I have been doing well with the plan so far, 5 pounds in 2 weeks, and I absolutely LOVE the online nutrition log. I know that if I put down everything I eat and stay within the guidelines, I WILL loose the weight. The immediate feed back I get from the color coded nutrition information is very helpful to me. I am usually able to stay within the target ranges quite easily. That being said, I am finding it hard, if not impossible to get the recommended amount of fiber. I'm eating salads, grapefruit, carrot sticks and apples. My question is this: Can you recommend several good sources of fiber to me? Realistically, I'm not going to eat 4 or 5 cups of lettuce a day, so I need some alternatives. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, Denise

It is very hard to get enough fiber in your diet--even harder when you have to restrict your calories!  And for a diet to be successful, at least for me, you need to keep some variety in it--you certainly don't want to load up on the same high-fiber food items every day to meet your fiber requirement.   

In addition to fruits and veggies, I try to choose whole grain breads and other foods that have high fiber amounts.  Since starting the alli plan, I spend a lot of extra time in the supermarket and health food store, reading labels! One product line I like are Vitalicious Vitatops. (they're available online if not at your local store) The chocolate flavored ones satisfy my cravings and have 6 grams of fiber per, and they are only 100 calories and very low in fat or non-fat...and loaded with vitamins!  I enjoy them as a snack in the evening.  Kashi products--cereals, bars and frozen pizza--also tend to have good fiber amounts.  Naturally, the best way to get your fiber is through food, but I don't think it hurts to take a fiber supplement (I take Fiber Choice) to make sure you're at or above the daily target.

DeniseMartin:

I have been doing well with the plan so far, 5 pounds in 2 weeks, and I absolutely LOVE the online nutrition log. I know that if I put down everything I eat and stay within the guidelines, I WILL loose the weight. The immediate feed back I get from the color coded nutrition information is very helpful to me. I am usually able to stay within the target ranges quite easily. That being said, I am finding it hard, if not impossible to get the recommended amount of fiber. I'm eating salads, grapefruit, carrot sticks and apples. My question is this: Can you recommend several good sources of fiber to me? Realistically, I'm not going to eat 4 or 5 cups of lettuce a day, so I need some alternatives. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks, Denise

 

Congratulations!  It sounds like you're off to a great start. 

Getting fiber is not always easy.  Most of us only eat about 10 to 12 grams of fiber per day.  However, the Alli Sample Menus are designed to have 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day -- the recommended amount!

While you don't have to eat the exact menus items, if you substitute similar types and amounts of food you should come very close to the proper amount of fiber, as well as calories and fat -- and not have to do all the calculating.

That said, Fiber One cereal contains 14 grams of fiber per serving!  Foods like beans, pears, prunes, spinach and whole-grain cereals are good sources of fiber.  You can also try a fiber supplement like Metamucil wafers (a nice snack with a cup of tea) to add natural fiber to your diet.  The National Fiber Council (www.nationalfibercouncil.org) has some other good tips as well.

Please let me know if you need anything else.

Pat Baird, MA, RD, registered dietitian

Thanks for the responses. I forgot about Kashi and I was unaware of Fiber One cereal. I'll give those a try on days when I don't feel like a smoothie for breakfast :)

Good!  You know you can always add some Fiber One to your smoothie!  And there's another fiber supplement called FiberSure that dissolves better than most, if you'd like to give that a try.

Pat 

DeniseMartin:

Thanks for the responses. I forgot about Kashi and I was unaware of Fiber One cereal. I'll give those a try on days when I don't feel like a smoothie for breakfast :)

 

I used to have the same problem, then I started adding fiber enriched foods, like high fiber tortillas and double fiber bread slices. It really makes it easier to reach my daily amount.

dncbanks:

I used to have the same problem, then I started adding fiber enriched foods, like high fiber tortillas and double fiber bread slices. It really makes it easier to reach my daily amount.

Good for you!  Those are very simple suggestions that work very well.

Pat

Wow. Fiber One. Wow.

In the last 2 days, this is has been my change. I scattered to get something in me for breakfast the last two days (asthma and sleeping) so, for breakfast, I have been having a simple bowl of Fiber One Raisin Crunch stuff...wow. I am the most regular that I have been since I started Alli...and after 9 days of the scale sitting still...I dropped another pound. It's actually very tasty!

I usually eat a small variety from all the food groups but I think stirring it up every once in awhile keeps my body guessing ;o)