So many people want to lose excess fat and think they need to eat less to achieve that goal. The truth is that eating less isn’t going to solve the problem in the long run and starving yourself isn’t that effective or desirable. Nobody likes to feel hungry or deprived. It’s not about how much you eat, it’s more important to think about what you’re eating. One thing you can add to your diet that will help you improve your health and contribute to your fat loss goals is fiber.
Fiber has no calories, but improves your health and increases the feeling of fullness. What could be better than adding something to your diet that doesn’t increase your calorie intake and keeps you from feeling hungry?
Fiber also improves gut health. Think about it as a gut cleaner. It cleans out the toxins and other things hanging out in your intestines that need to go. Having a healthier gut makes you feel better and reduces your risk of things like colon cancer among other things.
It’s also been shown that soluble fiber contributes to a reduction in LDL (bad) cholesterol and in cardiovascular disease.
It’s recommended that people get about 38 grams of fiber each day. If you’re not eating many fruits, veggies, and/or beans then you’re probably not getting enough.
The health benefits of getting enough fiber is great, but it will also lead to the consumption of less lower quality foods. Eating more fiber will keep you fuller, so in turn you’ll reduce or eliminate the need to find more foods to keep you from feeling hungry.
When you snack on things like crackers and cookies you’re consuming plenty of calories, but they’ll leave you feeling hungry again soon afterwards. Most people don’t enjoy feeling hungry, so they’ll try to eat more to avoid that feeling. Eating lower quality foods inevitably leads to overeating because they’re not satisfying and just make you crave eating more. It leaves you with the choice to eat more and feel full a little longer or stop yourself and feel deprived.
Choosing foods with high fiber allows you to eat in a way that satisfies your hunger for longer and live a healthier life without feeling deprived.
Not only is fiber so important for a healthy lifestyle, but it’s found in so many delicious foods, so it shouldn’t feel like a chore to get enough of it.
Foods high in Fiber
- Avocados
- Lentils
- Raspberries
- Broccoli
- Apples
- Chia seeds
- Almonds
- Green peas
- Artichokes
- Brussel sprouts
- Bananas
- Pears
- Popcorn
- Chickpeas
- Black beans
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
- Oatmeal
- Quinoa
- Oranges
I should mention that if you’re trying to add more fiber to your life, you’ll want to do it gradually. If you aren’t used to eating much of it and then you suddenly start eating a lot you might end up with a stomach ache and constipation. So, start off by adding one or two more high fiber foods a day and increase the amount over time.
If you’re looking for more ways to improve your health in easy ways feel free to reach out to me.
2 Comments
Emily Thornton
Great article. Thank you for listing high fiber foods!
Robynn
Thanks! It’s one thing to know you should eat fiber, but I didn’t want it to be a guessing games as to what that means. It’s not a complete of course, but gives you some ideas.