How do I Eat More Fiber?

Terytha wrote: »

My stomach is still a disaster. Looking at my diary, I get barely any fiber in a day, averaging between two and seven out of 25.

But how? I eat a bunch of broccoli for lunch, take a fiber supplement before bed, I'm trying to add chia seeds to my yogurt (but the texture makes me gag.)

It all amounts to not a whole lot, since I don't eat much. Is fruit my only option? Even if I liked much fruit, it's so expensive.

I have a hard time with tart/acidic flavors.

Oats, beans, lentils, whole grain breads, etc. There are some vegetables that are more fibrous than others, but but for the most part, veggies aren't big fiber bombs.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Terytha wrote: »

Thank you everyone. I think I'm gonna try have bananas for breakfast and try get more veggies in at dinner.

My lunch is usually a couple cups of broccoli but that barely seems to get me anything.

Veggies are great for their vitamins and minerals...and while they do have fiber, they really aren't the best sources typically.

Agreed. OP, focusing on veggies for fiber is generally going to be frustrating. Most of the ones I eat only give me one or two grams per serving.

Terytha wrote: »

But I hate beans and don't know how to make oats or lentils.

OK. I'll try that yogurt with added fiber that was mentioned to go with my bananas, and I can grab fiber one bars too. I don't usually have time for cereal. I'll look into grain breads again but they cost so much and go bad so fast.

Sigh. I'm so bad at food.

I want to just give you a hug and tell you you'll figure it out. Because you will!

Oats are really easy, lentils I had a learning curve with. I was like 45 the first time I tried to cook lentils. Have you had beans in stuff - Like beans and rice, or beans in tacos, or white beans with veggies? Do you like baked beans? When I started eating them, I'd buy one can and then google "pinto bean recipes" or "cannelini bean recipes".

You could also start a thread in the Food forum like "What do you do with oats" and get lots of ideas

Hang in there...

Terytha wrote: »

No nuts because allergies in the house. No (or extremely limited) strawberries or eggplant because allergies also.

I'll see about experimenting with other stuff later.

Beans are just gross. Blech. Like peas, all mushy.

Ever tried cooking them from scratch? They don't have to be that way, nor do they have to be complicated or time-consuming.

I get way too much fiber, so maybe I can help, LOL.

Do you eat bread or wraps? I get so much fiber just by eating a few low calorie wraps a day. 7-10g fiber per wrap.

Most protein bars have 14-18g fiber per bar. I eat a few a day.

Do you like pumpkin?

Most "protein snacks" like chips , cookies, bars, etc. all have high fiber.

feisty_bucket wrote: »

Fiber One cereal will do the trick if you just wanna get your fiber stats up. It doesn't taste bad either, especially if you mix it with vanilla protein powder.

Are you having digestive issues? Is there a reason you're wanting more fiber? I've read stuff saying the recommendations are overblown.

If you are having digestive issues: baby carrots are magic!

In the U.S., baby carrots are just carved-up regular carrots, and because of that they rot a lot faster than a carrot left whole with its surface unbroken. So anything that a baby carrot does for your digestion, a regular carrot should do just as well, without paying more for the convenience of food that's heading down hill fast.