Fiber and Weight Loss

Beyond being a part of a healthy diet, fiber can help in in your weight loss efforts. Filling up on fiber can help you feel full for a longer amount of time, therefore causing you to eat less throughout the day.  Fiber has also been linked to managing diabetes, lowering cholesterol and limiting heart damage.

How Much Fiber Do You Need?

You should try to consume 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day. It may not sound like a lot, but most Americans only consume about 15 grams per day or less.  Fiber can be found in most fruits and vegetables such as carrots, peas, broccoli, spinach and cauliflower.

There are many cereals and breads that have a good amount of fiber in them as well. Usually anything made with whole wheat or whole oats or bran will have fiber, plus these cereals tend to be natural and low in fat and sugar.

How Can You Eat More Fiber?

Think about adding garbanzo beans to your soup or salad, or add a tablespoon of bran to your cereal. Leaving the skin on fruits and vegetables can help to increase your fiber intake as well. The actual fiber content of each food is not that much so it’s good to eat more types and servings of fiber-rich foods each day.

Meat has no fiber, so consider eliminating it from some of your meals.

Add Fiber Gradually

It may take some time for your body to get accustomed to a more fiber-rich diet. However, if you want to lose weight and be healthy, give it a try.  Completely changing your diet overnight is not recommended. It may be a trial-and-error process to find just the right amount of fiber that works for your system.  However, in the end, you may be very pleased and even amazed at the positive role fiber plays in your dietary lifestyle.                                                      

Red, White and Diet Blues

It’s not a Fourth of July celebration without family, friends, fireworks and barbeque, right? And who doesn’t like or, in my case, absolutely LOVE barbeque? Yes, barbeque and all of its delicious accompaniments. Spaghetti, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, ok stopping now. When summer holidays come around it’s nearly impossible to avoid a cheat meal, especially when visiting friends and family, as you have no control over the menu.  However, if you’re truly dedicated to your diet, you can pack a healthier meal to take along with you to eat while your fellow BBQ attendees are licking their fingers and reaching for toothpicks.

 A lot of us prefer to indulge. In fact at that very first alluring whiff of the grill or even the sight of the smoke we’re thinking, “Yeah...well, I guess I’ll get back to my diet tomorrow.” And that’s ok, unless of course you have a medical condition that requires you to keep a diet that you should never abandon for any length of time. The point here is to not beat yourself up for having a cheat meal, just don’t let one not-so-healthy meal deter you from your fitness goals and lead to down a spiraling road to stagnancy.

So now that you’ve enjoyed that finger licking food and have read something that has made you feel a little less guilty about it, get back to your fitness and diet routine today. If fitness and healthy eating is new to you altogether, remember that every day is an opportunity to get started!