Weight loss is hard. Period.
And, for most women, it can be really hard. For women, our hormones, genetic evolution and hectic lives as wife, mother, worker and housekeeper really make it difficult to take of those pounds that have creeped up over the years.
Sure, maybe it's easy to lose a few pounds here and there, especially when those pounds are just unwanted water weight. But, to really lose weight, it takes some effort.
It's not just about eating less either, although that can help since many of us eat much more than our bodies need (especially at holiday events, picnics and celebrations). It's really about eating better calories and eating them more consistently.
But, to some, those "better" calories might not always be as filling or give us that same feeling that unhealthy calories gave us (ie., the difference between eating a large ice cream cone vs. a bowl full of berries with a slice of cheese).
That's why I love fiber and one of the major reasons I included it in my book, Perfect Body Diet.
Fiber can help fill you up and make you feel very satisfied without adding excess calories.
One of my favorite fibers is glucomannan (pictured above as part of Your Perfect Mannan glucomannan).
I first learned about this fiber while researching it at the University of Connecticut for a weight loss and exercise study. For this investigation, we had our subjects consume 2 capsules (containing 2 g fiber) three times a day before meals. For some, the fiber helped them eat less, but for others it wasn't that effective.
The problem was taking the fiber in capsule form and not the fiber itself.
I then learned while at a fiber conference I attended, that glucomannan and other fibers, worked best when then were consumed as part of a meal and not as a separate unit (like a capsule). Mixing the fiber in food (like as part of a smoothie or added to yogurt), makes the food thicker, more filling and thus, helps you eat less later on in the day. It also makes you feel more satisfied at that meal time.
Another issue with glucomannan is that the actual plant it comes from can be processed in many different ways to produce different thickening-rate abilities, different granularities, different solubilities in food and different rates of digestion. Some might not thicken food well, might make it grainy, and might not dissolve easily, leaving your food lumpy.
So, after testing and checking the type of glucomannan in several different brands of products, I found that Your Perfect Mannan brand had the properties that were most desired for consumption within a food product.
Also, this product does not contain any other fillers (like magnesium stearate) or starch, instead of 100% pure fiber.
In your quest for your own perfect body, fiber can really be your best ally. It can help you choose the right proportion of healthy foods, but still feel as full and as satisfied as you did eating more of potentially unhealthy items.
If you haven't tried fiber yet and are struggling to reach your ideal weight, I highly recommend Your Perfect Mannan glucomannan. Let me know what you think. For additional recipes with this weight-loss fiber, check you my book, Perfect Body Diet.
Beaches and bikinis, here we come!
