We've all heard that more fiber in our diets is a crucial part to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Most of us attribute fiber to staying regular, and many of us do not know how this one little thing can actually help us to lose weight when enough is consumed and partnered with the right activity.
Walking is something that doctors have told their patients to do since the dawn of time. When an overweight person walks into their doctor's office, the doctor will usually tell that person to eat healthier and walk for at least 30 minutes a day. I know that's what my doctor told me 30 pounds ago.
While we know that walking is good for us, and fiber is good for our diet, no one has ever thought to put these two together. How much walking do we really need? How much fiber is enough? An article in the May 3, 2010 edition of First magazine lays it all out for us.
First, the walking. We've heard it a million times. People ask someone that they know how they lost so much weight, what is the most common answer? Walking. It's disgusting, I know. It seems so boring and not a very fun exercise, not to mention, I can't STAND to exercise. But, in order to lose that weight, it's one of those things we just need to buckle down and do. But here's the thing, so many of us hear about speed-walkers, or people who walk with walking sticks and weights, etc. First lays out the skinny on walking right for maximum burn.
Slow your pace to release trapped fat. There it is. You no longer have to walk so fast that you can barely breathe, just in order to lose those extra pounds. High-intensity activity such as running or weight lifting puts stress on cells, prompting them to call on glucose for rapid energy. A body under stress will pull this glucose from the blood and from muscle stores. In the article, Dr. Strutman says that "this causes blood sugar levels to drop rapidly, leading to intense hunger and post-workout energy slumps." In fact, one study showed that women who exercised strenuously consumed 60% MORE calories during their post-workout meals, which put them at risk for weight gain.
Walking at a moderate pace, your muscles have time to convert fat into usable energy, so your body begins burning fat over burning glucose, which you will just have to replace to keep your energy up for the rest of the day. Now, you're probably wondering how long you need to walk in order to make the magic happen. 2 hours a day? 3?!?!?!!!! How about 30 minutes a day, with your daily recommended fiber intake? Does that sound reasonable?
Now to the fiber. You're walking at a moderate pace now, burning fat instead of glucose, so where does the fiber come in to the equation?
Increase fiber intake to flush body fat. Wow! How does that work? The article continues and states that once the walking gets your trapped body fat freed up, the fiber helps ensure its speedy exit from the body.
I'm sure you've heard of that magic pill Alli. Alli works like fiber does. It grasps on to the fat that you intake during a meal, and like an usher at a wedding, escorts that fat right out of your body. So fiber is a more natural way to escort the fat out, not to mention, a lot cheaper, too!
Also, fiber makes you feel full, longer. So with higher intake levels of fiber, the less calories you will intake during the day. The recommended daily intake for fiber is 30 grams. I know, seems like a lot, right? But did you know that half an avocado has 8 grams of fiber? And 2 cups of popped popcorn has 3.5 grams? Then there's the ever loved group of beans, which have 15 grams of fiber per half cup! Of course, out on the market are things like Fiber One cereals and granola bars that have a high amount of fiber in them, and are easier to calculate and keep track of. Just two servings of Fiber One cereals, and your fiber intake is done for the day, and you just need to walk!
Want to hear an AMAZING fact? When 30 minutes of daily walking was combined with the recommended daily intake of 30 grams of fiber, test subjects lost an average of 13 pounds and 4.5 inches from their bellies in ONE WEEK!!
So what are you weighting for? Research your favorite high fiber foods and start incorporating them into your diet with just a smidge of walking per day, and get yourself on track losing weight in a healthy way!
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