I'm not sure how much fiber to eat

avtlove
avtlove Posts: 82 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ladies~ (i'm guessing men have different fiber goals?)
How much fiber do y'all get in per day? When I google it, I find the goal of 25 grams but that seems low. Although I know I should increase fiber with caution... Just wondering what other people's goals are...

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Why do you think it's low? I believe women are supposed to get a minimum of 24 or 25g and men are closer to 30g.

    I usually get between 20-25g on a good day. Trying to get the bad days up :smile:
  • tequila5000
    tequila5000 Posts: 128 Member
    I think a 25 g fiber goal is appropriate. But there are plenty of days I eat 35g fiber. How much fiber are you currently consuming each day (on average)?
  • kperk91
    kperk91 Posts: 226 Member
    edited June 2020
    I always try for 28 grams of fiber. Some days are a little lower than 28 and others more
  • avtlove
    avtlove Posts: 82 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Why do you think it's low? I believe women are supposed to get a minimum of 24 or 25g and men are closer to 30g.

    I usually get between 20-25g on a good day. Trying to get the bad days up :smile:

    I was listening to a functional medicine doctor who is all about gut health and says you should get 30-50 grams of fiber per day. But I was just wondering what is working for others on here.
  • avtlove
    avtlove Posts: 82 Member
    kperk91 wrote: »
    I always try for 28 grams of fiber. Some days are a little lower than 28 and others more

    I think that's pretty good! Is it mostly through veggies and berries?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    I have 25 set as my goal, but usually get something in the mid to upper 30s, occasionally more, up to 50+. Everything I've read says 25 is fine for women. I get more because the foods I prefer are generally high fiber: Veggies, fruits, beans, oatmeal, etc. I'm vegetarian, and usually have to think about my protein and fat goals in order to get my minimums in, but don't page much explicit attention to fiber, really - my food preferences take care of it.

    If you're striving to increase, definitely ramp up gradually, and be sure to get enough fats & adequate hydration alongside. There was a "10 veggies servings per day" challenge around here at one point, and some folks ran into trouble there, increasing fiber suddenly & by a lot, while lowballing fats . . . results were . . . shall we say, poor throughput? ;)
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I have a goal of 30 g, usually get higher 30s or even 40s, depending on whether I'm including beans/lentils in my day. When I was eating 100% plant based I'd often get 50+, but I'm not currently doing that.
  • avtlove
    avtlove Posts: 82 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I have 25 set as my goal, but usually get something in the mid to upper 30s, occasionally more, up to 50+. Everything I've read says 25 is fine for women. I get more because the foods I prefer are generally high fiber: Veggies, fruits, beans, oatmeal, etc. I'm vegetarian, and usually have to think about my protein and fat goals in order to get my minimums in, but don't page much explicit attention to fiber, really - my food preferences take care of it.

    If you're striving to increase, definitely ramp up gradually, and be sure to get enough fats & adequate hydration alongside. There was a "10 veggies servings per day" challenge around here at one point, and some folks ran into trouble there, increasing fiber suddenly & by a lot, while lowballing fats . . . results were . . . shall we say, poor throughput? ;)

    Yeah, increasing too much to soon is a recipe for disaster! I was only at 22 yesterday and that's on the high side for me. I'm trying to balance a large amount of protein (100 grams/day at least) and high fiber and still keep it under my calories of 1600-1700 per day. I feel like a walking science experiment, lol. It's fun to figure out and with all my previous attempts at weight loss, I have never focused this much on nutrition. I am really hoping that this focus on health is the difference between this attempt and all my hundreds of others. Right now I'm having a blast with it and I am so excited about it. But I've also been around enough to recognize that there is a honeymoon phase. I think of you often, even though I don't know you, lol, because you told me on here that you were older when you found a healthy lifestyle and it has really motivated me to think "maybe this time IS different!" Like I said, I'm a month in, which is really, really good for me to stick with ANYTHING this long and I am LOVING it so far. I've never tried to FIGURE things out before, it was always "Cut out sugar" or "stop eating carbs!" Which is just NOT sustainable for me. Now I'm tracking things like protein and fiber, calories, exercise, and it feels so good like i have CONTROL over what i am doing!
    Sorry about the long response~ But thanks for your advice!
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited June 2020
    25 is the RDA. I aim for 30-40 grams and usually get there because my diet is majority plant based.

    Fiber is very good for gut health. The typical American falls very short due to poor diet. I work in the ER and one disease we used to see primarily in elderly patients, that we now see in patients as young as their 20s & 30s, is diverticulitis. All of these patients when questioned about their diet are found to be eating low fiber and high amounts of junk food, refined carbs, etc.

