One of the best ways to keep yourself feeling full longer, thereby preventing excess snacking and the inevitable weight gain that comes with it, is to increase your fiber intake. In fact, some of the most populate weight loss plans are based on significantly boosting fiber intake. Not only does fiber make you feel fuller, but it also helps “keep things moving” for lack of a better description.

When you are keeping things moving through your digestive system, it really helps to keep your whole digestive tract healthy and clean. It helps you feel lighter, more energetic. It also can help improve the overall health and well being of the important organs that keep you feeling clean and light, instead of bogged down. Anyone who has ever had issues with staying regular knows that that feels like! Related:  Flax Seeds for Weight Management

So we’ll talk about the most effective ways to get significantly higher levels of fiber in your diet every single day, without sacrificing your enjoyment of food. Many of these suggestions will actually enhance your enjoyment of food, and make you feel better in the process!

Flax seeds

If I had to recommend one food item to everyone, it would be flax seeds. Whole, brown flax seeds, consumed either fresh and whole (but chewed well) or freshly ground are best. You don’t want to buy brown flax seeds that are already ground.

These have the opportunity to oxidize, and you are potentially eating food that has already either spoiled or has morphed into a different type of fat that is actually not beneficial to your health. When brown flax seeds are whole or freshly ground, they contain high levels of beneficial omega 3 fats.

Flax seeds also contain phytochemical compounds called lignans. The combination of high fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and lignans makes them a powerful anti-cancer food to add to your diet as well. They’ve particularly gained attention for their potential as a breast cancer fighting food. They are so easy to incorporate into your diet too.

You can easily seal a bag of these and tote them around if you want to sprinkle them over any meal while on the road or dining out. They go really well on almost anything.

You can sprinkle them over yogurt, put them in a tuna or chicken salad for some crunch, or add them to your steamed veggies or salads at every meal. They add a really nice nutty flavor to just about anything, and they really add a satisfying bulk to any food.

Berries with seeds

Berries are also a great way to add fiber to your diet. Especially if they have seeds in them that are larger. Raspberries and blackberries have larger, crunchy seeds that act as a bulking agent. They also act as a sort of “scrubber”, helping to move things along the digestive tract.

Berries also have a reputation as being an excellent prebiotic. What is a prebiotic? It’s basically a fiber rich food that your body can’t digest all the way (flax seeds are prebiotics as well). Related: Is Liposomal Vitamin C Better?

So, since the food is passed through in its rough state, it acts as a bulking agent and helps keep your intestines cleaned out and your colon healthy! It is said that probiotics only work well when you pair them with lots of prebiotics in your diet

Eat a salad with every meal

Salads can sometimes feel like a “drag”, but adding a small side salad to every meal can really help boost your overall fiber intake. Especially if you add high fiber greens like organic spinach leaves, high fiber vegetables like shredded carrots or cucumbers (which have almost no calories to boot), and radishes.

Not only will you add more fiber to your diet, but you’ll also be adding low calorie, high water content food to every meal. This translates into more satiety, better hydration and less caloric intake overall.

Add Black and White Beans

Canned beans are one of the few food items that hasn’t gone up to 4 times the cost in these inflationary times. That’s benefit number one. Benefit two? These little legumes are rich in fiber, and they also have the ability to fill you up.

Sure, you have to watch how many you eat if you’re stomach is sensitive to legumes, but they’re a good, cheap way to fill not only your plate, but also your belly. They add plenty of fiber to your plate, and make an excellent filler ingredient for ground meats like taco filling and even fillings for lasagna. Many people won’t even notice the difference.

There’s a reason these are one of the top choices of vegans to help replace the protein lost by a vegan or vegetarian diet, although for that purpose there are way better options to get more protein as they aren’t too top heavy in this nutrient.

Chopped Onions

Chopped onion is one of our favorite additions to any meal here at our household. We both love the savory flavor of onions, but onions are also packed with other nutrients including fiber. Onions are actually one of the most antioxidant-dense foods you can eat, per ounce.

They have the same beneficial sulfur compounds as broccoli and garlic. Read more about the huge health benefits of garlic here. Plus they add a minimal amount of calories while boosting flavor of everything from salads to taco and lasagna meat mixes, to chili, casseroles, you name it!