Does anyone track their fibre intake?

[wwyd2021medicine]

I'm really surprised how little fibre I eat considering I have plenty of fruit and veg imo.
Today, for example I have had:

Berries, seeds with breakfast

Lunch - half pack cherry tomatoes, a third of a pack of Mangetout, half a bag of spinach, watercress and rocket. Also half avocado.

According to nutrition information on packets or online, that's only 15.75g of fibre so I've got to eat the same amount again to hit the 30g target. And the 30g target is purposely set low as far as I recall from stuff I have heard.

I'll track for the next few days but I'm so surprised as this sounds quite a lot of fruit and veg!

Yes, I do, and it is hard to get enough fibre just from vegetables. Pulses, seeds and nuts help.

I have a bowl of chia seeds and ground flax, with some whole, skin-on almonds, Brazil nuts, raspberries and yoghurt every day. I also have a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter spread into a stick of celery.

This, along with a fuckton of vegetables and sometimes a portion of pulses with dinner, gets me over the line.

It's surprisingly hard isn't it?

I do beany salads but not every day obviously. I snack on nuts so I can total those in later when I have a snack at about 5 with an apple.

This evening I'm having quinoa in a salad with spinach and pine nuts so I'll add that up too

It's not an insignificant amount of veg - it's not like it's just a garnish!

I deliberately eat a lot of fibrous vegetables in the mix - lettuce and rocket is tasty, but not as robust as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.

Most of the time no, but I have IBS and am very prone to the constipation sub-type of it. If I'm struggling with it particularly then I do need to keep a close eye on what I'm eating and will make sure I have plenty of veg, but also wholemeal bread/rice instead of white, big bowl of porridge, adding extra beans to things like a chilli con carne etc.

At this time of year I eat salad for brunch with chick peas, lentils & beans. This gives me at least 50g . In the winter i eat a sort of lentil & bean stew instead.

If you are interested in where the recommended number for fiber comes from put 'Zoe Harcombe' and 'what about fiber' into youtube.
It is especially interesting for people who have bowel conditions.

I take a psyllium husk supplement every day for fibre because like you say, it's surprising how much you need! In addition to that I also try to eat an apple and a handful of nuts every day for a snack and have porridge with raspberries for breakfast. Then lunches and dinner it is wholemeal versions of bread, pasta, rice etc. Potatoes with skins on, plenty of vegetables, beans and pulses etc.

Good to know re broccoli. I eat a load of that usually.

I'm not a fan of boiled carrots but great for a salad with seeds in and they are good for fibre it seems.

I eat the majority of my vegetables raw actually, I prefer them that way and more fibre than cooked anyway. Cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, sliced baby turnips, radishes - all very nice as salads or crudités.

50g at one sitting is amazing!
I think DH can forgo potatoes tonight and I'll maybe make a bean salad instead.

Psyllium husk sounds good. I'll look at that. I've just given a tub of inulin to DD - i was disappointed by how little fibre in that tbh - didn't seem worth it as a supplement.

It's really hard. Pulses are key; whole grain everything and skin on everything helps a bit but you really do have to concentrate.

My secret weapon is All Bran for breakfast every day.

I have tracked in the past so I know I get about 70g on an average day. My diet is mostly whole food, plant based though so its not that difficult to get enough fibre.

If you start the day with porridge, have a salad sandwich on wholemeal, mixed nuts as a snack and then a supper that includes three or four veg, then it's easier. Jacket potatoes are good for fibre, leafy veg, celery, fennel, cabbage etc.

Just watched thank you. V interesting!

At this time of year I eat salad for brunch with chick peas, lentils & beans. This gives me at least 50g

That must be a huge portion!

@wwyd2021medicine its very hard to reach the 30g. I did a week of it & basically had to follow the below plan to reach it.

Breakfast: oats/granola with berries/nuts/seeds
Lunch: jacket with baked beans
Dinner: lentil Dahl soup with wholeness bead & veg
snacks: fruit & nuts.

A entire tin of chickpeas is about 17g, tin of Lentils about 14g, tin of baked beans 17g.

I think I'm just over the 30g line with an apple, some nuts and a spinach, quinoa and edemame bean salad topped with sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
That's good as it is my everyday sort of food but I'm still surprised that with all that fruit and veg I'm not smashing it out of the park.
I'm not having any particular dietary concerns, just thought of totting it up.

It is hard indeed. But if I exchanged meat/fish for pulses, my protein intake to calorie ratio would be significantly changed and I'm happy with my weight with my current way of eating.

No. I have to avoid too much fibre as I have IBS, which in my case involves several bathroom visits.

I eat a lot of salads and vegetables as I enjoy them. My main trigger is wholemeal bread, so I avoid eating it. I'm fine with seeded and multigrain bread though.

Me too @RampantIvy . It’s a bit of an issue! I was taking something for a health condition and they changed the recipe and it became more fibrous. I persevered with it for a couple of months but have had to stop it as the effects were too debilitating.