Books > The Fiber35 Diet > The Miracle Ingredient for Losing Weight

The Miracle Ingredient for Losing Weight
Imagine. One ingredient halts hunger, reduces calorie intake from the food you eat, helps stabilize your blood glucose (and so reduces overeating), and allows you to eat plenty of food that is low in calories and high in nutrient-rich disease fighters. What is it? Brenda Watson, C.N.C., has the answer.

Reducing your calories -- i.e., going on a restricted-calorie diet -- is the key to losing weight; there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Unless you reduce your intake below the number of calories that you need each day to maintain your current weight, weight loss is simply not possible (without a surgical procedure such as stomach stapling or liposuction). So the key to a successful weight loss program is to reduce your calories while you are trying to lose weight, and to eat no more than the calories that you need to maintain your weight once you have achieved your ideal weight. That's where fiber comes into play, because it helps you to reduce calories in four compelling ways:

1. Fiber curbs your appetite, helping you to reduce intake.
2. Fiber actually helps reduce absorption of calories from the food you eat.
3. Fiber-rich foods are low-energy-density foods. In other words, you get to eat a lot of food without eating a lot of calories.
4. Fiber slows down your body's conversion of carbohydrate to sugar, thus supporting blood glucose stability to help you lose weight.

That's quite a combination! Now you understand why I consider fiber a miracle ingredient when it comes to losing weight. Imagine -- one ingredient halts hunger, reduces calorie intake from the food you eat, help stabilize your blood glucose (and so reduces overeating), and allows you to eat plenty of food that is low in calories and high in nutrient-rich disease fighters.