What's On Your Mind Today?
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I require ALOT of fiber. I begin every day with a heaping capful of Laxaclear (Costco Miralax equivalent). I also have a lot of fruit and veggies every day. Almost every day I have a huge salad or a sizable portion of black beans. In the winter I face very low humidity in my living space so I add prunes to the rota. I also take a probiotic. So yes, I have challenges in this area. Lol But my regimen works.
As far as calories, Laxaclear has none. The other things of course have them but I have a pretty high metabolism.4 -
@Caroline_slowandsteady
I track fiber and try to get a lot of it. Today I have had 38 grams, pretty typical for me. In reviewing what I eat, it is not so much that there is one superstar food, but that there is very little I eat that does not have at least a gram or two of fiber because I try to eat whole real food with an emphasis on non-starchy veggies. And some of the things I eat were not included in that fiber count because MFP is not always accurate. For example, in reviewing my log for today, it said frozen strawberries gave me 0 grams of fiber. That did not seem right to me so in thinking about your question I searched in Google which indicated 3 grams of fiber. It is possible you are getting more fiber than MFP says and you might want to check the accuracy on the fruits and veggies you eat regularly.
I look at foods for whether they are high in fiber with my goal being that they generally have at least 1 gram of fiber for every 50 grams of calories. Some high calorie foods, like avocados, are actually the stars. Another is that I never use flour or regular pasta, instead I use ¨Miracle Noodles¨ konjac noodles that have 10 calories and 2 grams of fiber. Chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds are also useful.
My highest single source of fiber is a shake called Muniq which is specifically designed as a resistant starch supplement and meal replacement and is marketed particularly to diabetics and pre-diabetics because of the research showing resistant starch is helpful to reduce insulin resistance. I usually drink half a serving which has 90 calories and has 8 grams of fiber. It is not cheap though and I can´t recall your exact illness and whether resistant starch (a form of fiber that we can not digest but that feeds our good bacteria who then convert it to things we need) is something recommended for you.3 -
LazyBlondeChef wrote: »Caroline_slowandsteady wrote: »I think as long as your system is functioning well it doesn't matter. It might be that those of us who are eating lower calories need less fiber overall. I know fiber intake is one of those things that is pushed on us but I've read some alternative views that take a more moderate stance with it.
This is important I think. As someone who eats mainly vegan, fibre is not an issue for me but I rarely hit my protein target. I'm not convinced this is a problem though, unless I'm severely under. It's good to be aware and adjust when intake is on the very low end, or if you're feeling ill-effects, but as with anything getting stuck on a number is just stressful. Fibre supplements *can* in some circumstances interfere with nutrient absorption, so proceed with caution.0 -
Wow, thank you all for your wisdom. I have read through your advice several times. I am hesitant to try a supplement, though hearing many of you do take a supplement both makes me realize that is an option and probably the easiest way to get the fiber if you're eating low carb.
And as far as the special shake, most artificial sweeteners make me feel awful so I would be hesitant to try it.
I do eat soy, even though I've read it's bad for the thyroid, but I do try to keep it to a few times a week. So I don't think I'm going to add in soya bran (also not sure we have that in the US?)
I did hear a few "magic" foods that I am intrigued by. I had already bought chia seeds and ate some yesterday. Hemp seeds and flax seeds are other things to think about. And then dried fruit. I love dried fruit but it is so high calories, but maybe that could be part of a treat. And also high fiber breakfast cereal - remembering I used to eat that but stopped because I found when I ate it occasionally it gave me digestive trouble. But I think the key is if I'm going to eat it I need to eat it every day - and that would probably be better.
I am planning to hang out in my "maintenance" calories of 1350 a day for a while. And I'm going to try to use that extra wiggle room to play around with eating more fiber and seeing what works. I did have a pretty high fiber day yesterday and felt more satisfied with my food than I have been.
Thanks all!4 -
@Caroline_slowandsteady
And some of the things I eat were not included in that fiber count because MFP is not always accurate. For example, in reviewing my log for today, it said frozen strawberries gave me 0 grams of fiber. That did not seem right to me so in thinking about your question I searched in Google which indicated 3 grams of fiber. It is possible you are getting more fiber than MFP says and you might want to check the accuracy on the fruits and veggies you eat regularly.
