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Dieters have been searching high and low for “natural” ways to mimic the miraculous slimming effects of the wonder drug Ozempic.
Now, experts are increasingly highlighting the key nutrient that they say has powerful hunger-curbing effects that are almost as potent as the shots.
Fiber is a natural component of many foods, found in abundance in fruits, vegetables and oats, and has been shown to slow digestion, said Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian who practices in Connecticut.
“If your goal is to lose weight, the satiety that fiber provides is an excellent reason to incorporate it into your meals and snacks,” Ms. Rifkin wrote for Eat this, not that!
Ozempic works by mimicking your body’s hormones that tell you when you are full.
Eating 10 more grams of fiber a day can decrease your chance of gaining belly fat by 3.7 percent, according to a 2012 study by Wake Forest University.
However, up to 95 percent of Americans do not consume the recommended daily amount of fiber. one study suggested.
But it’s not about adding endless bowls of oatmeal to your daily diet. A few simple changes can be the solution. Below, Rifkin recommends five of the easiest.
Put some punch in the pasta
You might think the only way to get more fiber into your diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables, but if you’re smart about how you shop, you can get it in all kinds of unexpected ways, Rifkin said.
This includes everyone’s favorite: pasta. Swapping a traditional wheat-based pasta for one made with beans or legumes will greatly increase its fiber content.
For example, one serving of Banza chickpea pasta has eight grams of fiber, which is more than double the amount of fiber you would get if you ate one serving of barilla, at three grams per serving.
Swap your protein shake for a smoothie
Two cups of frozen berries will already yield about 6 grams of fiber, Rifkin said. Adding more ingredients, like oats and chia seeds, will increase it even more.
Protein shakes are a favorite of people trying to bulk up at the gym, but often these shakes contain little or no fiber, Rifkin wrote.
Instead of reaching for a prepackaged protein shake, Rifkin recommends blending a fruit smoothie, which initially has about 6 grams of fiber.
For example, the Core Power High Protein Milk Chocolate Shake only has 1 gram of fiber. A Homemade Smoothie Recipe from a Registered Dietitian Jamie Nadeau-made with frozen berries, almond milk, Greek yogurt, oats, banana and chia seeds- has 13 grams of fiber, which will help you stay fuller for longer.
Toss the croutons for crispy chickpeas.
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are a great source of fiber. Dietitians have previously recommended them as a great source of fiber for a midnight snack to help relieve constipation.
Croutons are a popular addition to salads to make them more interesting and flavorful from a textural standpoint, but you can get that crunch elsewhere, Rifkin said. Adding roasted chickpeas will give you a crouton-like sensation and is packed with fiber.
The Texas Toast flavor of New York Crouton contains 0 grams of fiber per 7-gram serving, compared to 17 grams of fiber per 100-gram serving of roasted chickpeas.
To make homemade crispy chickpeas, you can rinse and dry a can of chickpeas, season them to your preferences, and roast them for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.
But if you don’t try harder, there are several companies that now make crunchy chickpeas that you can buy in most grocery stores, such as Saffron Road or Biena.
Add avocado instead of mayonnaise.
Avocado is a natural source of fat, but it also contains about 4 grams of fiber per serving, making it a stronger choice for creamy flavors.
Even their creamy, fatty, and more indulgent flavors can work for you. Instead of using mayonnaise on your sandwiches, you can try adding some avocado, Rifkin recommended.
Mayonnaise is made with oil, eggs, and lemon juice, none of which provide much fiber. On top of that, many Mayo brands use seed oils to make their products, such as canola oil, which are high in “unhealthy” fats and have been linked to adverse health events such as heart disease.
On the contrary, avocado is a vegetable that, although rich in fat, is also full of other nutrients, such as fiber, vitamin C, potassium and folate, according to Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
In total, eating 100 calories of mayonnaise would produce little to no fiber, but eating 100 calories of avocado, which is about half the fruit, would give you four grams of fiber.
“The combination of fiber and healthy fats makes avocado an excellent food for weight loss, as these nutrients increase satiety,” said Ms. Rifkin.
Opt for quinoa instead of white rice.
Quinoa is a seed that tastes like grain when cooked. It is full of nutrients, such as fiber and protein.
There is more than one way to add fiber to cereals. Instead of using rice as a side dish, Rifkin recommends opting for quinoa.
Quinoa, a favorite of the diet-conscious world, is actually a seed, meaning it is high in protein and fiber, just like other seeds and nuts. But when cooked, its spongy texture and mild flavor make it more like a grain.
There is about half a gram of fiber in a one-cup serving of white rice. There is about ten times the amount of fiber in a one-cup serving of quinoa, with 5 grams of fiber per serving.
Plus, Rifkin noted, quinoa has about eight grams of protein per serving, which can help you stay fuller longer and is good fuel for building muscle.