The Art of the Tweak: Adding Fiber to Your Diet

...Without alienating the rest of the world.

1. Start slowly. Do your research about adding fiber to your diet. The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25-30 grams. If you're like most Americans (or humans living in the Westernized world generally), your current intake is around 15 grams. Doubling your fiber intake too quickly will leave you bloated, gassy and unfit for socialization.

2. Drink more water. Before upping fiber intake, increase water intake to the proscribed eight glasses per day. Water will help move the fiber through the digestive system and everyone will be happier for it.

3. Do not supplement. Unless you have a medical condition that keeps you from eating real food, do not resort to the myriad products that claim to contain 30% of your daily fiber or that are advertised as helping you "stay regular" - those things contain concentrated fibers that will violate point #1 above. Most real foods that are fibrous contain between 5-9 grams of fiber per serving - not 10-15. Eat real fiber foods and space them out over the course of the day.

Real fiber foods: The fiber for the beans is doubled in this chart, since a serving of beans/legumes is 1/2 cup

Fruits	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Raspberries	1 cup	8.0
Pear, with skin	1 medium	5.5
Apple, with skin	1 medium	4.4
Strawberries (halves)	1 1/4 cup	3.8
Banana	1 medium	3.1
Orange	1 medium	3.1
Figs, dried	2 medium	1.6
Raisins	2 tablespoons	1.0
Grains, cereal & pasta	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked	1 cup	6.2
Barley, pearled, cooked	1 cup	6.0
Bran flakes	3/4 cup	5.3
Oat bran muffin	1 medium	5.2
Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked	1 cup	4.0
Popcorn, air-popped	3 cups	3.5
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup	3.5
Bread, rye	1 slice	1.9
Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain	1 slice	1.9
Legumes, nuts & seeds	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Split peas, cooked	1 cup	16.3
Lentils, cooked	1 cup	15.6
Black beans, cooked	1 cup	15.0
Lima beans, cooked	1 cup	13.2
Baked beans, vegetarian, canned, cooked	1 cup	10.4
Sunflower seed kernels	1/4 cup	3.9
Almonds	1 ounce (23 nuts)	3.5
Pistachio nuts	1 ounce (49 nuts)	2.9
Pecans	1 ounce (19 halves)	2.7
Vegetables	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Artichoke, cooked	1 medium	10.3
Peas, cooked	1 cup	8.8
Broccoli, boiled	1 cup	5.1
Turnip greens, boiled	1 cup	5.0
Sweet corn, cooked	1 cup	4.2
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1 cup	4.1
Potato, with skin, baked	1 medium	2.9
Tomato paste	1/4 cup	2.7
Carrot, raw	1 medium	1.7

4. Eat your veggies and fruits as raw as you can, with the skin on. That's where the good stuff is!

5. Know the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber & eat a blend of both:

• Soluble fiber is found in oats, barley, nuts, seeds, legumes, peas and most fruits. It slows digestion and maintains even blood sugar levels (among other health benefits).
• Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat, vegetables and other whole grains. It causes an increase in contractions in the large intestine, helping to move food through and out.

**NOTE: Unless a food is labeled "100% Whole Grain" it is not required to be made with the whole grain - it can be enriched flours or other things that do not a whole food make**

There, now don't you feel better?

If you can't do anything else, consider this

I read a little blurb in Prevention magazine (or was it Reader's Digest?) that said most Americans are so unfit - not fat, just not fit - that they could not perform these three functional tasks:

Carry 40 pounds up or down three flights of stairs - roughly the weight of a small child

Make a controlled descent from a two-story window

Climb out of a hole/depression shoulder-deep - a ditch or overturned car

Could you do those three things with an unlimited amount of time? Could you do any of those three things in one minute? How about if you had less than that? It is something to think about, if you are struggling with long-term goals or worried about gym time interfering with family time.

Functional fitness is not a typical approach in the mainstream gym. Many times, functional exercises are considered "therapeutic" and relegated to Active Older Adults classes or kids' fitness times. If you have ever done chest flyes on a exercise ball or side stepped with a resistance band around your knees, you know that functional fitness can create a burn you don't get with traditional weight training.

Try these to increase your endurance and daily fitness:

1. Interval training. In case you have been living in a cave, cut off from all health information, interval training is one of the best ways to increase aerobic endurance and speed. Warm up with your cardio of choice, then alternate with 30 seconds of hard effort and one minute of moderate recovery, cycling through until you've reached the 25-minute mark. Cool down with the moderate pace for 5 minutes. Do this on the stairs at work! 2-3 times a week and you will likely notice gains in a month.

2. Work large muscle groups, then small. Squats and lunges have infinite variations, they can be done anywhere, using your own body weight, and adding in jumps or controlled lifts will train your core muscles. More strength, less strain on the joints, more stability in the core means better posture and balance in general. After the large muscles are warmed up, doing concentration exercises will engage small muscles, which support those large muscles and help with flexibility.

Try these: 3 sets of 8, per side where applicable

Squats: regular, wide-legged and jump (lower body)

Lunges: stationary, reverse and twisting (lower body & core)

Overhead shoulder press: Use a resistance band anchored under your heels if you don't have dumbbells (shoulders and back)

One-legged bent-over row: Lift your leg off the floor while you're doing this exercise to improve your balance. Anchor with toe if you feel unstable (upper back and core)

Plank/side plank: Use modified versions until you can progress to full versions (core, back)

Superman lifts/swimmer lifts: Works stabilizing muscles in the back, butt and abs; hold each upward movement for 2 seconds before lowering

3. Be flexible. Sitting for long periods of time shortens the hamstrings and poor posture pulls the back and abdominal muscles out of alignment. Cardio and weight lifting are great, but if the muscles, ligaments and tendons are not able to stretch to their normal length, it will limit the maximum benefit of that capacity and strength. No Ashtanga yoga or reformer Pilates necessary; try these stretches after your workout and/or before you get out of bed in the morning:

Quad stretch (point knee to ground and push hips forward slightly)

Modified lunge (keep front knee in line with ankle)

Figure-4 stretch

Hamstring stretch & triangle stretch

Chest stretch

Upper back stretch

Lower back stretch

Runner's lunge

4. Don't be afraid to try new things that will challenge your daily fitness. Indoor rock climbing will build agility and leg strength (try it - it's not as hard as it looks, really!). Hiking builds lower body strength and aerobic endurance. Try a pilates or yoga video. Do a few jump squats or try to finish a rep set on one leg. It's not 100% or nothing.

Your life, or someone else's, may depend on it!