Protein and High Fiber Food for Weight Control

Maintaining, or obtaining, a normal body weight is NOT rocket science. There is no quick-fix or magic bullet solution. It is nothing, in the final analysis, but the consistent exercise of logic and commonsense while living and enjoying your life.

Food addiction, just like any other addictive behavior, obviously has a psychosocial, attitude, and self-control component to it. A person who is fully engaged in their life, frankly does NOT have enough time to be eating food all day long, while boredom and lack of life goals to accomplish often leads to the excessive consumption of food.

Eating a healthy normal diet over a long enough period of time, while engaging in normal amounts of exercise and other normal life activities, ALWAYS results in a normal body weight.

What is fiber? Fiber is a editable food substance that does NOT digest in the human digestive tract. In short, fiber contains zero calories. Filling your stomach up with zero calorie fiber leads to both a feeling of satisfaction, or lack of hunger pains, and absolutely no weight gain. Pure protein contains absolutely no fiber. Protein takes longer to digest than digestible carbohydrates and, thus, likewise leads to a feeling of satisfaction.

It should, thus, NOT be surprising that these findings have been supported by scientific research. One study recently concluded that:

"a modest increase in protein content and a modest [increase in high fiber foods] led to ... weight loss."

However, this particular study used different terminology to refer to high fiber foods. It talked about the glycemic index rather than fiber, and categorized carbohydrates as either low-glycemic-index or high-glycemic-index foods. Just remember while reading this study that ALL high fiber carbohydrates have a low-glycemic-index, while all refined carbohydrates that quickly digest in your stomach ALL have a high-glycemic-index.

This study strongly suggests that no radical increases in either protein or fiber should be needed at all to lose excess body weight; provided that you are already consuming our recommended normal diet. Adding high fiber foods to your diet is preferable to high protein foods since a lack of adequate fiber will also lead to other health problems in your life, such as hemorrhoids and even an early premature death.

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References:

1. Diets with high or low protein content and glycemic index for weight-loss maintenance.
   Larsen TM, Dalskov SM, van Baak M, ...
   Diet, Obesity, and Genes (Diogenes) Project.
   N Engl J Med. 2010 Nov 25;363(22):2102-13.
   PMID: 21105792