I second this - I have found lots of database entries do not have fibre mentioned at all. This could be that some entries are very old - before fibre was on food labels (or perhaps some countries don't have fibre on the labels?) - or because the person who initially entered the item wasn't interested in the fibre.
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I'm curious if those of you who eat 30-40gm of fiber have any bloat. The higher fiber items make me bloat and feel pretty awful unless I have very small quantities.
When using MFP try to specify USDA + item for whole foods. Those tend to be more accurate. I think sometimes the user entered items don't include every component on a label.3 -
LazyBlondeChef wrote: »I'm curious if those of you who eat 30-40gm of fiber have any bloat. The higher fiber items make me bloat and feel pretty awful unless I have very small quantities.
When using MFP try to specify USDA + item for whole foods. Those tend to be more accurate. I think sometimes the user entered items don't include every component on a label.
That is a great tip about USDA +. Never heard that before.
I realized I am not exactly sure what bloat is so I went to look it up. It still is not clear to me if bloat refers to gas or refers to water retention. I do not typically have much discomfort from gas, even when my stomach gurgles or I burp. I do have a tendency to retain water and have weight that can easily fluctuate 3 or more pounds in a day, but I have never found it noticeable uncomfortable and I don´t think most of it is around my waist. I am more aware that sometimes my legs and feet swell. -- I usually only realize it because of the scale and I have never found that to be related to fiber. Blood testing says I have IgG food sensitivities to the proteins in wheat, eggs, and cow´s milk.
When I did start the shake for resistant starch they warn to start with a half portion and build up gradually, because the bacteria that ferment the fiber to create the metabolites and vitamins need some time to change in terms of their proportions and numbers. Our gut bacteria colonies change their size and proportions relative to each other depending on what we eat. I had about 2 days of discomfort that was what I think you mean by bloat. I have gradually increased my fiber intake so really those have been the only days I noticed.
Right now I am experimenting using a Food Marble Aire that is designed to help you more objectively find food sensitivities and reactions to FODMAPS. It measures the hydrogen and methane in your breath and tracks the trends based on what you have eaten. It has only been two days but it asks us to record our bloating symptoms and discomforts and it helps localize the foods your body reacts to. My experience has been so far that no matter if its measure of whether the hydrogen or methane is high or low-- I haven´t perceived it as discomfort. It may be just that I have adapted after a lifelong history of allergies. I am wanting to get to the bottom of all the markers of chronic inflammation I have and what I might be able to do about them, and especially whether I have Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowth.3 -
Update - another day of eating pretty close to the recommended amount of fiber (which for me is 25) and feeling very satisfied after eating, which is something I had been struggling with. So I think I'm on the right path. I got there by adding in whole grain toast at breakfast (I had been only eating a veggie omelet), brown rice with lunch, chia seeds with afternoon snack, dinner was tofu and veggies so not a ton of fiber but some, and then I had frosted mini wheats for my bedtime treat.
@LazyBlondeChef I do struggle with bloating after eating fiber, and other digestive complications as well. I am kind of laughing at @ideas2 saying she doesn't notice bloat. I have been pregnant with 2 giant babies, so I am pre-stretched. On a good day I look 4 months pregnant. When I am bloated I can very quickly get to looking 9+ months pregnant - and it is not comfortable. I have been having that with upping my fiber.
What I started noticing is that I was being very inconsistent with my fiber - going from close to 0 some days to close to 20 other days - and both of those extremes had side effects. (The low being constipation and hunger, the high being bloating and - well, the opposite of constipation). My thought is that if I eat consistently to close to 20 I will get used to it and not have side effects. We'll see.
I think when I was eating more I did eat more fiber, and did well with it. It's just that with my most recent cuts to calories I cut out many of those foods. I am fitting them in now at maintenance calories, but I am going to have to figure out how to fit it all in when I go back to a deficit. One thing at a time!
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@Caroline_slowandsteady The fiber sources you added all are pretty good sources of the things that feed gut bacteria, especially the chia seeds (I am principally talking about the good ones that you DO want to feed) . In addition to the very old idea that fiber adds volume that keeps us satisfied, the newer argument some are making , based on newer research on the gut microbiome, says that our bacteria adapt to what we are eating and some of those bacteria that are useful to us because they make things like butyrate and vitama B12 can grow and crowd out those less useful for us but there can be moments when the supply/demand of food is not the most ideal for them. In the days when the diet is changing, things can be a little out of balance. There are also suggestions (I know this sounds far out) that the bacteria in our gut and ¨their sisters¨ the bacteria of our mitocondria communicate and also signal to our brain, having some effect on our behavior and effect of our satiety. One doctor (his name is difficult for me) has a mycobiome diet where he recommends making sure to have a source of resistant starch at every major meal, because he says the consistency of feeding our good bacteria is important for feeling good and feeling full.
