It's hard OP. As a man, they recommend 30+ g of fiber PER DAY. An apple only has about 4.5 g. I have to eat the equivalent of 8 apples per day just to meet the minimum suggested for fiber.

Oats in the morning with nuts and chia seeds are must. That's coupled with berries and fruit.

Fiber supplemented water all morning.

Salad or vegetable with lunch, another peice of fruit.

Vegetables for dinner and fruit plate for dessert. Air popped popcorn with no toppings as a snack.

It truly sucks getting enough fiber as a man. Your diet has to be insane. And it is expensive. I have no qualms at all using supplements because it is so hard. I have my limits for how many days in a row I can eat the driest, blandest food that is tantamount to twigs and berries with zero flavors.

OP here. Today was great! I haven't been to the grocery store yet, so I'm still working with what I already had at home - this will get easier when I can add some of your suggestions.

But in the meantime, My Fitness Pal says I got 24 g fiber, 94 g protein, and 1500 calories today!!

Breakfast: 1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt, strawberries (have to use up what I got at the farmers market last weekend!), toasted oats and chopped pecans, teaspoon of honey. Hard boiled egg.

Lunch: salad with lettuce, spinach, shredded chicken, half an avocado, celery, hard boiled egg, ranch dressing. Half an apple.

Dinner: soup with homemade chicken broth, shredded chicken, lots of white beans, kale, and a bunch of other veggies. My teenage boys weren't thrilled with the idea of "chicken soup" for dinner, so we added a bunch of frozen meatballs to the pot after I took my portion out, and gave them a bag of dinner rolls alongside - now they are happy .

I'd swap the oats at breakfast for All-Bran - a serving of All-Bran has slightly fewer calories than the 1/2 cup of oats you're eating and has 12 g of fiber.

I get the challenge - I've been trying to make sure I'm eating enough protein and fiber (but without adding more calories than I need) and it's really tricky to do.

I eat WAY larger servings of vegetables than you do, according to your breakdown. Like, DH and I will split an entire roast cauliflower with dinner; my salads have like five cups of spinach, etc. it’s the only way I can fill up without eating too many calories. I also eat and love Ezekiel bread.

every day I do a cup of mixed berries, 1/2 avocado and tbsp chia seeds....that's about 15 g which makes it easier to get the other 10 and then some and as PP stated it does WONDERS for every aspect...sleep, fullness, and oh yeah incorporate plenty of water and you'll be less full of it for sure!

Swap raspberry for strawberry in your oatmeal. You can buy them frozen and they are cheaper and last longer. Costco has good prices on frozen fruit. Blueberry is also better than strawberry but not by as much. Do some oatmeal batches with canned pumpkin; it's inexpensive, high in fiber, and tasty. I add some pecans, ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, and blackstrap molasses... it's like thanksgiving gingerbread! High in iron too. You could do a high fiber cereal instead of oats sometimes, but look out for added sugar. Another idea is swapping the milk for yogurt that has added fiber, but those are pretty processed and can be sugary.

For your soups and salads, you could swap kale and cabbage for the chard and lettuce. And I like wasa crackers (the thins in the blue package) so you could substitute those for the bread or triscuts.

What about the other 17 grams?
One medium whole-wheat bagel has 4 grams of fiber, per the USDA.

2 kiwi= 100% fiber

You need to be eating whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts to get enough fiber. Fruits and vegetables won’t give you enough soluble fiber.

Add some chia seeds to your oatmeal and another serving of either a whole grain, lentil, beans with lunch and dinner.

Some high fiber foods I enjoy: avocado, dried figs and dates, Ezekiel English muffins, almond butter, apples, berries, edamame, wheat berries (in place of rice).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all! I like the idea of adding some sesame seeds and flax seed to my oatmeal. I tried chia seeds a couple of times and wasn't crazy about the texture, maybe I need to try again with a smaller amount to start.

To the PP griping about 1200 calories - I'm not aiming for 1200. 1400-1500 is about right for what I need.

Lentils are also a great idea. I love lentils, but the rest of my family doesn't, so I'm not in the habit of including them in dinners that we all eat together. I should make a batch on the weekend and use them for my own lunch.

And finally, I appreciate the idea that maybe I'm overthinking this . I will look for small ways to increase fiber, but not stress over it.

Thanks again, DCUM!

OP you are not wrong to be thinking about fiber. For the past year, I've been very focused on improving my overall health and fat loss. I know there is a lot of advice out there and I take it all with a grain of salt, and a lot of curiosity.

Three months ago I decided to try hitting at least 25g per day and evaluate whether it made a difference in my health or how I feel. It absolutely does.
All else being equal in my diet/sleep/exercise, the high fiber diet makes me feel generally "lighter" and less bloated, more sustained energy over the day, and my rate of fat loss increased (but only a miniscule amount).

