- One Redditor found that eating more fiber helped reduce hunger and curb snacking.
- In addition to helping you feel full, fiber helps you slow down while you eat.
- Fiber also promotes more stable blood sugar levels and better digestive health.
We’ve all had those days where it feels like you’re never quite full or satisfied—no matter how much you eat. Of course, your body might really need some extra energy. But when that constant, nagging hunger becomes the norm, it could be a sign that something is missing from your diet.
Well, that’s what one Reddit user shared in a recent post, describing how she felt ravenous all the time, snacking and eating more than she used to. So she decided it was time to make a change. And that change was bumping up her fiber intake. She also made a few other tweaks, like aiming for 100 grams of protein per day and taking a green tea supplement. But, as the post’s title–”Fiber is the answer”—reveals, fiber gets the real credit.
Within weeks, she reported feeling full all day and even noticed improvements in her mood. Her experience reflects what nutrition experts have been telling us forever: We should all be eating more fiber.
Read on to learn what fiber can do for you and how much you should aim for if you’re trying to lose weight.
How Fiber Can Promote Satiety and Improve Health
Fiber works in multiple ways to help keep you full and healthy. Here are just some of the things it can do for you.
It Helps You Feel Full
The Reddit user who wrote the post explained that her main motivation for increasing fiber was that she had been snacking and overeating more often. Turns out, she was on to something. “Since you stay fuller, longer, you won’t feel snackish soon after eating and that supports weight-management or -loss efforts,” says Amanda Sauceda, M.S., RD.
Lauren Manaker, M.S., RDN, LD, agrees. “Fiber is a pro at keeping hunger in check,” she says. “It slows down the rate at which food leaves your stomach and [the rate at which it] moves through your digestive system, helping you feel full and satisfied for a longer period of time.”
That’s not all. Fiber pulls water into your gut, expanding like a sponge. This expansion, says Manaker, sends a signal to your brain saying, ‘Hey I’m satisfied.’ It’s a natural way to keep cravings at bay without overthinking it.”
That said, this Redditor ate quite a bit of fiber each day. While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends roughly 25 grams of fiber per day for women (and 34 grams for men), she downed a hefty 45 grams of fiber each day. To put that into perspective, most Americans only eat about 16 grams per day.
It Slows You Down
Research has shown that people who eat quickly are more likely to become overweight. High-fiber foods can help with that, as they take longer to chew and digest, which naturally slows your eating pace and helps prevent overeating, explains Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN.
Plus, whole, high-fiber foods tend to be lower in calories and higher in nutrients compared with foods that contain little or no fiber. “When you’re looking to support your metabolism, it isn’t about reducing your [food] intake so much that you’re struggling,” says Sauceda. “Rather it’s about increasing nutrient density.”
It Helps Stabilize Blood Sugar
If you notice your energy levels swinging like a pendulum throughout the day, blood sugar swings could be to blame. “When fiber plays a starring role as a component in your meal, it’ll slow down the absorption of carbohydrates, which can lead to less of a roller-coaster rise in blood sugar,” explains Taub-Dix.
“Stabilizing blood sugar levels may help reduce cravings and energy crashes,” says Taub-Dix. This may be exactly what happened to the Redditor, who surmised that her better mood was due to steadier blood sugar levels between meals.
It Promotes Digestive Health
Getting enough fiber is one of the best things you can do for your digestive health, says Sauceda. For starters, fiber helps keep your digestive system regular, which can mean less constipation. “The gel that soluble fiber forms in your gut helps to make your poop softer, while insoluble fiber will add bulk and weight,” explains Sauceda.
Some fibers also act as prebiotics, traveling undigested to the gut where they serve as food for the good gut bacteria that live there. This process can have multiple health benefits, says Sauceda, including better overall digestive health.
Strategies to Include More Fiber
If you’d like to add more fiber to your day, nutrition experts recommend starting slowly to give your digestive system time to adjust. And don’t forget to drink lots of water to keep things moving smoothly. The Redditor who authored the post mentions up front that drinking plenty of H2O helped her digestive system “handle the fiber.”
With those tips in mind, these strategies can help you get more fiber to help manage appetite and keep your digestive system happy and healthy.
- Make Friends with Beans: Beans are high in fiber, budget-friendly and versatile. “Adding beans to your salad, mashing them into a dip or making them into a veggie patty are just some of the ways you can easily bump up your daily fiber,” says Sauceda. Have a sweet tooth? You can even whip them into healthy desserts, like black bean brownies.
- Get a Morning Jump-Start: One key strategy of the Redditor who wrote this post was eating 25 grams of fiber at breakfast. She got it from drinking a smoothie made with berries, spinach and chia seeds, eating high-fiber tortillas and drinking a glass of water with a teaspoon of Metamucil. However, not everyone can handle that much fiber in one meal. To ease into things, start your day with some oats topped with fruit and nuts (or seeds), chia pudding, yogurt with berries or a breakfast burrito stuffed with veggies, eggs and beans.
- Don’t Toss the Skin: The skin is where a lot of the fiber in many fruits and vegetables lives, says Manaker. So, don’t peel those cucumbers, potatoes or carrots. But do be sure to give them a good wash.
- Swap Refined Grains for Whole Grains: Taub-Dix recommends trading refined grains for whole grains like oats, barley or whole-wheat bread. While you’re at it, swap out sugary cereals for shredded wheat or bran flakes. For a fiber-filled snack, replace crackers or pretzels with popcorn.
- Add Produce to Each Meal and Snack: Add at least one fruit or veggie (or both!) to every meal or snack. It’s easier than you might think. Stir spinach leaves into mac and cheese, toss cauliflower florets into rice dishes or top yogurt with sliced pears or apples.
- Sprinkle on the Seeds: Seeds are fiber powerhouses! Sprinkle chia, flax or hemp seeds on salads, soups, avocado toast or grain bowls. You can even stir them into pilafs and grain dishes for an extra fiber bump.
Meal Plan to Try
7-Day High-Protein, High-Fiber Meal Plan for Weight Loss, Created by a Dietitian
Our Expert Take
Dietitians have been singing the praises of fiber for years. And now Reddit is catching on. One Redditor recently found that eating 45 grams of fiber per day was a game-changer for managing hunger and helping her snack and eat less. So, if you have been struggling with constant hunger, snacking more than usual or eating more than you had intended, increasing your fiber intake might help. This underrated nutrient doesn’t just help you feel full, it also slows you down, helping you tune into your satiety cues. Plus, it stabilizes blood sugar and promotes digestive health. That said, 45 grams of fiber per day is a lot for most people. So, start small and build up slowly. A daily 25 to 34 grams should do the trick for most women and men. But if you’re up for more, go for it!
