3 Ways to Lose Weight With Fiber

By Kati Chevaux

Kati Chevaux is a nutrition and health writer for various magazines, websites and blogs. She holds a master's degree in nutrition from Michigan State University and worked in the... more

Kati Chevaux is a nutrition and health writer for various magazines, websites and blogs. She holds a master's degree in nutrition from Michigan State University and worked in the food industry for many years before becoming a freelance writer and editor. less

1. Work Toward a Daily Fiber Goal

Learn your daily fiber goal and choose foods that help you meet that goal. Planning snacks and meals in order to reach a dietary fiber goal can help you lose weight in much the same way as eating the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day does. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and when you eat more of them, you likely replace other foods that are higher in calories.

Fiber itself has no calories and foods high in fiber are often lower in calories than foods without fiber. Choose foods based on fiber content and there is a good chance you'll create a lower calorie diet, by accident!

It's recommended that adult women eat 25g of fiber per day and adult men eat 38g of fiber per day. After age 50, fiber recommendations go down to 21g per day for women and 30g per day for men. Refer to a fiber gram table for the fiber content of fruits and vegetables. When it comes to buying packaged foods, read the label to learn the fiber content in one serving.

2. Become a Master at High Fiber Substitutions

To lose weight, you'll need to eat fewer calories and/or exercise more. Adding fiber foods can help you eat fewer calories, but it's important to know which foods to replace.

Whole grains are high in fiber. But instead of adding more grain foods each day, replace the refined grains you currently eat with whole grains. A diet rich in whole grains is linked to lower body mass index, but a diet rich in refined grains is not. Whole grains include whole wheat flour, whole wheat bread, oatmeal, barley, brown rice, corn, barley and buckwheat. Substitute these foods for refined grains like white bread, white rice, plain bagels, white flour crackers and pretzels.

Snacks are another place to start substituting in high fiber foods to lose weight. Instead of pretzels, choose plain popcorn. Instead of cheese and crackers, choose apples with a little peanut butter. Instead of a fruit juice smoothie with no fiber, choose a piece of fruit. Instead of a meat and cheese burrito, choose a bean burrito. For dessert, substitute fruit or dishes made with lots of fruit for pastries and cakes.

3. Say Goodbye to High Calorie, Low Fiber Foods

If you choose foods based on fiber content, you won't have room in your diet for the low fiber, high calorie foods that doom your weight loss efforts. The following foods are high in calories but have very little or no fiber: cheese, high fat meats, juice and punch, soft drinks and smoothies made without whole fruit. Fast food meals are also notoriously low in fiber. When you're "spending" that many calories on a meal, you better make sure you're getting a hefty dose of fiber. Say no to these foods and start planning your weight loss diet with high fiber foods, lean protein foods and healthy fats!

About this Author

Kati Chevaux is a nutrition and health writer for various magazines, websites and blogs. She holds a master's degree in nutrition from Michigan State University and worked in the food industry for many years before becoming a freelance writer and editor.

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