01/15

The Key to Healthy Eating: FIBER!!!

If I could scream it from the rooftops I would. Eating more fiber is key to healthy eating!!

As a model I tried pretty much every single diet out there, but it wasn’t until I met Rebbeca Baer, one of my health heroes in my book, The Everyday Supermodel, that I really looked at eating healthy in a whole new light. Before my wedding I wanted to lose some weight and I met with Rebecca who truly enlightened me to look at eating in new way.

You can calorie count until the cows come home, but you aren’t going to make any fundamental health changes until you really look at what you are eating. What do you need to eat? The answer is simple. More fiber!

According to Rebecca, the majority of women are eating and dieting the wrong way. She says there isn’t a soul who steps into her office who eats enough fiber or vegetables. Yours truly included. What I loved about a fiber-focused plan is that it’s sustainable day to day. It doesn’t require me to buy a bunch of special foods or be puritanical in my eating habits. I can be on a television set, out with the baby, racing around in my car, or with my friends who eat rubbish, and I can stick to the diet and feel good about it.

Upping my fiber and eating the right amount of protein worked for me. It waged war on my extra weight and currently helps to keep it off. Although there are plenty of “diets” that help you lose weight in the short term, the real key is finding something that is sustainable for the long term and that you will stick with.

Benefits of a High-Fiber Diet

• A study published in the Journal of Nutrition concluded that people who add more fiber to their diets lose more weight than those who don’t.
• A high-fiber eating plan is generally lower in calories than a low-fiber diet. Insoluble fiber essentially contains zero calories.
• Fiber expands in the belly and makes us feel fuller faster and longer.
• Fiber requires more chewing, slows down eating, and gives our body more time to send signals that say,“Stop! I’m full,” which keeps you from overeating.
• Insoluble fiber (like in veggie juices) helps push food through the intestinal tract, keeping you regular.
• Other health benefits? Studies show fiber helps lower cholesterol, prevents constipation, helps hemorrhoids (even more reason to eat a lot of fiber when preggers), keep blood pressure in check, and may reduce the risk of colon and breast cancer.

What is my “secret” method of fiber intake?

I love GG Crispbread. I take them everywhere! You can use them for snacks as well as part of a main meal. They are the perfect building block for “fiber focused” eating. To show you how easily you can incorporate them into your diet, I raided my fridge and made nine different options just from what I had on hand.

1. Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon topped with apples and chia seeds. *Chia seeds are high in fiber, too!
2. Cottage cheese and peas
3. Cottage cheese and red bell peppers
4. Laughing Cow light cheese, chicken breast, artichoke hearts and cilantro
5. Plain Greek yogurt with cracked pepper and cucumbers
6. Hummus topped with Christmas lima beans
7. Hummus topped with kale and peanuts
8. Almond butter topped with dates
9. Plain Greek yogurt, dried blueberries and bananas