Focusing on fiber rather than calories has finally made me lose weight
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I know I could google but what is Natto? |
Anonymous
Fermented soybeans. Very popular in Japan. You can get them at hmart. Some people can't stand the taste and texture, but if you put it on top of a small amount of rice and mix it and add the little pack of sauce it isn't bad. I actually like the flavor a lot. It's a nutty, earthy flavor. Natto is also one of the only good sources known on the planet that is a source for nattokinase, which has been shown to have all sorts of health benefits. It's also very rich in vitamin K2. Natto is a super food. |
Anonymous
| Your sample menu includes no grains. Good for you (sincerely), but I couldn’t do it. I need some quinoa or buckwheat or something. Was this a change from how you were eating before, or did you always eat no grains? I wonder if that’s also what is driving your weight loss. |
Anonymous
It's just one day for an example. I'm not going to type out an entire meal plan. But yes, I'll eat wild or brown rice. Both groats and oats for breakfast. Barley soup. Soba noodles (although rare because of sodium). Or sometimes sprinkle bulgur in stuff. I rarely eat bread, but when I do I will eat something like scrambled egg whites with spinach and injera (Ethiopian flat bread made with teff). Injera has fiber and is very easy to eat. |
Anonymous
| I’m starting my new high fiber lifestyle starting today, op. I will report back! |
Anonymous
| Thanks for posting, OP. I'm going to try to remember this. I'm usually a pretty high fiber person but some days I get stuck on eating everything with white rice, which I just love. I recently bought packs of natto and have been trying to incorporate. |
Anonymous
| Congrats! I was on this forum tonight to look for weight loss tips and will start working on this tomorrow. |
Anonymous
As OP of the other thread on fiber, I'm curious what you are doing for the high-fiber lifestyle. For me, it's been a combination of adding chia seeds / flax seeds to things I would otherwise be eating (oatmeal, grain bowls, etc), and changing my lunch plan entirely to focus on beans/lentils and whole grains with high-fiber veggies. Dinners are harder because I eat with the whole family, including 2 teen boy athletes who can consume a TON of low-fiber carbs. I don't want to have a separate "mom meal", just take different portions of, say, the pasta vs the veggies - but that makes it difficult to really pack in the fiber. I haven't started any supplements. My thread: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1205014.page What changes are you making? Adding to regular meals, substituting ingredients? Any favorites yet? |
Anonymous
| What is natto? |
Anonymous
|
Congrats OP, this is the same approach that has helped me to finally start shifting weight. Mostly because I’ve switched to a largely plant based diet which of course means a big increase in fiber intake over the typical standard American diet I had been consuming.
I still have occasional emotional triggers that tell me to eat, but it’s so much easier to get past them because a belly full of fiber basically talks back to me and says ‘no way, no room in here!’ so I can get past emotions by using other coping strategies. Because I need to up my activity level, I’m taking walks with my dog whenever I start thinking about sugar which I have mostly eradicated from my diet. People mentioned protein in this thread and I just want to share what I’ve learned the last year that I’ve been reading a lot about nutritional biochemistry and following many of the physicians who are promoting healthier diet for disease reversal and prevention. Most Americans are eating far more protein than necessary for good health, and excess protein harms the kidneys and is stored by the body as fat. So all that animal protein that certain diets promote is not working for most people and is instead a driver of weight gain. If you aren’t an elite athlete or body builder, you aren’t going to need to worry about protein and there is more than enough in plants foods to meet your health needs. One of my favorite foods these days is Goya’s vegan refried black beans, which I dress with some sautéed garlic and onion and cumin and cayenne. I eat them with minimally processed corn chips (Mi Nina is my favorite brand, they are local to me not sure how available nationally) or in corn tortillas or sometimes straight up with a side of dark leafy greens. I try to eat at minimum 1/2 cup beans daily, more often 1-2 cups. Black beans are super food! I also eat a serving of walnuts daily and often a second serving of either peanuts or pistachios. Eating for micronutrients and fiber has been a game changer for me in terms of shutting off food noise/chatter in my head. I believe a high fiber diet is as good as weight loss injections in terms of tempering appetite. Incidentally it is believed that our ancestors routinely consumed 4-5x the current recommended daily allowance of fiber (25/35g women/men) which only about 10% of Americans are consuming today. If we could get everyone eating high fiber diets we could reverse a lot of chronic diseases. |
Anonymous
Look, I know many westerners will have a hard time with the texture and smell. It just takes getting used to it. I actually looooove the flavor of natto. If you add it on top of brown rice and mix it, you can hide the texture if you don't like it. They also typically give you a packet of sauce. Add it in and it is delicious. Natto has an insane nutritional profile. 30+ grams of protein in a cup. Low cal. Huge amounts of fiber. Only source known for nattokinase. Tons of vitamin K2. It's a wonder food for blood pressure and cholesterol. |
Anonymous
I was one of the people who asked what natto is. It's interesting that I take vitamin K2 every day; my blood work is insanely good. Could that be the reason? |
Anonymous
| Congratulations OP! fiber is so good for your overall health, too (not just weight loss). The "blue zones" guy said that the number one common trait in these zones, where people have extremely long life spans, is a diet full of legumes (and thus, fiber). Since hearing that I've been trying to eat chickpeas or lentils or some other kind of bean every day. |
Anonymous
| OP, where do you get your natto? |
Anonymous
Sorry, I saw you already had a response about natto. |