that holds an estimated 128 pieces, or enough to feed a whale and then some. And yes, I did diligently look for a more manageable size, but to no avail. Each stick is breaded and inside is a minced medley of pollock, sole, cod, haddock, and whiting.
- The Look: Light and definitely small. These sticks are so skinny that I was wondering how any fish at all could be stuffed inside of them.
- The Taste: All of my preconceived notions and fears unfortunately turned out to be correct. As I bit into the first stick, I could hardly discern the breading from the fish. Both are the same color-a muted brown-and feature the same mushy texture. I would have guessed this to be more of a fish paste or whipped fish than anything else. And, the seafood essence is so faint that the smell is more intense than the taste. I will refrain from being wasteful and tossing these in the trash.
Gorton's Fish Sticks
The Gorton’s fisherman is a familiar face in the frozen aisle, always dressed in his yellow raincoat while he braves the weather and steers his boat. The brand covers every category of fried seafood imaginable from butterfly fish to clams. Minced Alaska pollock is the fish of choice for these classics, and it’s always 100% real as well as wild-caught. I bought a one-pound bag containing about 45 sticks for $7.39-only to come home and realize I already had a bag harbored in the back of my freezer from long ago.
Read also: Chlorine Brand Comparison
- The Look: Squared off and inconsistently sized. The shape reminds me of a fried zucchini stick. I was half expecting a green vegetable to come oozing out. Some sticks are also much skinnier than others, causing a bit of uneven cooking. The breading developed into a promising shade of brown, though.
- The Taste: Rigid, dry, and flavorless. I felt like I was munching on each bite for an eternity and there were no flavors to enjoy during that time whatsoever. The pollock was hardly noticeable stuck between copious amounts of breading. But, it too had an undesirable consistency. Since it is minced, it ended up too compact and gummy.
Captain Findus Fish Sticks
As opposed to Gorton’s, Captain Findus is not a name I was familiar with. And, I almost missed the brand’s dainty blue box altogether as I scouted out my local Giant Eagle’s seafood section. It turns out the captain is owned by U.K.-based Norman Foods, one of Europe’s largest frozen food companies which also owns BirdsEye. Under the Findus line, you can find battered, breaded, and baked fish.
- The Look: Wide and rectangular. This is the fish stick shape and look. It’s the first contender that offers more fish than breading and is also the first that is not minced.
- The Taste: The fish is more squishy than flakey, and a few spots even look raw. I also came across gray spots throughout the flesh, which really hindered my appetite. I wondered if I just received a bad batch. Since the bread crumbs came in a thinner layer, it was less snappy than other fish sticks, but was still tasteful.
Van de Kamp's Fish Sticks
Breaded fish, whether it be fillets, sticks, or sandwich patties, is Van de Kamp’s specialty. It’s all the company knows and it takes great pride in its line of work. Over 95% of its seafood, which includes haddock, pollock, and flounder, is wild-caught. Wild-caught minced pollock is what happens to be inside the Van de Kamp’s Fish Sticks. The original sticks come in quantities of 18, 44, or 60, and there is additionally a Jumbo Fish Sticks option.
- The Look: Puny. In fact, these may be even smaller than Seize the Bay’s. I now understand why a total of six whole fish sticks makes up a serving.
- The Taste: First-class crunchy breading, but not enough fish. The crust-which is made of up all the usual suspects like wheat flour, soybean oil, salt, yeast, and cornstarch-is spot on. It has the right amount of flavor with some garlic, onion powder, and paprika thrown in and creates the perfect crackle with each bite. The fish, however, is mediocre at best, and there’s simply not enough. Maybe the jumbo-sized sticks would have been a better choice.
Trident Seafoods PubHouse Battered Alaska Cod
Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States. Its products are stocked at supermarkets all across the country. But, during my grocery adventure featuring multiple stops, all I found was the brand’s PubHouse Battered Alaska Cod at my local Target. Maybe Columbus, Ohio, just isn’t a big seafood hub and market (not surprising). The fish slices are made from whole cod fillets and are the first in this taste test that are battered versus breaded-a small detail which makes a big difference in terms of looks and taste.
