Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Fiber helps you achieve your own perfect body




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!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Other than online - are there any places that sell it?

Unknown said...

I have tried this type of Glucommanan but the kind I did try made me really bloated and constipated. Is that normal?

I would love to be able to use this! You talk so highly of it. I just have not had a good experience with it so far.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Cassandra,

I often use supplements from the company Designs For Health, as they appeared to be one of the top companies out there. But upon inspecting my multi-vitamin, I noticed magnesium stearate in the capsules.

This was perplexing, as cost does not seem like a reason they would choose not to exclude this, given the fact that they spare no expense in research and the main ingredients used in their products.

After checking out your link, it had me wondering just how concerned I should be about this......most companies out there are bogus to begin with, and now I am second-guessing one of the few companies I thought that I could trust.

Anonymous said...

First of all, I want to thank you for your book, Women's Health Perfect Body diet, which really introduced me to Glucomannan. I had heard of this fiber before, but never had taken it seriously.

Let me cut to the chase. I am not on any diet (except that I avoid casein and gluten for health reasons), and to be honest, I bought your book because I wanted to learn more about this unique fiber, not because I wanted a new diet.

End result: Glucomannan is helping my prediabetes unlike everything else I've tried. I finally feel like a normal person as far as food is concerned. I can literally go HOURS without food, thanks to glucomannan. I used to be hungry ALL DAY LONG.

The secret, as you say in your book is not swallowing the capsules, but emptying them whole into food.

I use the capsules to open up and dump in food when I'm away from home. At home I use Konjac brand Glucomannan powder to mix into food/beverages.

Thank you for your book, recipes, and wonderful tips on using this amazing fiber. I can't believe it's not more popular.

Please come out with a cookbook entirely devoted to glucomannan.

Because of this centuries old fiber, I will finally reach my goal weight.

Thank you again for bringing it to public attention. I truly believe it's saved my health.

janelle said...

Great article- I totally agree. I find that eating foods rich in fiber (even a bowl of Raisin Bran in the morning) helps me to stay significantly more full later in the day, prompting me to eat less :)

Anonymous said...

Well, I posted a long "thank you" regarding glucomannan, but I don't know if it went through or not.

In case it didn't, I thanked you for educating me about glucomannan, and how much it has helped my prediabetes and weight loss.

Now that I've had a chance to read more of your blog, here's another thank you for educating me about magnesium stearate! I had no idea what stearate was made of! The link to the article about it was very informative. Once I use up my capsules, I will not be buying them again.

I ordered the perfectmannan from amazon, and will carry the sachets with me when I'm away from home.

Thank you for such an awesome blog.

Cassandra Forsythe said...

Hi anonymous, I'm so happy to read about your positive experience with glucomannan; send
me your name at cassandraforsythe@gmail.com and I'll get YPM to send you a free box with your order. ;)

Cassandra Forsythe said...

Hello first Anonymous: a few doctors in this area carry the your perfect mannan glucomannan, but other than that, online is the place.
But, with online, you get shipping right to your door! No fighting traffic :)

Joy:
Some women do have bloat with fiber, but it does pass (so to speak) after your body gets used to eating fiber.
It also could be the brand you're using. It's hard to say.