Fibre

[myladyjane]

Am counting calories atm with a focus on protein (am a pescatarian albeit light on the fish so more veggie than pescie).

Am aiming for about 1400 - 1500 cals per day atm, trying to get between 80-100g of protein.

I know how important fibre is. I regularly eat 6-8 portions of f&v including raspberries. Bread I eat is seeded wholemeal and I have things like chia seeds quite often too. I do have white pasta/rice most of the time but even I don't it doesn't make too much difference as I have quite small portions.

The only time I get anything close to 30g is if I have a massive portion of chickpeas or lentils. I have both a few times a week but neither me nor those around me could literally stomach me eating them everyday.

So I take anything over 15g as a win but that seems too low.

Are you against injectables ? Because for me after 25 years of obesity and general misery I am now a 'healthy weight' .. (BMI 41 to 24) . Have been there for 9 months and have gained and lost 4 Ibs .. (used them to lose but now just go to the gym like before and keeps me balanced)

Things I had tried before :
Weight watchers
Slimming world
Cambridge Diet
Gastric sleeve NHS (from 21 stone to 16 but stuck there)
MY Fitness Pal
Personal Trainer (once a week) and gym 5x a week. (Better shape and 8Ibs down in 6 months )

Nothing moved until Mountjaro.

The OP might want to try diet first before considering to be put on a lifetime of injectable. It is now clear that once stopped, no matter how well you eat or exercise , the weight will always come back. Might take a year, might take two, but it will come back.
Therefor injectables become a drug for life in the same way you take blood pressure drugs for life.

I now eat lentils/beans/chickpeas every day - I’ve found my body adjusted just fine to having them every day, better than doing so just a few times a week.
All-bran cereal also has loads of fibre.
Theres a product on Amazon called Fiberflour which is good if you’re into baking.

How do you get that much protein in on a mostly veggie diet? I struggle with that more than with getting enough fibre, appreciate any tips!

Kiwis with skins on, not as bad as it sounds and also some insoluble fibre

Thanks for the responses. Not keen on injectables tbh, mostly because of the weight coming back on. Never say never but not at the moment.

Can't eat kiwi! Am sort of allergic (same with pineapple) which is a shame because I do like them.

I will up the pulses then. Probably easier in autumn for things like Dahl and I do like the jarred chickpeas from Waitrose (big bean company??) they are often on offer. I've also made some bean based brownies before which were about 200 cals per portion and froze well so may dust off that recipe.

For the protein I eat a lot of eggs and dairy. Loads of Greek yoghurt (0% fage is the highest I think I could find), cottage cheese etc. I found an insta 'recipe' for a cottage cheese bowl which is basically a heap of cottage cheese with some boiled eggs, avocado (I swap for tomatoes or mushrooms if I want to save calories) and a sprinkle of seeds. That's like 25/30g of protein in one go and is incredibly filling. Then lots of things like tofu and hard cheese. the peripheral bits in bread and milk for tea etc, add in more than you think.

Due to family history of diabetes I try to moderate my carbs and have at least one if not two meals which are naturally low ish carb so I try to eat more of the protein sources - like half a pack of tofu but half a portion of noodles. It isn't always successfully but quite often it does work and protein is high on those days

I understand that... and am prepared for that to be a possibility.

However - purely from a health POV - I would rather be on a drug intermittently for the rest of my life that maintains my weight in the healthy zone than on the high BP drugs, metformin, cortisone injections , and anti depressants, I was taking when obese.

I will add however that there is a very big difference between those of us who have been morbidly obese (and suffered the health consequences) and those who are a couple of stone overweight, don't suffer any ill effects and don't need any medication as a consequence of being overweight. Then no. Taking a drug as a quick fix seems ridiculous . (Not to mention expensive)

I listened to a podcast yesterday talking about how we are all mostly fibre deficient and there is a supplement called Glucomannon which is a soluble fibre. It’s approved by the eu to aid weight loss, lower cholesterol and apparently helps smooth glucose spikes and is beneficial for gut bacteria. I need to do some proper research before I take it, but might be worth looking into.

If you can push to eat more fish a heavy tuna salad or pasta back has high protein.

@MissyBright thanks for that, will take a look.

In that case, consider psyllium husks as well. Similar properties to glucomannan, probably way cheaper, and 10 gr will give you 9 gr of fibre. Make sure to drink a glass of water before and one after. Don't take more than 10 gr per day.
Other legumes to consider are red lentils or lima beans. You can make lentil soups and if you add nutritional yeast instead of cheese in it, 15 gr will give you 4 gr of fibre for 50 kcal or so and it is quite tasty. You can also smash lima beans into a kind of hummus to eat with carrots.

I did actually hit my 30g today! So proud :)

Edamame beans plus some chickpea and chia jam crumble bars plus my normal stuff.

My tummy feels a bit overwhelmed not gonna lie!

Lentips, chickpeas, chia seeds, bran mixed with my museli

I love homemade granola with loads of nuts, dried fruit and seeds, substituting some egg whites to reduce the oil and sugar content, eaten with berries (from the freezer most of the year), greek yoghurt and kefir. It has lots of fibre, protein, prebiotics and a good variety of plants. That, with plenty of veg and a portion or so of pulses during the rest of the day, regularly got me well over 30g last time I tracked.

Edamame are a good snack, as are roasted chickpeas.

But build up gradually if you're not used to so much fibre! Better to make small tweaks that you'll stick to than be too ambitious and give up.