How Does Fiber Help With Weight Loss: How It Works ?

This simple strategy can help you stay fuller longer, dropping pounds along the way.

How does fiber help with weight loss ?

Fiber may not be as trendy a term as keto, paleo, or flexitarian—hey, that makes us think bran muffins and carpet fiber too!—but let's put some love into that 5-letter word.

After all, you can use fiber to lose weight. (A large study published last year in the Journal of Nutrition found that increasing fiber consumption helped subjects lose weight independently of other aspects of their diet.

A 2018 study in Nutrition found that when subjects focused solely on increasing the amount of fiber and lean protein in their diets, they ate fewer calories and lost weight as a result.

"Fiber slows digestion, which makes you feel full and can help you eat less and stay full longer," explains Marisa Moore, RDN, LD, culinary and integrative dietitian.

When you feel full after eating, you're less likely to reach a bag of chips or cookies an hour later, adds Krista Linares, RDN, who specializes in diabetes management and prevention in the Latino community.

Not only does it make you feel full, fiber plays another important role in weight loss: “Because fiber helps slow digestion, it also slows down how quickly your body responds to the carbohydrates you eat, and can help you better manage insulin and blood pressure. sugar response to food,” says Linares.

Fiber is also important for digestive and heart health. colorectal cancer." It also keeps your heart healthy by lowering blood pressure, and helps reduce LDL cholesterol, adds Linares.

What is fiber, exactly?

Simply put, fiber is the part of plants that your body cannot digest (unlike fat, protein, and carbohydrates, which are broken down and absorbed by your digestive system).

There are two types of fiber, Moore explains: "Soluble fiber retains water and tends to help slow digestion, while insoluble fiber is key to regularity."

You can find soluble fiber in foods like apples, carrots, peas, beans, and oats. Good sources of insoluble fiber include wheat bran, beans, cauliflower, brown rice, lentils and celery.

So how much fiber should I eat?

Women aged should consume at least 25g of fiber a day, although Moore and Linares both warn that you should increase your fiber slowly—if you go from zero to 25 overnight, you may have digestive problems.

Linares recommends adding one extra ration a day (around 5g), and sticking to it for a few days before adding another ration.”

If you eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, you should aim to get close to 5 grams of fiber with each meal or snack," he says.

Which foods are high in fiber?

"There are so many great options for increasing fiber," says Moore, who lists berries, beans, peas, and lentils as his favorite fiber-rich foods.

When fresh berries are in season, enjoy them fresh, toss them into salads, as a snack, or in yogurt. And be sure to stock up on frozen berries for a quick, nutritious smoothie addition," she advises.

Linares is a big fan of pistachios, which have 3g of fiber in 1 ounce. Here are the best tasting notes to choose from:

Chia seeds (2T): 10g
Black beans (1/2 cup): 8.3g
Chickpeas (½ cup): 8.1g
Lentils (1/2 cup): 7.8g
White beans (1/2 cup): 6.3g
Pears: 5.5g
Avocado (1/2 cup): 5g
Edamame (1 cup) 5g
Almonds (1/4 cup): 4.5g
Apples: 4.4g
Bulgur (1/2 cup): 4.1g
Raspberries (1/2 cup): 4g
Collard greens (1 cup): 4g
Blackberries (1/2 cup): 3.8g
Baked potato: 3.6g
Peas (1/2 cup): 3.5g
Popcorn (3 cups): 3.5g
Whole grain bread (1 slice): 3g
Strawberries (1 cup): 3g
Quinoa (1/2 cup): 2.6g
Broccoli (1 cup): 2.4g
Kiwi: 2.1g
Blueberries (1/2 cup): 2g

How to determine how much fiber you need to lose weight

There's no magic number here, but Gans recommends trying to get the recommended daily amount of fiber (again, 25 grams a day for women and 38 grams daily for men) and seeing how you do it. totality to add more carbohydrates, such as 100% whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, which are good sources of fiber,” he said.

Methods of using fiber as part of a larger weight loss plan

Fiber for weight loss works very well as a bigger weight loss plan. That is, you shouldn't just rely on fiber to help you lose weight. Cording's suggestion: Incorporate one high-fiber meal to each meal instead of trying to include a lot of fiber at once. "Fiber can help keep you feeling full and, when you do feel full, fiber can really help keep you on a healthy eating routine," she says.

And don't forget to add water!

Anytime you add fiber to your routine, you should make sure you drink lots of water, says Linares: “One of the ways fiber works is by attracting water into your stool, which helps keep you regular. It only works if you drink enough water." He recommends adding an extra glass of water to your routine as you build up your fiber intake.