3 Easy Ways to Increase Your Fiber

Fiber

Ensuring you are eating enough fiber is primary concern for your overall nutrition. The typical adult should range between 25-35 grams daily from food. At the beginning of training my clients, it is fairly normal to see very low intakes of fiber, 7-11 grams at times, which speaks volumes of the lack of diversity of food being consumed. From a total health standpoint, appropriate fiber levels have been associated with decreasing the risk of heart attack, diabetes, constipation, and colon cancer. From an aesthetic standpoint, when you're attempting to lose fat and the calories begin to drop, fiber allows you to feel full and satisfied throughout the day curbing cravings. There are two main types of fiber; insoluble and soluble fiber.

• Soluble Fiber- Typically found in fruits and vegetables, dissolve in water and form a gel like material that aids in feeling of fullness and slows down gastric emptying.
• Insoluble Fiber- This type of fiber aids in digestion by providing the bulk in your stool to promote bowel movements.

Adding Fiber to Your Diet

You do not have to eat mounds of vegetables to reach your daily fiber goal. I will showcase three of my favorite ways to add fiber to my diet.

1. Fruit and Oats

For breakfast, I typically have 1/2 cup of oats with 80g of mixed fruit which yields

• 12g Fiber
• 200 Calories

2. Black Beans & Rice

This is an easy go to for me since I enjoy the flavor of the combination and it's ease to prepare.

*Side Note: Some people become gassy from eating beans, this is typically due to improper balance of gut bacteria due to multiple factors, mainly due to the lack of fiber diversity. Adding small amounts for roughly 2-weeks seems to ease this since beans are one of the healthiest sources of fiber for "good" bacteria in your gut.

1/2 cup steamed brown rice with 1/2 cup black beans

• 9g Fiber
• 218 Calories

3. Snacking on Fruit

I like to snack on fruit throughout the day. Not solely because they are healthy, but just the simple fact I enjoy eating them.

• Apple 3g Fiber
• Banana 3g Fiber
• Peach 3g Fiber

To Conclude

There are other high fiber food sources. The recipe that works best for me is the combination of the above with a serving of vegetables with the majority of my meals. For my clients, finding a way to work fiber in seems to work best by adding fruit or vegetables in certain meals that are enjoyable. Fiber is incredibly important for our health in numerous of ways, implementing ways to include into your diet can be simple and enjoyable.