An effective
weight loss method or program is synonymous to a well balanced
weight loss diet plus a sweat inducing activity. Every person has their own reason of why they want
to lose weight. Some do it for obvious health issues; some do it to slim down or bulk up while some do it to maintain a healthy lifestyle. No matter what your reason is, you need to know the basics of eating healthy and learn certain tips to remember when you improvise your diet plan.
How do we define a well balanced diet?
For one, a person needs to eat their dietary requirement and caloric count as advised. These numbers will differ from person to person based on the ff: gender, age, activity level and weight. Another reason for a person to know what they are eating is because a healthy and balance diet will help you be strong enough to reduce the risk of disease in the future. A healthy lifestyle will guarantee you clean living and long years especially if you follow through and depreciate habitual vice usage.
Let’s focus on an important food component, fiber. Fiber cannot be digested. Fiber is usually known for helping our body to cleanse and flush out protein, fats and other food component that we don’t really need. There are two classifications of fiber. One is the soluble type and the other is the insoluble type. Soluble fiber is the fermented type which is usually broken down by water resulting to a gel like substance inside our body. Examples of soluble fibers are tangy fruits like lemon and lime, oats, beans and apples. On the other hand we have the insoluble fiber which is the type that absorbs water easily making the passing to the colon smoother resulting to an easy defecation.
The United States National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine suggests a daily consumption of fiber at around 20-35 grams but usually a person only intake fiber lower than that which is the reason why we need to eat more produce that is rich in fiber. Now, we’ll discuss some of the benefits of fiber.
More fiber but less calorie count – this will reduce your hunger craving which results to weight loss. Remember that the lesser calorie in a particular product which is high in fiber is best if you want to lose the weight easily.
Fiber, especially soluble types, will help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Insoluble fiber, as stated above, absorbs water easily which is why it’s easier to poop or defecate. If you normally eat a healthy dose of food high in fiber, you’ll experience constant ease and regular defecation that will lessen constipation. In addition to this, fiber is proven to help people with IBS or irritable bowel syndrome since it’ll be easier to pass the toxins outside the body.
Fiber helps lower sugar level. The more regular your sugar level is, the more effective it is to reduce the chance of diabetes. This is very helpful for people who have a history of diabetes in the family.
Fiber easily helps with weight loss. Since fiber aids in lessening your food craving, it will be faster to lose weight. If you increase your fiber intake, you’ll feel less hungry than you used to which in the end helps you to lose those extra pounds that you’ve been wanting to get rid of.
What are the Fiber Rich Foods?
- Sweet Potatoes – A medium sized sweet potato contains 5 grams of fiber.
- Apple (large) – asides vitamin C, apples contains 5 grams of fiber.
- Strawberry – Another fruit that contains high dose of vitamin C is strawberry and not only that strawberries also contains around 3 grams of fiber for a single cup.
- Raspberry – a single cup of raspberry contains around 8 grams of fiber.
- Whole Grains – rye is the number one choice if you want to consume a lot of fiber. If you are cooking pasta, switch to whole wheat type instead on the white pastas.
Other examples of produce that are rich in fiber are:
Nuts – walnuts, almonds, pistachio, etc.
Legumes – chickpeas, beans, etc.
Vegetables – pumpkin, zucchini, kale, collard, onions, broccoli, carrots, sweet corn just to name a few of the large variety of vegetables containing fiber.
Fruits (dried or fresh fruits) – some of the delicious fruits are raisins, dates, tomatoes, pears, etc.
Remember that since
fiber rich food absorbs water more; increase your water consumption of 8-10 glasses of water a day to have a better digestion. A healthy reminder, do not eat a lot of fiber all at once. Fiber should be taken in moderation and in small mounts at first. A person who eats a lot of fiber will most likely experience diarrhea, constipation and or bloating. Fiber takes easing into so start one day at a time and builds it up as you go along.