11 High Fiber Foods To Help Your Weight Loss

Did you know that your diet accounts for 80% of your total fitness? That means that no matter how hard you work yourself at the gym, unless you’re also eating correctly you probably won’t see the kinds of results you would like. On the plus side, it also means that as long as you can get your diet on the right track, your results in the gym will easily follow. High fiber foods are some of the best types of foods to enjoy when trying to lose weight.

Fiber increases your satiety so that you consume less calories, which is necessary for weight loss. It also keeps your bowels moving regularly so that you do not become constipated or bloated, holding in more waste weight than necessary. To top it all off fiber can even promote actual weight loss when you eat sufficient amounts. Unfortunately for most of us, we are not getting enough in our diets.

Get Your Fill Of High Fiber Foods

Fiber comes in two different forms. The first is soluble which means it dissolves and helps your body to make a gel-like substance that helps lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Soluble fiber can be found in oatmeal, barley, nuts, beans, and certain fruits such as pears and apples.

The second type of fiber is called insoluble fiber, and this type soaks up water and adds bulk to your food. Insoluble fiber works together with your digestive system, to keep everything moving smoothly. This can be found in whole grains and certain vegetables like celery, tomatoes and carrots.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines women who are between the ages of 19 and 30 should try to eat at least twenty-eight grams of fiber every day. Women between the ages of 31 and 50 only need about twenty-five grams of fiber per day. The numbers are a bit higher for males, who should eat at least 33.6 grams of fiber per day between the ages of 19 and 30 and 30.8 grams of fiber daily from the ages of 31 to 50.

The Best High Fiber Foods

Pear and Cottage Cheese

For a healthy breakfast or mid morning snack, cut up a single medium pear and add it to four ounces of full fat cottage cheese. This combination provides you with a total of 14 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber to keep you full and satisfied until your next meal. For additional flavor without additional calories add a bit of cinnamon, poppy seeds or chia seeds.

Popcorn

If you are looking for a snack that you can eat a lot of without worrying about the calorie content then look no farther than popcorn. Three cups of this whole grain snack has the same amount of calories as a small handful of potato chips, and is far more satisfying. Not to mention the fact that the flavor options with popcorn are unlimited. For a savory combination try dill and parsley or for something a little sweeter you can add cinnamon and honey. Be sure to opt for air-popped popcorn over the stove, rather than microwave varieties to avoid unnecessary exposure to harmful chemicals and additives.

Banana Berry Oatmeal

A single cup of oatmeal contains 4 grams of soluble fiber. Combine that with the insoluble fiber that can be found in fruits and berries and you have got yourself a well rounded fiber fueled snack that also happens to be quick and easy to make. Be sure to add the berries yourself rather than buying instant oatmeals with them already includes so that you can avoid the added sugars, while maintaining all of the nutritional benefits. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and even bananas are all excellent high fiber foods that make delicious additions to plain oatmeal.

Black Bean Brownies

Don’t worry, these brownies resemble the gooey chocolatey brownies of your childhood much more than they resemble a black bean dish. Thanks to the inclusion of black beans to the recipe however they are much more nutritionally sound including a ton of fiber and folate that your body needs. Despite their nutritional value scores, these brownies are still dessert so try not to eat the whole batch in one night.

ISOPizza

Making ISOPizza is a great way to enjoy all of the delicious flavors of pizza, without feeling guilty for consuming all of the fats, grease and calories that normally come along with this treat. Rather than using refined grains to create a pizza dough, use ISOPASTA, fresh parmigiano cheese, dried oregano, tomato paste and your favorite pizza toppings to make a delicious and more nutritionally balanced version of a classically low fiber/low nutrient food.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Toast

You do not have to say goodbye to things like cream cheese and toast when you decide that you are going to lose weight. Simply substitute your full fat cream cheese for a low fat option, use a whole grain bread rather than a refined white or wheat bread, and add some flavorful raspberries to give your snack a high fiber kick.

Avocado Boat

High fiber foods have never tasted better. Make an avocado boat by cutting an avocado in half and removing its pit. Fill the hole that the pit leaves with any salsa of your choice and a bit of shredded cheese and enjoy. Eat a single half and you will be filling up on six grams of fiber plus a ton of heart healthy monounsaturated fats, eat the entire avocado and enjoy a whopping twelve grams of delicious fiber.

Rice Cake with Almond Butter and Pumpkin Seeds

Rice cakes are fairly devoid of nutritional value, unless you opt for the multigrain brown rice cakes. These contain a bit more bang for your buck. Top one with two tablespoons of almond butter and a single tablespoon of pumpkin seeds for a bit of extra crunch and you will have yourself a fiber packed snack for the ages.

Sweet Potato Fries

Giving up french fries to expedite your weight loss can be rough, but by substituting your greasy white potato fries for these sweet and salty sweet potato fries you can keep the delicious flavor, while losing a few of the fattening contents. A medium sweet potato contains a full five grams of fiber so you do not have to feel guilty for indulging in this high fiber replacement. Enjoy these with your burger, or by themselves. If you like them extra sweet you can even try dipping them in a bit of honey or maple syrup, but watch how much you use so that you don’t add all of those calories back on with the sugary dips.

Kale Chips

Nothing tastes quite like a greasy, fattening potato chip, but there are alternatives that will put the crunch back into your diet without sacrificing your progress. Kale chips are high fiber foods that can be seasoned with a variety of different spices to produce a ton of different flavors. They may not taste like your favorite potato chip, but they are much healthier, and contain more vitamins than most other leafy greens.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Chocolate peanut butter balls are a great dessert option if you need something to satisfy your sweet tooth that will not take you over your calorie count for the day. As a bonus they will even add some extra protein to your diet to keep you feeling full so while you can feel free to indulge as much as you want on these, you are likely to fill up rather quickly. Make twenty four of your own chocolate peanut butter dessert balls using our ISOBALLS recipe and enjoy with friends, or keep them all to yourself. We promise we won’t judge.

Sources:

Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties Nutrition Facts & Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1843/2

Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, plain, prepared with water (boiling water added or microwaved) [instant oatmeal] Nutrition Facts & Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/breakfast-cereals/1600/2

Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd Nutrition Facts & Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/11/2

Appendix 7. Nutritional Goals for Age-Sex Groups Based on Dietary Reference Intakes and Dietary Guidelines Recommendations. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/appendix-7/

Pears, raw [Includes USDA commodity food A435] Nutrition Facts & Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2005/2

Snacks, popcorn, air-popped Nutrition Facts & Calories. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/snacks/5356/2

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