High Fiber Diet for Weight Loss

Following a high fiber diet for weight loss is the latest trend for healthy weight loss. Read the following article and find out more…

Being overweight invites numerous undesirable and inadvertent health conditions. It also does not do any good for the self-esteem of that person. As a result, losing weight is, and should be, the prime goal of overweight people. Easier said than done though! Weight loss has always been a tough ask. People try numerous kinds of fad diet in order to achieve the desired amount of weight loss. One of the biggest mistakes that weight loss aspirants do is to follow wrong diet, or even a healthy diet in a totally wrong way. Such people need to understand that starving themselves for days and days does not cause healthy weight loss. Instead, one needs to follow a healthy diet that contains a good balance of essential nutrients like fiber, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Keeping this fact in mind, dietitians have come up with the idea of a high fiber diet meant for weight loss. As the name suggests, people who want to lose weight should follow such a diet, and complement it well with regular weight loss exercise.

Benefits of a High Fiber Diet to Lose Weight

An obvious question that hits your mind as a layman, is the application and usefulness of a high fiber diet. Well, to one’s surprise, this diet proves to be an excellent weight loss diet. To be more specific, fiber that is obtained from natural sources like vegetables and fruits, contain limited amount of calories. As a result, they avoid fat saturation in the body. There are two types of fiber, namely, water soluble fiber (fruits, nuts, legumes) and water insoluble fiber (cereals, whole grain products and vegetables). High fiber fruits and vegetables do an important job of keeping you satiated and averts those untimely hunger pangs. As a result, the best sources of fiber avoids mid-meal food cravings, without taking away the energy level of that person. It is the reason why many modern-day dietitians recommend a high fiber low calorie diet for weight loss.

Since a high fiber diet provides adequate nutrients and energy, it also keeps you miles away from various medical conditions. First of all, fiber works on the rate of metabolism, and improves the digestive system. As a result they promote natural weight loss. However, high fiber diet benefits depend on the types of fiber that you consume. For instance, if you increase the intake of water soluble fiber, then it will protect you from conditions like diabetes, several types of cancers, heart stroke, high blood cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, etc. On the other hand, when you consume water insoluble fiber, it improves metabolism, immune system and digestive health. It also controls blood sugar levels and promotes a healthy living, which is a plus along with weight loss.

Planning the Diet

Considering the benefits of a high fiber diet, recommended daily intake of fiber is at least 20 gm to 35 gm, which is way too higher than 10 gm to 15 gm that an average American consumes. It shows, that in order to gain its benefits one should include the best sources of fiber in his daily diet. You need to be careful while choosing high fiber foods for weight loss. Make sure that you have created a balanced diet plan that contains fresh fruits, green and leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains and legumes. Make it a point to consume all these foods in cooked or raw form, but do not consume their juices since they lack fiber. Here is a sample menu plan for a high fiber diet, that might help you to lose weight. Calorie count of these diet plans is around 1400 to 1800 calories.

High Fiber Diet Menu
Diet Menu	Breakfast	Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Dinner
#1	1 serving of cooked oats 1 ½ cup skim milk 1 teaspoon of raisins 1 slice of whole grain or 7 grain toast	1 small fiber rich fruit	Tuna salad: ½ can drained tuna 2 tbsp light whipped cream 1 cup fresh baby spinach 1 tbsp hulled sunflower seeds 2 whole grain bread slices	1 fruit or 1 oz nuts	½ cup cooked pearl barley 1 small roasted chicken breast Salad: 2 cups baby spinach 2 cherry tomatoes 1 small cucumber with peel 1 tbsp of grated cheese 1 serving of salad dressing
#2	½ cup low carb cereal 1/3 cup milk 1/8 medium cantaloupe 1 oz almonds	1 small pear or peach	4 cups salad greens ½ sliced avocado 3.5 oz turkey, chicken or tofu 2 tbsp hulled sunflower seeds 2 tbsp Italian dressing, sugar-free	1 oz sliced ham 1 oz Swiss cheese 1 medium dill pickle Sugar-free mustard	Basil chicken with fresh vegetables
#3	4 oz orange juice ½ banana ¾ cup raisin bran 1 slice of whole wheat toast 1 tsp butter 8 oz low fat milk 1 cup of coffee	1 small fiber rich fruit	3 oz lean ground beef hamburger 1 whole grain bun Vegetables like seeded tomato, lettuce, onion 1 apple 2 oatmeal cookies 1 cup of low fat milk	1 fresh fruit and 1 oz almonds	1 ½ cup tossed salad 1 tbsp ranch dressing 3 oz roast turkey breast 1 tbsp gravy ½ cup bread stuffing ½ sweet potato 1 cup green beans 2 tsp margarine Green grapes 1 cup lemon tea

The daily recommended intake of fiber is 25 gm. As you can see from the above chart, preparing your own plan is extremely easy, especially when you are aware of some good fiber food sources. You can replace the above listed foods with equally fiber rich foods. In order to make an ideal high fiber diet for weight loss, use fruits, vegetables and seeds without removing the hulls and peels. You can always carry roasted or plain nuts, chopped root vegetables and fruits as high fiber snacks on the go. Most importantly, any diet plan needs to be complemented with good exercise! All the best!