I believe that fiber can be your secret weapon to achieving the right weight for your body. I can’t believe that more people haven’t tuned into this. Fiber makes you feel full, is low in calories and most high fiber foods require lots of chewing. If you slow down and chew your food, you are more apt to tune in to the fact that you’ve had enough to eat and stop before you have eaten more than you need. As an added bonus, it also lowers your bad cholesterol, can help improve your blood sugar levels and is believed to lower your risk for certain types of cancer and diabetes.

The recommended daily amount is 20-35 grams. The average American gets 12-15 grams. For kids, the recommended daily dose (in grams) is figured by adding five to a child’s age. So, a seven-year-old would need 12 grams of fiber a day.

If you are like most people and only get about half of what you need, increase slowly. If you increase too quickly you will probably have gas, bloating and cramping. As you increase fiber, increase how much water you drink because fiber carries water out with it and you don’t want to get dehydrated.

Fiber is all the parts of plant foods that your body can’t digest. This is broken down further into soluble (dissolves in water) and insoluble (doesn’t dissolve in water). Insoluble fiber is the type that helps move stuff through your system. Soluble fiber lowers your blood cholesterol and glucose levels. By eating a wide range of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, you will cover both types and get all you need.

So how do you go about increasing? It’s pretty simple really… The first step is you need to know how much fiber is in different foods. There is a great list on the Mayo Clinic website:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582

Start substituting whole wheat flour for white flour in recipes. White flour has had all the good stuff – the bran and germ of the wheat berry – stripped out of it. Start with half and go from there. If your bread (or whatever) ends up too heavy, try whole wheat pastry flour. It will make your bread turn out much lighter than regular whole wheat flour and it still has all the good stuff. When I first started doing this, I was amazed at how much more filling the things I made with whole wheat flour were than their white flour counterparts. I felt full on less and it stayed with me longer.

Leave the peels on your fruit. Sprinkle beans on your salads. Make some lentil or black bean soup. Make some hummus! Start your day with some high fiber cereal. There are lots of them out there. I’m currently choosing Fiber One which has 14 grams of fiber in half a cup! That’s more fiber right there than most Americans get all day! Have a big salad with your dinner. I like to fill half my plate with salad and start with it. Chew slowly and thoroughly. Give yourself time to realize that you are full.

Start taking advantage of my favorite ideal weight secret today!