Monday, April 5, 2010

Fiber for Weight Loss

Fiber, fiber, fiber.... what do you most people think of when they hear the word fiber?
Good bowels so decreased constipation! Decrease in risk of colon cancer and diabetes! Lowers risk of heart disease!

Why fiber for weight loss?

Fiber helps you feel full sooner, while it also slows down your rate of digestion, keeping you feeling full longer. It also moves fat through your digestive system faster, which means less fat is absorbed.

Women should try to get over 20 grams of fiber in their diet a day, while men should strive for over 30 grams. Just to give you an idea... an medium sized apple with the skin on has about 4 grams of fiber as does a cup of cooked spinach while 100 grams of cooked black eyed beans has 7 grams of fiber.

Once in a while try to write down what you had during a day and check with the many different fiber charts online to see how much fiber you are getting! Alternatively give me your diet diary and I'll check your fiber levels as well as calcium and iron and protein in your typical day... most people are pretty surprised how little their levels of these nutrients they are consuming!

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