So I just wanted to suggest that you pay more attenion to not having many of those 0 days before you work too hard on increasing the overall fiber. Once you have it more consistent, it will probably be easier if you want to take it higher.
Speaking of being pregnant, remember that old ¨eating for two¨ idea about pregnant women? I have started thinking of it like ¨I am eating for two trillion+-- me and my bacteria babies who depend on me.¨ That is largely why I have very slowly and steadily pushed up my fiber intake. I try to be consistent and if there are days when I have treats that don´t have fiber, I don´t try to short ¨my babies¨, I just have a higher calorie day and know I could lose weight a little slower, I just still make sure they get what they need. Actually this approach, since I try to treat myself with non-food items more than with eating, is working really well because it does seem to be improving my metabolic fitness, reducing insulin resistance, and I am now losing faster than I was. Depending on what your carb treat is, it is likely feeding the sugar loving bacteria. If you are feeding them and that colony grows larger, you can expect that they will be signalling asking for more and making it harder.5 -
I don’t suffer with “bloat” or any other negative effects from consuming a high fibre diet. But I do suffer consequences of going away and not being able to have the high fibre intake. My big complaint about eating out is the poor veg portions.
The “F-Plan diet” I mentioned above was published about 30 years ago (well before Fibre One brand and similar products were available) and I have been following the general guidelines since. I can get over 25g of fibre a day without resorting to any special tricks, just fruit and veg. Add in the high fibre breakfast cereal and it’s over 30g.
I agree that you should build up gradually but if you bulk up on those cruciferous veg you will easily reach 20+g.
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For me the bloat is that tight feeling of fullness that one can get when they overeat except in this case I'm not overeating. It only occurs with whole grains and legumes in anything but very small quantities. It's quite uncomfortable. I see in reading that bloat is technically a bit more involved. It isn't gas though. Just an hour or two of uncomfortableness. I am not one to overeat because I don't like that super full feeling at all. I try to avoid gluten for anti-inflammatory reasons and regular wheat flour doesn't cause this like a whole grain does so I have always attributed it to the fiber.
The building up slowly I've tried before. It simply doesn't work for me. Anything more than then ~20gm per day is too much for me.1 -
@layzBlondeChef,
Have you heard of lectin sensitivity? Your description makes me wonder if you could be lectin sensitive, both from the foods that bring it on and that it didn´t go away in building up fiber slowly. Are foods like chia seeds bothersome to you? They are really high in lectins. The most common high-lectin foods include: grains, legumes, and nightshades. I think the lectins are primarily in the fiber of the wheat (that is taken out when it is processed into white flour.)
Dr. Steven Gundry writes and talks about Lectin sensitivity a lot. If you are curious about it, his ¨The Plant Paradox¨ book is basically about it.
Or here is an article https://www.vibrant-wellness.com/how-do-you-know-if-you-are-sensitive-to-lectins/
PS I shoud probably add ¨I am not a doctor¨so don´t take this too serious as I could be way off base.1 -
@ideas2 I did read the book about the mycobiome diet at your recommendation, and that is part of what is inspiring me to make this effort. I am trying to target 20 grams a day of fiber - so not large amounts and not zero. I love the idea of trying to care for my little bacteria babies. Thanks.4
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jamcnewman wrote: »Hubby’s birthday today 🥳 and I pre-ordered a special dinner from our favourite restaurant & chef to enjoy at home tonight, before we head to see Death on the Nile. We have socially distanced seats booked, and we are attending prior to Monday, when the vaccination passport requirement will have ended in our province 😳.
I had planned that today would be a pass day. Spur of the moment, but I decided that to cope with what I found to be a really stressful meeting this morning, I’d take it on the treadmill. My role in the meeting required that I keep my video and microphone off (outgoing board member at the membership AGM). I walked, walked, walked and got 30 minutes completed and half my daily step target. Then I got my core exercises done. What a good use of my energy and time! I feel great, and I would never have been so motivated to take constructive and healthy action for self-care prior to starting this journey. I am proud of myself 🥰
Will report in on the daily thread as to the results — whether I end up with ✅✅✅ or my first pass day of February.
