Healthy Living consumes fiber while losing weight

Losing weight is a constant challenge for many people.  There are many quick fixes, but a sustained program to manage your weight is not as difficult as you may think. Aside from regular exercise, food intake is another factor in keeping the pounds off and one important nutrient is fiber. Healthy Living explains.

Marleni Cuellar, reporting

Weight loss is a never ending endeavor for many people. It is well known by now that getting active & eating right is the only way to shed a few pounds. Finding a way to work up a sweat is typically the easiest part of the journey on the other hand committing to healthy food and proper eating habits tend to be trickier.

Sandra Collins, Dietician & Nutritionist

“It’s a lot of things as to why you put on weight and before you try to cut it and you need to know how you get it on.  One of the goals can be weight management that I won’t gain anymore. The reason they have gained weight is because their diet and maybe amongst other things have not been in line with their needs.”

According to registered Dietician and Nutritionist, Sandra Collins, the one nutrient that is vital is the one that we focus the least on.

Sandra Collins

“In weight management what we try to do is we try to put a person on what called a high fiber diet. Based on current data, dietary fiber intakes from whole food and supplements have health benefits in terms of health management or weight loss. This is a diet that is recommended. I did an unofficial intake of what is eaten in Belize in fiber. I took like an average Belizean meal and meaning let’s say if they have Johnny cake or any white bread or white product what they would normally eat in the morning and all I came up with was 10 grams of fiber for the day. And the majority of fiber came from? The majority came from refined products.”

The recommended fiber intake is for over 20 grams of fiber a day for women while men should shoot for over 30 grams a day. But how does fiber-rich food help in weight management?

Sandra Collins

“Satiation is linked with appetite and as you are eating the actual process of eating you feel satisfied and there’s that component and the other component of fiber is that you chew a lot. You’re chewing and time goes by and you’re taking in less. So there’s that component and as you chew and you’re taking in less its actually now ended you’re satiated. So these are two ways in which fiber works to help a person manage weight. When you have a diet that is adequate in fiber you get up from the table you’re feel full and satisfied. The other part of it is that you stay full.”

So what constitutes high fiber food? If we go back to our food pyramid, it should be the base of our diet: Whole grains, fruits & vegetables. Foods accessible in Belize that are high in Fiber include: Broccoli, brown rice, green peas, avocado, oatmeal, Lima, kidney and black beans, as well as lentils. Split peas and Bran cereals are two foods loaded with fiber. The health benefits of a fiber rich diet, though, extend beyond weight loss.

Sandra Collins

“The food does not stay in your stomach long so that you don’t absorb a lot of the energy or fat and it’s that part of it where they’ll use a lot of high fiber diet for cardio vascular disease. You don’t absorb a lot of fat. It does the same thing for glucose where this diet is good for person on diabetes. So it’s not only weight management it benefits for.”

Collins warns that we must transition to a high fiber diet over time to allow for the stomach to adjust. Drinking at least two glasses more of fluids will also help the body digest high fiber foods. And lastly portion control is still crucial in healthy eating; the standard serving size is ½ cup. However, if you’re on a high fiber diet, this will not be easy to forget.

Sandra Collins

“For a person to remember half cup is good enough. If you’re on a high fiber diet you won’t have to worry so much because believe me. You won’t be able to eat it. You gonna feel full and satisfied. 2006 and the proof is in the pudding, people will say I’m not even hungry anymore I don’t even want that anymore. It works.”