Dieters have searched far and wide for ‘natural’ ways to mimic the miraculous weight-loss effects of the wonder drug Ozempic.
Now experts are increasingly emphasizing the one key nutrient that they say has powerful hunger-suppressing effects that are almost as powerful as the injections.
Fiber is a natural component of many foods, found in abundance in fruits, vegetables and oats, and has been shown to slow your digestion, said Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian working in Connecticut.
“If weight loss is your goal, satiety fiber is a good reason to include it in your meals and snacks,” Ms. Rifkin wrote. Eat this, not that!
Ozempic works by imitating hormones in your body that tell you when you are full.
According to a 2012 study, eating an extra 10 grams of fiber daily can reduce the risk of belly fat by 3.7 percent. Wake Forest University.
Yet 95 percent of Americans do not get the daily recommended amount of fiber. one study suggested.
But it’s not about adding endless bowls of oats to your daily diet. A few simple swaps could do the trick. Below, Ms. Rifkin recommends five of the easiest.
Pack some punch into pasta
You might think the only way to get more fiber in your diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables, but if you shop smart, you can get it in all kinds of unexpected ways, Ms. Rifkin said.
This includes everyone’s favorite: pasta. If you replace a traditional wheat-based pasta with one made from beans or legumes, you will significantly increase your fiber content.
For example, one serving of Banza chickpea pasta contains eight grams of fiber, which is more than double the amount of fiber you would get from eating a serving of barilla, at three grams per serving.
Swap your protein shake for a smoothie
Two cups of frozen berries already provide about 6 grams of fiber, Ms. Rifkin said. Adding more ingredients like oatmeal and chia seeds will make it even higher.
Protein shakes are a favorite among people looking to gain weight at the gym, but often these shakes contain little to no fiber, Rifkin wrote.
Instead of grabbing a prepackaged protein shake, Ms. Rifkin recommends blending up a fruit smoothie, which has about 6 grams of fiber to start with.
For example, Core Power High Protein Chocolate Milkshake has only 1 gram of fiber. One homemade smoothie recipe from a registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau– made with frozen berries, almond milk, Greek yogurt, oats, banana and chia seeds – contains 13 grams of fiber, which will keep you full longer.
Remove the croutons for crispy chickpeas
Chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, are a great source of fiber. Dietitians have previously recommended them as a great source of fiber for a midnight snack to help relieve constipation.
Croutons are a popular addition to salads to make them more texturally interesting and flavorful, but you can get that crunch elsewhere, Ms. Rifkin said. Adding roasted chickpeas gives you the same feeling as fiber-packed croutons.
The Texas Toast flavor of New York Crouton contains 0 grams of fiber per 7-gram serving, compared to 17 grams of fiber per 100-gram serving of roasted chickpeas.
To make homemade crispy chickpeas, you can rinse and dry a can of chickpeas, season to your preference, and roast at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
But if you’re less bothered, there are now several companies producing crispy chickpeas that you can buy at most supermarkets, such as Saffron Road or Biena.
Add avocado instead of mayonnaise
Avocado is a natural source of fat, but it also contains about 4 grams of fiber per serving, making it a more robust option for extracting creamy flavors.
Even your creamy, fatty, more indulgent flavors can work for you. Instead of using mayo on your sandwiches, try adding a little avocado, Ms. Rifkin recommended.
Mayo is made with oil, eggs and lemon juice, none of which contain much fiber. Additionally, many Mayo brands use seed oils to make their products, such as canola oil, which are high in “unhealthy” fats and have been linked to adverse health events, such as heart disease.
In contrast, avocado is a vegetable that, while high in fat, is also packed with other nutrients, such as fiber, vitamin C, potassium and folic acid. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
All told, eating 100 calories of mayonnaise would provide little to no fiber, but eating 100 calories of avocado, which is about half of the fruit, would give you four grams of fiber.
“The combination of fiber and healthy fats makes avocado an excellent food for weight loss because these nutrients increase satiety,” says Rifkin.
Choose quinoa instead of white rice
Quinoa is a seed that tastes like grain when cooked. It is packed with nutrients, such as fiber and protein.
There’s more than one way to add fiber to your grains. Instead of using rice as a side dish, Rifkin recommends opting for quinoa.
A darling of the diet-conscious world, quinoa is actually a seed, meaning it’s high in protein and fiber, just like other seeds and nuts. But when cooked, its light texture and mild flavor make it more like a grain.
There is about half a gram of fiber in a one-cup serving of white rice. There is about ten times as much fiber in a one-cup serving of quinoa, with 5 grams of fiber per serving.
Rifkin also noted that quinoa contains about eight grams of protein per serving, which can help you stay full longer and is a good fuel for muscle building.