Have a great day everyone 🎉🎉🎉
Wat commitment!! How awesome @jamcnewman I can tots see why u are so proud of urself! Go u!!!! Xo2 -
@donna25trinitydonna25trinity wrote: »jamcnewman wrote: »Hubby’s birthday today 🥳 and I pre-ordered a special dinner from our favourite restaurant & chef to enjoy at home tonight, before we head to see Death on the Nile. We have socially distanced seats booked, and we are attending prior to Monday, when the vaccination passport requirement will have ended in our province 😳.
I had planned that today would be a pass day. Spur of the moment, but I decided that to cope with what I found to be a really stressful meeting this morning, I’d take it on the treadmill. My role in the meeting required that I keep my video and microphone off (outgoing board member at the membership AGM). I walked, walked, walked and got 30 minutes completed and half my daily step target. Then I got my core exercises done. What a good use of my energy and time! I feel great, and I would never have been so motivated to take constructive and healthy action for self-care prior to starting this journey. I am proud of myself 🥰
Will report in on the daily thread as to the results — whether I end up with ✅✅✅ or my first pass day of February.
Have a great day everyone 🎉🎉🎉
Wat commitment!! How awesome @jamcnewman I can tots see why u are so proud of urself! Go u!!!! Xo
Thanks so much Donna for always being such a terrific cheerleader for me and for us all. It makes such a difference and I am grateful for your positivity and your encouragement. 💐0 -
A book from my hold shelf finally showed up .... "How to train (your BRAIN) like an Olympian" as in Olympic athlete. Author: Jean François Menard
It is about translating the mental training of resilience, focus, etc that happens along side the physical work leading up to those short minutes of "make the podium or not" and translates them into office and "real life".
I am only partway through the intro, but I will let you know what it is like.5 -
A book from my hold shelf finally showed up .... "How to train (your BRAIN) like an Olympian" as in Olympic athlete. Author: Jean François Menard
It is about translating the mental training of resilience, focus, etc that happens along side the physical work leading up to those short minutes of "make the podium or not" and translates them into office and "real life".
I am only partway through the intro, but I will let you know what it is like.
This is going on my hold shelf right now! Thanks for posting about it 👍0 -
There is an online course at coursera.org that I am auditing for free. https://www.coursera.org/learn/weight-management-beyond-balancing-calories (If you sign up, it gives you the choice to pay and complete assignments, or just audit to take the course without credit--- the auditing option is not as obvious but look for the smaller, lighter print option below the take the course)
The course is through Emory University taught by Sharon Horesh Bergquist, MD.
From the description:
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Understand obesity, appetite hormones, and weight set point.
Identify the main dietary factors that affect weight.
Recognize underemphasized barriers to weight loss such as stress and inadequate sleep.
Develop a weight management plan you can follow for life.
In taking the introductory lesson, looks like some good things in it, like this (in week four):
¨Knowledge about healthy habits cater to our conscious
mind.
Most of our food choices are made instinctively by our
subconscious mind.
We need to use our conscious brain to structure our habits
& environment so that we make healthy subconscious
choices¨
and this:
¨The main way our subconscious mind makes choices are
through:
1. Habits, which are choices triggered by a cue in
anticipation of a reward.
2. Default choices, based on the path of least resistance.
Both can be used intentionally to our advantage.¨
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Can someone point me to the instruction for how I do a spoiler on MFP?0
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@ideas2 Susan, you use the paragraph symbol above, and in the drop down you'll see the spoiler.
OR, you can type the word [$poiler] at the beginning (If you're putting a picture inside a spoiler), and then type [\$poiler] at the end..... only type the word spoiler instead of the $ sign.0 -
@Mrs_Hoffer How was your romantic weekend getaway??1
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ashleycarole86 wrote: »@Mrs_Hoffer How was your romantic weekend getaway??