    If you can eat more than 25, it is a good idea, but increase your fiber gradually. If you go from 10 grams of fiber daily to 40 grams all of a sudden you may have issues.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Side effects for too much fiber don't usually set in until you are eating more than 70g per day and then are mostly easily cured by drinking more water. You'll know you are eating too much fiber for you if you are experiencing side effects like bloating, excess gas, and constipation. Of course, since constipation can be caused by too little fiber don't think your are getting too much unless you are well over 40g per day.

    Consider reading https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321286
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Side effects for too much fiber don't usually set in until you are eating more than 70g per day and then are mostly easily cured by drinking more water. You'll know you are eating too much fiber for you if you are experiencing side effects like bloating, excess gas, and constipation. Of course, since constipation can be caused by too little fiber don't think your are getting too much unless you are well over 40g per day.

    Consider reading https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321286

    Adequate fat is also in that equation, I'd observe. And it seems especially common for people to cut fat to the (too-)bare minimum, when cutting calories. In the "10 veggie per day" challenge I mentioned above, it was increasing fat intake to adequate levels that . . . um . . . triggered improved throughput. ;)
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    In the UK, it's recommended that we get 30g a day. I read this recently and realised I was only eating 15-20g so I'm now consciously trying to increase my number.
  • avtlove
    avtlove Posts: 82 Member
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    25 is the RDA. I aim for 30-40 grams and usually get there because my diet is majority plant based.

    Fiber is very good for gut health. The typical American falls very short due to poor diet. I work in the ER and one disease we used to see primarily in elderly patients, that we now see in patients as young as their 20s & 30s, is diverticulitis. All of these patients when questioned about their diet are found to be eating low fiber and high amounts of junk food, refined carbs, etc.

    If you can eat more than 25, it is a good idea, but increase your fiber gradually. If you go from 10 grams of fiber daily to 40 grams all of a sudden you may have issues.

    Yes, I know i little about diverticulitis. Two people close to me have had it. One had part of her colon removed. It's scary. I think increasing slowly is important, too. Thanks!
  • avtlove
    avtlove Posts: 82 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Side effects for too much fiber don't usually set in until you are eating more than 70g per day and then are mostly easily cured by drinking more water. You'll know you are eating too much fiber for you if you are experiencing side effects like bloating, excess gas, and constipation. Of course, since constipation can be caused by too little fiber don't think your are getting too much unless you are well over 40g per day.

    Consider reading https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321286

    Adequate fat is also in that equation, I'd observe. And it seems especially common for people to cut fat to the (too-)bare minimum, when cutting calories. In the "10 veggie per day" challenge I mentioned above, it was increasing fat intake to adequate levels that . . . um . . . triggered improved throughput. ;)

    @AnnPT77 - I didn't know that fat was related to how fiber works for you. I need to look into that. I am working hard at getting in everything i need, and focused on protein and fiber and keeping at my daily calorie goals. I have not tried to watch fat, one way or the other, and I'm a little afraid it's going to all become too overwhelming for this newbie..
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    edited July 2020
    avtlove wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »
    Side effects for too much fiber don't usually set in until you are eating more than 70g per day and then are mostly easily cured by drinking more water. You'll know you are eating too much fiber for you if you are experiencing side effects like bloating, excess gas, and constipation. Of course, since constipation can be caused by too little fiber don't think your are getting too much unless you are well over 40g per day.

    Consider reading https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321286

    Adequate fat is also in that equation, I'd observe. And it seems especially common for people to cut fat to the (too-)bare minimum, when cutting calories. In the "10 veggie per day" challenge I mentioned above, it was increasing fat intake to adequate levels that . . . um . . . triggered improved throughput. ;)

    @AnnPT77 - I didn't know that fat was related to how fiber works for you. I need to look into that. I am working hard at getting in everything i need, and focused on protein and fiber and keeping at my daily calorie goals. I have not tried to watch fat, one way or the other, and I'm a little afraid it's going to all become too overwhelming for this newbie..

    If you're not having problems with constipation, and you haven't made some kind of obsessive effort to cut out all fats, you're probably fine for now making it a lower priority. As a double check, if you're logging food, take a look at your diary: If you're not dramatically under your default fat goal for most days, and alongside that you're not experiencing any negative effects, you can probably safely put fat down your priority list for later.

    As someone with a history of IBS-C, and a tendency to undereat fat if I don't pay attention, it can be an issue for me. For many, many people here, it isn't. I wouldn't mention it as much as I do, except that we do see those people here who suddenly start "eating clean" so get large amounts of fiber, while simultaneously cutting fat to the absolute minimum because it's calorie dense . . . and then get constipated. :grimace:

Categories