The Data On Fiber

In my previous post I showed you a 12-day weight track starting June 20th and ending July 2nd.

Here’s a 12-day track starting July 4th (click to enlarge).

Look at the two carefully. You’ll notice two differences:

First, if you observe the trendline, you’ll see that I lost more weight in this period. Previously I lost about 3.5 lbs, but this time I lost about 4.5 lbs. (And, as the next couple of days that aren’t on this track revealed, it was more like 5.5 lbs.)

Second, you’ll note that the daily ups and downs have levelled out dramatically. The line of weight readings (the dark one) approximates the trendline much more closely, without the dramatic departures shown on the previous weight track. Now the daily weigh-ins are all within about a pound of the trendline.

Why?

Both of these phenomena have the same cause: Fiber. In the July 2-4 period I ramped up the amount of fiber in my diet. There was already a good bit in it, but I got serious and ramped it up to the point that I am consuming something like 45-60 grams of powdered fiber a day, in addition to the fiber in my food (probably another 10-15 grams). Another change is that during this period I switched between pure psyllium husks and a mixed fiber supplement, which is better.

As I reported previously, fiber fills you up real good and decreases appetite. As a result, I ate less food in this period (without hunger) and lost more weight (an extra two pounds). Now I have the data to prove it, so I wanted to share it with you.

Unexpected was the fact that the ups and downs would even out the way they did. On this track I had to wait a lot less time before hitting a new weight low. Indeed, sometimes I hit a new weight low more than one day in a row before an upturn.

That’s motivation!

. . . And another reason to use high levels of fiber when dieting.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live." View all posts by Jimmy Akin