Losing weight does not always mean that you should be irritable and hungry all the time. In fact, you can actually lose weight by eating more. All you have to do is incorporate a cholesterol-lowering and belly-filling macronutrient, also known as fiber, into your diet. Foods that are packed with fiber are essential for weight loss because they take longer to digest, which means that you will feel full even if you ate your lunch hours ago. This is why in this article, we will list down the easy ways you can incorporate fiber into your diet.
- Eat some popcorn – Potato chips are caloric and oily. That is why when you’re on a diet, do not let yourself surrender to the saltiness and crunch by eating a bag of them during your next movie night. Instead, opt for plain and air-popped popcorn; it is not only a delicious snack, but it is also packed with fiber and contains cancer-fighting polyphenols.
- Swap mayonnaise for avocado in sandwiches – Half of an avocado is packed with 4.6 grams of fiber. According to research, about 40 percent of people who added fresh avocado to their meal felt a decreased desire to eat for hours afterward. Aside from fiber, avocados are packed with healthy fats that help our body absorb fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins E, A, K, and D.
- Add flax seeds and chia into your oatmeal – Adding a tablespoon of flaxseeds into your oats can give you about 2.8 grams of satiating fiber. Flaxseeds are packed with omega-3 fats that protect and helps your body against heart diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and even mood swings. On the other hand, chia seeds have almost double the number of fiber flaxseeds have, and it has 5 grams of fiber per tablespoon. Aside from oatmeal, you can add these two superfoods into your cereal, yogurt, baked goods, smoothies, and puddings.
- Add some almonds into your cereal – Instead of drizzling your cereal or overnight oats with honey, try to cut back on added sugar and add a crunchy twist to your breakfast by tossing in some sliced almonds into your bowl. An ounce of almonds contains about 15 percent of the daily recommended fiber intake for an adult. Aside from these, almonds are also a perfect source of iron and magnesium.
- Add some asparagus to your dinner – Instead of eating your protein with pasta or baked potato, try to level it up a bit and make grilled asparagus as your side dish. This vegetable is packed with 4 grams of fiber in just a cup-sized serving.
- Go for healthier cereals – Aside from the sugary and colorful flakes of grains, substitute them with cereals that have over 5 grams of satiating fiber and contain less than ten grams of sugar.
- Snack on some fruit salad – Instead of going out for coffee or milk tea with your friends, why not munch on some fruit salad? All you have to do is combine your favorite fruits in a bowl, add a little yogurt or fruit juice, and mix in some seeds or nuts for even more fiber content.
- Trade your regular bread for 100% whole grain bread – Regular bread or white bread has been famous for decades because most people want a loaf of bread with a lighter texture and flavor. However, the bran removed during the flour-making process in regular bread tends to take a lot of fiber with it, so if you want to amp up your fiber intake, opt for 100% whole grain bread instead. This may take some time to get used to eating it, but after you get accustomed to eating it, you will never go back to plain old white bread anymore.
- Use high-fiber flours when baking – If you want to incorporate more fiber into your diet, we suggest that you choose a whole-wheat pastry flour instead. This is a fine-textured flour that contains three times as much fiber compared to white flour.
- Add legumes to your diet – Legumes such as lentils, beans, and dried peas are rich in carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and of course, fiber. According to studies, consuming legumes in a few meals per weak can help decrease the risk of developing several chronic diseases.