Well I started off just counting calories, and not being conscious of all the other things that go into a healthy diet..Then I started researching how much protein I needed in a day...Then the % of fat I should be eating..I had never really thought about fiber before. I checked Fitday and I am getting between 10-25 grams of fiber...Shouldn't I be getting closer to 30-50??? What can I do to increase my fiber intake? I have wheat bread, brown rice, wheat tortilla's, wheat cereals..I guess I am just not eating them often enough. **Siiiggghhh*** One step at a time I suppose LOL. I still struggle with too much fat and not enough protein, but it's getting better. I need to bring fiber into the mix!

The recommended amount of fiber is 25 gms per day. I personally get at least 40 gms. I truly believe it has been a huge boon to my weightloss. It also really helps to keep me satisfied.

You mentioned all the wheat products. Now you need to start incorportating vegetables and fruit. I can't say it enough - veggies and fruit.

Click on this link for a full list:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49479.asp

Just be sure to increase your fiber slowly over a few weeks so it doesn't bother your stomach. You will adjust to it. Also it's essential when you increase your fiber, you must increase your water intake as fiber absorbs lots of water.

Thanks robin!!! Great article. I have been trying to increase my veggies because I seem to eat them faster than I do fruit, and I can also get them frozen so I don't worry about them going bad.

I will get it all together eventually I just can't get mad at myself because even though I have a lot of work to do still, I have come so far!

Bookmarked! Wow..Two of my fave fruits are awesome for fiber..Grapefruit and raspberries..Though I rarely see the latter at the grocery store
I think I will just try to eat a grapefruit a day in place of one of my 100 cal packs. Just got to wait to get paid Monday

Sockmonkey, that's exactly it. Switch up the 100 calorie pack for a grapefruit!!! Perfect. That same exact 100 calories spent (actually a grapefruit has about 75 cals) will give you waaay more nutrition, vitamins and fiberthen that 100 calorie pack full of totally empty calories and G-d knows what else. And it will keep you full longer and help to keep cravings at bay. And you'll have had 25 calories less. This is a learning process. And as you go along you will get more into it and find yourself LOOKING for ways to make better choices.

Frozen vegetables is a great idea as well. Figure out what works for YOU. You're the one who has to do this, so you need to find things that will make it easier for you so you can be more successful. Experiment. Try different things.

I love raspberries too. In fact for the past month or so they have been all over the stores like crazy and really inexpensive too. I was buying them up like mad. I'd finish one of those little containers in one sitting. Unfortunately I think there season is coming to a close. This past week I hadn't seen them at all.

That article had a good list of foods, and it talked about the benefits of keeping you regular. But it didn't mention what a great weightloss tool it is. It IS a great weightloss tool. It helps decrease cravings, it keeps you satied longer, it burns more calories just digesting it then anything else. And the way to get it of course is through eating totally and completely healthy and natural foods, it's a real all around winner.

Sockmonkey if you love raspberries, try the frozen ones. I get them at Walmart. They are unsweetened and fabulous. Something like 1/2 cup of plain fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup of raspberries, T splenda and 1/4 cup of fiber one has only 115 calories with 11 grams of fiber. As for wheat products, I look for things that are very high fiber - Nature's Own Double Fiber bread, or La Tortilla Factory wraps, Fiber One cereal, Kashi Go Lean cereal, oatmeal. Lately I've been eating a lot of squash, which is also high in fiber, low in calories.

Everyone has great suggestions here. I agree with Robin that ramping my fiber intake up (I now get 40-50g a day) really has helped with feeling full and weight loss. I seem to be getting most of my fiber from frozen veggies, potatoes, beans, and fiber rich breakfast cereals (fiber one, oatmeal).

I have a chronic problem with my digestive system that is definitely affected by how much fiber I eat... I'll spare you the details. I have learned how to judge when I need more or when I'm getting enough fiber, but I couldn't give you an exact number of how much I need per day.

The easiest way for me to increase it is to use that clear, dissolving fiber powder when I cook. I stir it into anything, and can't taste it at all. It's supposed to work in cold beverages, too, but I haven't tried that.

I know the experts tell you it's best to get it from fruits and vegetables, and I'm sure they're right, but when you don't get enough that way the powdered supplement is great.

I try to make a soup with either some beans with spinach or kale or something high in fiber at least once a week. Chili is also great for fiber. 1/2 c of barley has 12g of fiber in it, that is easy to add to soup. I also eat one of the Fiber One cereals everyday with berries on it. 1 c of blackberries has 7g of fiber. I think all the Fiber One cereals have at least 10 g of fiber. It's a great way to get half of your fiber in and keep you full until lunchtime.

Mary -- I think you've had your initial question answered, and ably at that! But I thought I'd just add to something Robin said.

One step at a time indeed!!!

I continue to evolve my eating, learn new things, incorporate new ideas, 2 years out. When I first started I just tried to avoid vending machines and the crap at work. I brought lunches and snacks to work and tried to eat less. Then I moved to calorie counting. Then I started to think about WHAT I was eating and think about nutrition. I couldn't tackle it all at once. But I've made lots and lots of small changes and that has been very beneficial! So it makes perfect sense to me that you would look at those 100 calorie packs and start thinking about replacing them with something with more fiber. Next, you will find something else to focus on... and that's a great way to go!

Wyllen, thankyou very much for saying that. In just beginning this my main goal is to just make some small changes that will lead to weight loss, such as eating at home instead of mcdonalds and that kind of thing - but I'm also seeing so much about stay under this amount of fat, stay above this much fiber, you should be getting this many servings of this, etc - I'm trying to digest it all but a lot of it is overwhelming. It's good to remember that at least at this point I'm doing better than I was and I can make small changes as I go and learn new things!

ETA: Thanks for the links guys! It's really helped in creating my shopping list since I know I need to increase my fiber as well!

Gretchy -- It really can be overwhelming. Some people love to dive in headfirst. I needed to wade! 3fc was a great resource to start learning about which things I wanted to pay attention to -- when I was ready to. Good luck!