@ashleycarole86 Ashley, it wasn't really a romantic get-away.... it was hubby's birthday and I wanted to get a cabin in TN (about half way between where his kids live and where we live), but due to his daughter planning a wedding, and his son just starting a new job, they couldn't take off work... so they invited us to come down there and stay with them instead! So we spent 2 days with his daughter in Raleigh, NC, and then went to Edenton (near the Outer Banks, NC) and spent 2 days with his son and his family. Hubby had no idea where we were going until the morning that we were leaving. He was happily surprised as we don't get to see them but perhaps once or twice a year. We'll go back again in 2 months when his daughter gets married - and we're planning to make a longer trip out of it.... probably going to the Outer Banks since neither of us have ever been there.
Thanks for asking!3 -
OK, I've been setting my calories at maintenance the past few weeks, and my weight has been pretty steady with that. But then I've had a few pass days that have resulted in weight gain. So the net result has been weight gain. None of that should be surprising. It's math.
I am being conservative about cutting calories because I am recovering from being ill and also because I've been really hungry. I am trying upping my fiber, which I think is helping, and I want to have the calorie room to play around with that as I figure it out.
But I am starting to feel really frustrated with putting in the effort to track every day and still not losing weight.
So, I think it's time to switch back to a deficit. I think this time what I am going to try first is not counting exercise. I am just not even going to put my exercise into MFP. I get up to 200 exercise calories on a good day, usually more like 120. So it won't create much of a deficit, but I am going to experiment first with whether that makes the days easier to plan and makes the tracking more straightforward.
Let's see if that helps.2 -
@makattack220 askedmakattack220 wrote: »17th I did 5000+ steps exergame BEFORE morning coffee ... just to make SURE it got DONE!
(18th morning - no prework exergame .... the air outside the covers is COLD today. Lots of overnight snow after it had rained alllll dayyyyyyy on the 17th)
What exergame(s) do you use? I'm shopping around for one and have a Nintendo Switch. Just curious which one(s) you've tried and like!
I have an old original Wii and the game is called "Walk It Out" (in UK it was called "Step To The Beat") Unfortunately, Konami (makers of Dance Dance Revolution) never made any updates / expansions after the original 2009 release.
If you google Nintendo Switch and "walking simulators" you will see what is available that is similar. For the longest time, there was NOTHING.
Now there is actually an "exergame category" for this ... so good luck! Does the Nintendo Switch act like "you are the controller the way the original Wii did?
Does anyone else have suggestions for @makattack220 ? I know there is a whole ream of Virtual Reality exergames, that many like ... and the wonderful world of smartphone apps (free and subscription) one could "chromecast" onto to the tv screen ... if your tv is new enough (mine isn't ... even if I DID have a smartphone .... which I don't .... )
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@Mrs_Hoffer
Thanks you! So I am going to try out these two ways of doing a spoiler below, with a brief video I watched this morning about the 3 ¨levers¨ to pull to lose weight. You all can ignore this, it is nothing super surprising.
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In regards to what I think might be considered an ¨exergame¨ I love the game Dance, Dance, Revolution. Not only is it fun and aerobic, my understanding of the research on maintaining your cognitive abilities as you age, tells me it should be good for that too. As an aside, any of you parents of young children might want to know that Guitar Hero has been shown to be more effective in helping children learn to read than tutoring (sequencing skills, I believe this was in regard to children younger than 7 years old). I think Dance, Dance Revolution does some similar brain training, but in the realm of motor coordination too.3
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In regards to what I think might be considered an ¨exergame¨ I love the game Dance, Dance, Revolution. Not only is it fun and aerobic, my understanding of the research on maintaining your cognitive abilities as you age, tells me it should be good for that too. As an aside, any of you parents of young children might want to know that Guitar Hero has been shown to be more effective in helping children learn to read than tutoring (sequencing skills, I believe this was in regard to children younger than 7 years old). I think Dance, Dance Revolution does some similar brain training, but in the realm of motor coordination too.
great info @ideas2 ! I'm really looking forward to adding some fun exergames to my routine in March and am adding Dance, Dance Revolution to the list😁0 -
@ideas2 I am looking into Dance Dance Revolution now - thinking my kids will like it too.3
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Glad to know that they brought various iterations of Dance Dance Revolution forward through the various new platforms!1
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QUestion: i have been down for the count for 3 weeks with covid therefore did not complete this challenge but am ready to try again for the next one. Is there a new one set up for March - if so can you send me a link to it THanks0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyNII5_TRYc&ab_channel=PaulRazvanBerg