Want to eat more to weigh less? This may sound too good to be true and it is not another fad diet claiming to make all your weight loss goals come true. The underutilised component of food allows you to eat more than a matchbox size amount and still reduce your waistline is fibre. Fibre promotes the fullness hormones which stop you eating as much and over a day eating less overall.
In the dinosaur days your ancestors ate up to 100g of fibre rich foods a day which makes the goal of 25-30g of fibre for adults seem a little underwhelming. A scary fact is most people do not even come close to this amount of fibre. As a result, your body will not trigger the fullness hormone such as leptin and you will keep feeling hungry after a meal and want to eat again soon after. How does this all work? Fibre is brilliant in many ways and one is that it feeds your good bacteria. When your good bacteria are happy and eat the fibre, they release short chain fatty acids, these activate hunger stopping hormones. If you want to utilise this prehistoric method of success here are some easy ways to include more fibre in your day:
- Swap the white sourdough with vegemite and butter for whole grain sourdough with poached eggs and a side of spinach and mushrooms.
- Skip the flavoured milk and make your own smoothie using milk, yogurt, banana and berries with a touch of cinnamon to sweeten.
- Move over sugary biscuits and make way for whole grain crackers with hummus and vegetable sticks or a tablespoon of peanut butter.
- Swap the corn flakes for Weetbix or oats in the morning. Bonus fibre hit with a small banana or a cup of berries on top.
- Instead of buying a salad which may have one lettuce leaf and a stack of sauce and processed meat try making your own. You can buy pre-cut lettuce mix from the supermarket, cut up some capsicum, carrot, cucumber, add half a cup of mixed beans and add some ricotta or cottage cheese and you have a winner!
Take home message: the answer to a healthy body weight while still being able to enjoy eating is fibre. Jump on board the bandwagon to healthy lifestyle and healthy weight for life!
