Fiber: Key to maintaining weight loss goals
In the end no matter how much you exercise, achieving our weight loss goals always comes down to what you eat. As they say, you are what you eat.
One of the easiest ways to achieve the beginnings of healthy eating is to stock up on fibre. Fiber has endless benefits, from supporting weight loss goals, preventing disease such as colon and breast cancer, fiber also prevents constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, regulates blood sugar levels and may also help lower bad cholesterol, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease, a common disease among men and women in India!
According to health specialists, one should intake roughly about 35-40% of fibre daily. Sound impossible? Perhaps, but with a little practice and knowledge, it will be a piece of cake, a slice of low-fat carrot cake, that is 
Besides, being fit and healthy is a lifestyle, not something short-term we want for our bodies.
Having said that, the only thing required to change your diet habits is effort and a little discipline.; The discipline to keep an open mind to try new things and acquire new tastes, all in the name of your HEALTH.
Fiber can be broken into two categories: 1) Soluble fiber and 2) Insoluble fiber. Overall, both types of fiber are passed thru from our bodies. The difference between the two is that soluble fiber when consumed acts like a magnet, absorbing toxins and insoluble fiber is what brings the bulk of waste and toxins out of the body.
Together, fiber promotes regular bowel movements, helping your body to detoxify regularly.
Food Sources of Insoluble Fiber include green veggies such as palak, methi, green beans, fruit skins such as apples, chickoo, grapes, peaches, plums, grains such as dahlia/lapsi, and seeds and nuts.
Food Sources of Soluble Fiber include oat bran, dried beans and peas such as different dahls/lentils, channa, mutter, flax seeds, nuts, carrots, oranges, apples, psyllium husks
Fiber and weight loss
So whats the connection between fiber and weight loss?
First off, fiber fills you up faster. For example, when eaten, white rice or refined grains for that matter, convert into sugar much faster than brown rice or unprocessed grains. If that sugar/energy is not used, it goes straight to our stomachs, backsides, and thighs.. ugh 
However, unlike refined grains, unprocessed/whole grains contain more nutrients which require more time to digest, they convert into sugar at a slower pace, which keeps you feeling fuller longer, hence sugar cravings lessen.
The other thing is that as soluble fiber binds to toxins, it leaves your body healthier with less crap in your system.
There are many simple ways to increase your fiber intake:
*Eating whole/unrefined grains is definitely a start. For example one cup of brown rice contains 3.5 grams of fiber.
*An apple a day not only keeps the doctor away but also contains 5 grams of fiber.
* Add flax seed (seed and ground) in your atta for chapathi and roti
* Add flax seed to your cornflakes
* Try different vegetables such as brocoli, Cauliflower and cabbage are also high in fiber.
* For breakfast, try a muesli or multigrain cereal – with nuts and raisins
* Sprinkle flax on rice
* Increase your intake of nuts. The myth is that these are high in fats, but the truth is that the fats in nuts are the good fats, high in vitamins and fiber!!
For a useful fiber chart, check this link: http://www.wehealny.org/healthinfo/dietaryfiber/fibercontentchart.html
where it comes from, how to let it go
Here’s a great writing by Iyanla Vanzant from her book titled Faith in the Valley: Lessons for Women on the Journey to Peace (1996)
Maybe what you really need is a spiritual diet! A spiritual diet will cut down on the the excess weight you carry around in your soul. The weight of people who have disappointed you or hurt you. The weight of things you should have done, could have done, or wanted to do, but couldn’t bring yourself to do. As a matter of fact, that weight around your middle could be those people you’ve been hanging around or allowing to hang onto you. The heaviness in your legs could be all those things you convinced yourself you were not smart enough, good enough, or ready enough to do. That sluggish, heavy feeling you have in your heart might be your dreams, goals, fantasies. You haven’t put them to use, so they’ve turned to weight, spiritual weight, which has your whole life weighed down.
Yes! I believe a spiritual diet is exactly what you need! You can start right now with a heaping portion of forgiveness smothered in surrender. You will also need a big helping of laughter three or four times a day. Next, you must begin each day with prayer, followed by a dose of gratitude. For the next six to eight weeks, sprinkle every thing with faith, wash it down with courage, and let your dessert be a swig of confidence. If you follow these directions with all your heart, you will experience a miraculous weight loss.
Here’s a link to more information on Iyanla Vanzant : www.innervisionsworldwide.com
Wellness and Health
Wellness and health is not just about lookin fit but feeling your best. Its about being in tune with one’s self, listening to your body and respecting it, which means nourishing it on all levels, feeding it with good food and good thoughts and most importantly loving yourself as you are. When you begin to honour yourself, your body seems to reflect that – the beauty inside shines outward.
Since I was a lil girl, I was always on the chubbier side. As I grew into a young lady, I found it difficult to accept my body and myself. I despised me. At times I felt awkward with it. Perhaps that had more to do with the way I felt about myself, perhaps it had more to do with the way I believed certain things about me. Perhaps I focused too much attention on what others thought about me.
No matter how much I exercised, how much I tried to diet, it was never enough. I would work out seven days a week and not a pound would leave my body. Truth be told, it was only when I started to release the old beliefs about myself that I started to see changes. First on the inside, and then on the outside.
This blog aims to share some information, knowledge and personal insights on health, fitness, and nutrition based on my own personal journey towards a healthier body and mind.
