Getting Enough Fibre

I had a strangely low calorie but rather unhealthy diet yesterday. It seemed fine at the time (no obvious junk foods), but looking at the numbers I was over my 30% fat limit and had way less than the recommended 25g of fibre. The lack of fibre is directly linked to the lack of vegetables I had yesterday which is rather unlike me. Normally I get at least 6 servings of fruit and veg per day, but yesterday I only had a glass of fruit juice, a serving of grapes, a bit of spinach with my lunch (I’d need at least 80g for it to count as a full serving) and a few peas in the fish pie. Between the fruit and veg, pulses (beans and lentils) and grains I eat, I normally get 4.5g of fibre at breakfast, 7-8g at lunch and supper and another 2-3g with each snack. Clearly I need to pay more attention to my vegetable intake!

Fibre isn’t really a nutrient. It’s what’s left over from plant based foods after our bodies have digested all the carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The value of fibre is twofold: first, by cleaning out the intestines it prevents a build up of waste products and toxins in our bodies. In fact, people who eat the most fibre have the lowest rates of colon cancer. Second, fibre fills us up and slows down the digestion of our food. By making us feel fuller for longer, fibre helps to prevent snacking and overeating, which in turn helps with weight loss. As well, when food is digested more slowly, there is a slower release of glucose into the bloodstream, so you don’t get the sharp spikes in insulin needed to deal with it. This in turn lowers your risk of developing diabetes and can help stabilize your mood throughout the day (no sugar highs). Diets high in fibre have also been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

So note to self: extra tomatoes with my lunch and at least two servings of vegetables with supper!

The Score:

Calories:	Protein:	Carbs:	Fat:	Alcohol:	Fibre:
1753.44	116.20g	181.59g	60.99g	0	16.60g
	27%	42%	31%
Calories burned through exercise:		459

What I ate:

Time	Item	Amount
07:30	Vitamins - Centrum Advance A to Zinc, 400iu of Vitamin E, 1000iu Vitamin D3 and 500mg Glucosamine sulphate	1 each
	Cold water	200mL
	Mattesson's Turkey rashers	3 rashers
	Gluten Free fruit muesli	70g
	Alpro Soy milk	120mL
	Sainsbury’s pressed apple juice	200mL
08:30	Black Tea	500mL
10:45	Brazil nuts	6g
	Cashews	17g
	Seedless Red Grapes	100g
	Raspberry and Echinacea tea	250mL
13:00	Chicken in Loyd Grossman Thai Green Curry sauce	188g
	Basmati rice	50g (dry)
	Spinach	25g
14:00	Workout - resistance training + 25 minute bike
	Lemon-Lime Nuun electrolyte tablet in water	750mL
15:45	Sponser Protein Snack bar	1 bar
19:00	Orange, mango and cinnamon tea	250mL
20:00	Home-made fish pie	300g
22:00	Ellactiva Chocolate Calcium Chew	1 chew
	500mg Glucosamine sulphate	1 pill

Plus 500 to 1500mL of cold water sipped from a water bottle throughout the day.