Is there a thing as too much fiber?

[jjw]

I decided to follow some more orthodox rules of fasting for lent. I am not cutting calories since I finished a cut about a month ago and at least I think I a couple of months or so at maintenance plus then might cut again if I need to. Essentially it is a plant based diet no meat or dairy until after Easter. The issue is to limit soy intake it takes a lot of fiber to hit a protein target of 1 gram per 1 lb of lean mass. After the first week or so the digestive system is adjusting. It was a little rough the first week with the digestive effects but have found a way to stay in the 70 to 80 grams of fiber range when I way over did it getting 100+ grams in the first week or so.

Should there be any concerns as to too much fiber? This isn't long term since it is really only about a month and half. Still the lessons learned here are that I can get my protein in and hit fiber targets easier when i go back to normal by mixing in some more plant sources. I was just curious if there is a thing as too much fiber even if my body seems to be adjusting for the most part. More fiber is usually better but is there a thing as too much?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Not really any health concerns per se', but the change in dietary pattern can cause GI symptoms until you adjust. Some individuals are taking >100g fiber/day to help normalize their lipid panel, for example.

[The Average Lifter]

Whoa! What foods and quantities constitute this >100g fibre diet? To me, that sounds like a very difficult thing to achieve without consuming a lot of calories or supplementation.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Many vegan and vegetarian options have lots of fiber in them, but one could get 100g+ of fiber with lots of legumes, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains without blowing the Calories out of the water. That said, most non-vegan people going > 60g/day without eating > 2500 Cal/day are likely supplementing with some sort of fiber.

[Brian Waligura]

My Lent:

Do not overeat -- failed
No chocolate -- failed
No processed foods (read: overly processed "junk" foods) -- failed
No sugary desserts -- failed
No sugary snacks -- failed
No nut butters -- failed

Lent did not go well for me. Granted, it was way too restrictive. I should have just picked one of those. Actually, I made it about 1/2 way through. I was pretty miserable for most of it though. I tried to adhere 100% to it.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

My Lent:

Do not overeat -- failed
No chocolate -- failed
No processed foods (read: overly processed "junk" foods) -- failed
No sugary desserts -- failed
No sugary snacks -- failed
No nut butters -- failed

Lent did not go well for me. Granted, it was way too restrictive. I should have just picked one of those. Actually, I made it about 1/2 way through. I was pretty miserable for most of it though. I tried to adhere 100% to it.

If I may ask, what made you want to make those changes?

[Brian Waligura]

Of course, ask away. You know people always like to talk about themselves!

I just think I indulge a little too much in those things. Although compared to the country and probably even the rest of the world, I'm way on the low end of consumption of those things. My overall diet is really good, if I may say so. It's one of the few things in life that I feel comfortable tooting my own horn about. But I just felt like I needed to tighten it up a bit, and thought the Lent period was a good opportunity for that. My daughter is going to Catholic school, and I wanted to show her that Lent meant something in real life and wasn't just something they talked about in school.

Overeating: I think I tend to do that more than I should, especially at dinner with dessert after the main meal. My bodyweight is right where I want it, and I'm pretty lean, so I guess I'm really not overeating. But at times, it feels like I am. The things I overeat the most are generally considered healthy foods -- dried figs, peanut butter, greek yogurt, mixed nuts, sometimes chocolate (although I usually try to avoid chocolate in the evening due to caffeine affecting sleep). All those foods are organic and/or with minimal ingredients.

Nut butters are considered healthy, but my goodness are they calorie-dense. Peanut butter is so good, I could eat half a jar every day. It's the one food in life that I might be addicted to. If it's in the house, I'm eating it, period. I can abstain from pretty much any other food. Whenever I have eaten too much peanut butter over the course of a couple weeks, my weight tends to start creeping up.

Anyway, I guess to answer your question as directly as possible Jordan: I wanted to stop eating the few things that I sometimes indulged in, that weren't good for me for one reason or another. And I wanted to not overeat, because it made me feel 'not good', both physically and mentally.

I should have just picked one of those things, and been disciplined about that one thing.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Yea, I agree that PB is delicious and the food environments are predictive of what we'll eat.

I do think that targeting specific patterns require behavior change strategies, e.g. temptation bundling, environment modification, etc. in order to take place vs. relying on willpower.