Losing Weight with Soluble Fiber?

I read a book recently called “Eating for IBS” by Heather Van Vorous. Because I treat people with IBS all the time with hypnosis, I thought it would be interesting to actually try her suggestions.

One of her them was to take Metamucil (2 capsules of psyllium husk fiber with a ½ glass of water) before eating every meal. There are two kinds of fiber--soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber binds together and congeals in your colon, while insoluble fiber causes your digestion to be more regular.

For people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the problem usually is that as soon as you eat, the body flushes itself out. This is accompanied by a great deal of abdominal pain. Van Vorous’s technique was to take the soluble fiber in the form of 2 capsules of Metamucil or the generic version (she suggested to not use the sugar free version), then eat a small portion of a carbohydrate that was binding next (white rice, mashed potatoes, a piece of sour dough bread), then eat a 4 oz. portion of protein. