How do you get enough fibre on reduced calories?

[DeftGoldHedgehog]

I tend to eat two meals a day, brunch and dinner, and cook from scratch but struggle to get 30g fibre a day on 1400/1500 calories. I eat lots of veg and I'm not veggie but only tend to have one slice of high fibre bread a day, and don't really eat cereals apart from a high fibre granola on the odd days I do eat breakfast. I like lentils and beans but get a bit fed up if I have them every day and don't want to add them to meals just for the sake of it. I like nuts but you have to watch the portion size. I know pears are good, but again don't always fancy them. My gut seems absolutely fine on 15-20g fibre a day, have a normal bowel movement at least once a day and I'm not constipated and not hungry. Does it matter that much?

For example today I had for brunch salmon, artichoke hearts and scrambled egg on rye sour dough with tomatoes and cucumbers. Tonight I've having bacon, gnocchi and peas in a creamy tarragon sauce, with tenderstem broccoli on the side, a naturally high protein yogurt and cherries for dessert, and medium conference pear for a snack.

It's only 21g or so of fibre. What else could I add/swap without adding too many more calories? I'd think a handful of nuts but it's only another 1g or so, and I'm already up to 1432 calories as it is.

Thank you for the choc rec, I haven’t see that

I eat chia seeds most days and never have chia pudding. They can be incorporated in to other foods.

Omg the chocolate recommendation is amazing! Just checked and the Lidl dark chocolate I buy is 1.5g a square. I’m happy to snack on that. Why doesn’t the NHS website have such practical advice 😂

Good god, Im reasonably clued up on food and macros and what they have in and dont have in them. I knew dark chocolate has a ream of minerals and elements in them but fibre, I never knew this!!!

Black beans

@Itsmetheflamingo Do tell me more - I know you can have too much fibre and I was at the 90g, and I've cut back as I said... the key symptom was I was pooing too often, transit too fast so would be underabsorbing some minerals. Now that it's back to 55/65g my understanding is that that is very healthy, and the items you've highlighted I specifically started taking to reduce my cholesterol levels. My GP told me I won't be able to do it with diet alone, having already reduced levels with weight loss and diet change, and wanted me to go on statins - we agreed a 6 month delay, and low and behold I got them down and amazed her. So I am chuffed by that...

... while being curious about what damage you think overdoing fibre actually does?? Do share more.

@DeftGoldHedgehog Great that you're going to try the dark chocolate...Dr Rupy is clear it should be regarded as a health food, so many benefits beyond fibre. Love to know why you're hesitant on defrosted (or fresh!!) raspberries? Good luck with all your shifts - its a fascinating world where one keeps learning and our health just keeps on getting better.

Ha im so glad my dark chocolate fact has made so many of you happy.

Also the 90% chocolate from Waitrose is significantly tastier than the Lindt version. It also has a gram of sugar per square - in comparison a custard cream has over 3g sugar.

I don't work for Waitrose but I do keep their 90% in the range single handedly I think!

From what Im reading its more about discomfort but also that fibre itself can prevent absorption of minerals/vitamins etc, Im not sure if that is just about fast transit, it seems to be something about fibres role in bulking

Whats happened with your cholesterol if you dont mind me asking, what happened to your good cholesterol and your ratio?

@soupyspoon I'll dig the figures out over the weekend! Thanks re fibre, I realise I need to read up about it more if I'm going to keep going at a fairly high level

Really interesting re cholesterol - I know psyllium husk has been shown to have a positive effect.

my rectal surgeon told me too much is bad because it’s overworking: spasming your bowels and everything will pass faster than it needs to for absorption. The bowel is quite a slow steady thing!

The gnocchi, bacon and creamy sauce are adding a lot of calories with little nutritional benefit. I’d swap those out for veg, beans, pulses and legumes.

Got me one of my little Green and Blacks 15g bar out of the chocolate stash for nibbles later.

I dont have a clue as to how much fibre I need, I just need to be able to poo without straining, without pebble dashing

I do eat a lot of pulses and grains rather than bread or pasta . Learning how to cook things differently helps. I HATE pearl barely , yet when in Prague, I couldn't get enough of groats - pearl barley - but cooked so well it was lush

My fibre intake is greek yoghurt and berries, a good handful of oat bran and a hand full of seeds, Lunch will be an open sandwich made with a wholemeal/ high fibre thin, tonnes of salad . Dinner is where I might not get enough, so I now cook veg with skins, try and throw a can of beans into something or lentils

I aim to get enough so I have a smooth "transition "

I think we are all so different, that percentages mean nowt. I dont drink tea, I have 1 coffee a day for maybe 4 days, I never have a glass of water , but Pepsi max is my go to - at least 6 cans a day

So I have to watch what's happening and change my diet daily

Oh I love raspberries. Something I do have fairly regularly. I probably didn't realise they had so much fibre.

Great to hear that @DeftGoldHedgehog - raspberries are one of my deep pleasures in increasing fibre intake! Like dark chocolate, its a treat rather than a chore!!

@soupyspoon here goes re cholesterol...reviewing it for myself was really interesting, but I also know that not everyone's cholesterol is responsive to weight loss and what you eat, so I've also been lucky that I do.

So I understand we're aiming for over 2 for the good cholesterol (HDL) and under 3 for the bad (LDL) ... though I know it is becoming increasingly sophisticated and only some types of LDL are now thought to be damaging... I've not really looked into that.

Up until my 50s, despite being overweight, my LDL was healthy:
1.55 hdl 2.44 ldl 2.76 ratio .60 triglycerides
Ldl went above 3 in 50s

Then in early 60s:
2.23 hdl 5.84 ldl 3.41 ratio total chol 8.4 .72 triglycerides
With weight loss and some dietary change, down to:
2.2 hdl 4.0 ldl 34% ratio total chol 6.4 .5 triglycerides

Then eating to reduce cholesterol – basically adding in everything that might help, only natural things, not using plant sterols or anything else
2.2 hdl 3.0 ldl 39% ratio total chol 5.6 .8 triglycerides

This year I’m going to increase exercise (I’ve got an auto-immune disease so it's not been easy) and continue eating to reduce cholesterol. My GP - having thought I should go on steroids - is now keen to see how much I might get my hdl up and if I can get my ldl below 3. Lets see what happens...

oops... seem to have lost some of the formatting ... hope its clear...

Very interesting. Lots of fibre apparently can affect that in a good way

Raspberries are v low in calories and really high in fibre!

Just scrolled up and seen raspberries being mentioned sorry!

I'm such a raspberry fan I dont think they can be mentioned too often @pambeesleyhalpert !

OMG ditch the 6 cans of Pepsi - they are rotting your gut!!! Switch to sparkling plain water for the fizz if you can’t manage still water.

Sweetners are absolutely awful for the gut. I dont have anything with sweetners in them. I believe 'diet' foods are what makes people eat more.

Thanks @loveyouradvice

My cholesterol was very good at my last check but that was 2021, and I was heavier then. I'll take up my next over 40s health check invitation and see if things have changed.

How do people take their physillium husk ? I have a bag in the cupboard from when I was trying gluten free last year and used it for baking, but not sure how to incorporate it as a supplement

I just mix it into water and drink. It isn’t nice but put a flavoured hydration powder or squash at the same time helps