Can you share what you’re eating?

PP here-

Here is yesterday:

breakfast- cottage cheese with blueberries and chia seeds
lunch- arugula salad with chicken, pumpkin seeds, onion and cucumber, and dressing made with avocado
snack- apple
dinner- salmon, quinoa and peas
snack- dark chocolate

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all! I like the idea of adding some sesame seeds and flax seed to my oatmeal. I tried chia seeds a couple of times and wasn't crazy about the texture, maybe I need to try again with a smaller amount to start.

To the PP griping about 1200 calories - I'm not aiming for 1200. 1400-1500 is about right for what I need.

Lentils are also a great idea. I love lentils, but the rest of my family doesn't, so I'm not in the habit of including them in dinners that we all eat together. I should make a batch on the weekend and use them for my own lunch.

And finally, I appreciate the idea that maybe I'm overthinking this . I will look for small ways to increase fiber, but not stress over it.

Thanks again, DCUM!

OP you are not wrong to be thinking about fiber. For the past year, I've been very focused on improving my overall health and fat loss. I know there is a lot of advice out there and I take it all with a grain of salt, and a lot of curiosity.

Three months ago I decided to try hitting at least 25g per day and evaluate whether it made a difference in my health or how I feel. It absolutely does.
All else being equal in my diet/sleep/exercise, the high fiber diet makes me feel generally "lighter" and less bloated, more sustained energy over the day, and my rate of fat loss increased (but only a miniscule amount).

Can you share what you’re eating?

Not the pp but here is a typical day for me:

Breakfast - oatmeal with flaxseed topped with walnuts and almonds. Side helping of spinach. One orange sweet potato.

Lunch - bowl with lentils, black beans, corn, and black rice. Side of spinach, carrots, broccoli. One purple sweet potato (either Stokes or Okinawan).

Dinner - bowl with chickpeas, corn, tofu, and black rice. Side of broccoli, spinach, carrots. One sweet potato (either Japanese or Hannah).

I typically consume ~75 grams fiber per day.

Fiber isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.

I’m in the same boat. I eat a lot of veggies and I was shocked that the 3 cups of spinach has 3 grams of fiber!! Haha

I bought fiber gummies at Costco to eat a serving right after lunch and right after dinner.

I don’t like fiber pills. They feel like they get stuck in my throat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all! I like the idea of adding some sesame seeds and flax seed to my oatmeal. I tried chia seeds a couple of times and wasn't crazy about the texture, maybe I need to try again with a smaller amount to start.

To the PP griping about 1200 calories - I'm not aiming for 1200. 1400-1500 is about right for what I need.

Lentils are also a great idea. I love lentils, but the rest of my family doesn't, so I'm not in the habit of including them in dinners that we all eat together. I should make a batch on the weekend and use them for my own lunch.

And finally, I appreciate the idea that maybe I'm overthinking this . I will look for small ways to increase fiber, but not stress over it.

Thanks again, DCUM!

OP you are not wrong to be thinking about fiber. For the past year, I've been very focused on improving my overall health and fat loss. I know there is a lot of advice out there and I take it all with a grain of salt, and a lot of curiosity.

Three months ago I decided to try hitting at least 25g per day and evaluate whether it made a difference in my health or how I feel. It absolutely does.
All else being equal in my diet/sleep/exercise, the high fiber diet makes me feel generally "lighter" and less bloated, more sustained energy over the day, and my rate of fat loss increased (but only a miniscule amount).

Can you share what you’re eating?

I get the pre-cooked lentils at Trader Joe’s. I add some to my lunch salads.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all! I like the idea of adding some sesame seeds and flax seed to my oatmeal. I tried chia seeds a couple of times and wasn't crazy about the texture, maybe I need to try again with a smaller amount to start.

To the PP griping about 1200 calories - I'm not aiming for 1200. 1400-1500 is about right for what I need.

Lentils are also a great idea. I love lentils, but the rest of my family doesn't, so I'm not in the habit of including them in dinners that we all eat together. I should make a batch on the weekend and use them for my own lunch.

And finally, I appreciate the idea that maybe I'm overthinking this . I will look for small ways to increase fiber, but not stress over it.

Thanks again, DCUM!

OP you are not wrong to be thinking about fiber. For the past year, I've been very focused on improving my overall health and fat loss. I know there is a lot of advice out there and I take it all with a grain of salt, and a lot of curiosity.

Three months ago I decided to try hitting at least 25g per day and evaluate whether it made a difference in my health or how I feel. It absolutely does.
All else being equal in my diet/sleep/exercise, the high fiber diet makes me feel generally "lighter" and less bloated, more sustained energy over the day, and my rate of fat loss increased (but only a miniscule amount).