One of the hardest parts of "living healthy" is you have to decide what works for you. Some people cut out sugar and starchy carbs, others cut out dairy. Those that know me know that I have a terrible sweet tooth, so it’s always a challenge for me to cut sweets from my diet. I learned a trick recently: it’s possible to substitute my sweet cravings with something better! Fresh berries or sweet plums, even dried fruits without added sugar. I am going to try them out to ween my sweet tooth without adding the extra sugar and empty calories that I usually get from sweet treats. Plus, these sweet substitutes are usually high in natural fiber. Which brings me to my next point...
I was reading up today on high fiber diets. A high-fiber diet can help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes. I am using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone to try and increase my fiber intake every day. Eating less, more often is a big key in the success of high fiber. It helps you feel fuller in between meals. Natural fiber can be found in a bountiful amount of fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, beans, and many other things. The Mayo Clinic, which is a site run by health professionals and dedicated to helping people manage their health, suggests that women try to eat 21 to 25 grams of fiber per day. For men it is 30-38 grams. They have a very useful list, that I have provided for you:
This is just a small sample of the different foods that can pack a high-fiber punch. And as you can see, most of these foods are whole foods, or real-foods. I am currently looking into a real-food pledge, that involves a purely real-food diet for 100 days.... WOAH!! I may start out with the 10-day pledge, and see how it goes! I will fill you in later on what I decide, there is definitely more research to be done there before I make any decisions.
I hope you find these tips useful! Have a great weekend, and as always, happy running! :) xo
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