- The Look: Smooth outside and flaky inside. Each piece is more of a triangular shape than the elongated design shown on the packaging. They are not crumby and coarse like the others, but have a polished exterior from the batter.
- The Taste: A melt-in-your-mouth pairing of both batter and fish. The fillet felt almost silky on my tongue and remained juicy even after spending some time in the air fryer. Its flavor notes were mild and not abrasively fishy. I didn’t pick up on the sweetness that sometimes accompanies cod, unfortunately, but I don’t think it was even needed. Moving on though, I think I may have enjoyed the glazing of batter even more than the fish itself. It had a bit of a cracker-like flavor (similar to Ritz) and gave off a light crunch while also being quite moist.
Orca Bay Gluten-Free Battered Fish Fillets
After discovering the Findus brand, I additionally fished these fillets out of my local Giant Eagle’s freezers. These fish fillets actually take on more of a stick shape, a large reason why I still decided to include them. They are also concealed in a gluten-free pub-style batter and are made from wild-caught Alaska pollock, which seems to be standard for most frozen fish sticks.
- The Look: Identical to what you would be served in a restaurant’s fish and chip basket. Each golden pocket is filled with bright white and flakey pollock. The batter layer is just right, not too thick and not too thin. Similar to Trident’s Battered Cod, it also has more of a muted crunch-with the exception of a spot on its backside where it was lying in the air fryer.
- The Taste: Buttery and tender. The savory smell of both batter and fish filled the air as these finished up in the air fryer, making my mouth water. The pollock managed to be firm in addition to both delicate and lean. I also never would have guessed that the batter was gluten-free. Its texture is puffy, not too oily, and it has a slightly garlicky and salty finish. Add in a couple of drops of tangy tartar sauce, and this was near perfection. It is also one of the best gluten-free products I’ve had in a while. Orca Bay certainly doesn’t need to fish for compliments any time soon.
Orca Bay Air Fried Breaded Fish Fillets
Enjoy a lighter kind of crunch with wild-caught Alaskan Pollock coated in an air fried breading and crisped to perfection.
- Goodness You Can Taste: Bring home a delicious taste of seafood with our Air Fried Breaded Fish Fillets.
- Unmatched Flavor: To lock in our fish’s full nutrition, we ensure this product is flash-frozen at the peak of freshness.
- A Wholesome Catch: These fillets are always prepared with no hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, or flavors.
- Easy to Cook: Enjoy a deliciously fresh meal that is prep-free, mess-free, and stress-free!
- Trusted Since 1849: We’ve served families great seafood for over 175 years because of our longstanding commitment to quality and ocean preservation.
Air Fryer Instructions:
(Air fryers can have varying operation methods and wattages. Please consider your appliance when following these instructions.)
- Fry fillets at 400 degrees F for 13-15 minutes total (Fully cook fish to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F or higher before serving).
- Flip fillets after 7 minutes.
- Microwaving is not recommended.
Uncooked.
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Top 10 Healthiest Fish?
The top 10 healthiest fish for weight loss have the lowest fat and calorie counts.
What Fish Is a Superfood?
Harvard suggests superfoods are defined by high levels of desirable nutrients, albeit there’s no scientific definition of superfoods (44). Fish high in omega-3 would be a superfood by that definition.
Is Fish Healthier Than Chicken?
Based on calories and nutrients, fish is healthier than chicken because it has fewer calories per 100 grams, and more nutrients. The USDA shows a 100-gram piece of roasted chicken has 239 calories and 13.6 grams of fat (5).
Can I Eat Fish Every Day?
Eat fish 2-3 times a week to follow dietary recommendations and benefit from the Omega-3 fatty acids and protein-rich sources. The FDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend at least eight ounces of fish a week on a 2,000-calorie diet (8).