Make Fiber your Friend!

Weight 148.2


RescuingLisa reminded me yesterday how much I love my Bran Buds. I eat about half a cup of these crunchy little pellets everyday, either on top of my cereal or mixed in with some yogurt. Now I don’t want to lie to you, they aren’t very yummy. They are down right tasteless and plain. But the wonderful thing about Bran Buds is the Fiber. Fiber is your friend, or it should be.

Nutritional Information per 1/3 cup (28 g)

Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0g
Sodium 200mg
Potassium 280mg
Carbohydrate 22g
Fiber 11g (this is 44% of your daily requirement, 25g being ideal)
Protein 3g

Now why should fiber by your friend you might ask? There have been many studies conducted on the benefits of fiber, but the one I am most concerned with is what fiber does for my weight loss efforts. This article here mentions that although increased fiber in your diet will not directly make you lose weight, it will a) keep you full longer and b) regulate your blood sugar levels.

This is important because as we are on a calorie reduced diet, we want to be eating foods that will prolong that feeling of fullness for as long as possible. I know it keeps me from reaching for the box of donuts at the reception desk in the morning. Now regulating our blood sugar levels is also extremely important because this keeps our cravings for sugar at bay. When we eat a chocolate bar for example, our blood sugar spikes, then drops very rapidly. Our body then craves another spike. Fiber keeps our blood sugar levels from falling or spiking.

In all honesty though, I don’t eat Bran Buds for the above reasons. I eat them because we have chronic constipation in our family and nothing has worked like my Buds have worked. This article here says a healthy colon should weigh 4 pounds, but some autopsies have revealed swollen colons weighing 40 pounds due to build up of waste. By eating over 25 g of fiber a day, I am removing harmful waste from my colon and intestines and keeping build up to a minimum, which means I keep that 36 pounds of poop from making a home in my body.

Do your body a favor, eat some fiber. This doesn’t mean you have to eat Bran Buds. Fruits and veggies pack a lot of fiber too, so don’t neglect them either.

My Food today:

Maple & Brown sugar Weight Control Oatmeal – 3 points + 6g of Fiber
1/3 cup Bran Buds – 1 point + 11g of Fiber
1/3 cup skim milk – 1 point
Sandwich thin – 1 point + 5g of Fiber
Fat-Free sliced Turkey – 2 points
Lite-May 1 tsp – 1 point
Jarlsberg Cheese – 4 points
½ cup Cucumber – 0 points
Fiber 1 Oats and Chocolate – 2 points + 5g of Fiber
1 apple medium – 1 point + 4g of fiber
BBQ Chicken breast – 4 points
BBQ Sauce – 2 points
Yukon nugget potatoes 4 – 4 points + 3g of Fiber
Mixed Veggies ¾ cup – 1 point + 2g of Fiber

Total: 27 points and 36g of Fiber!!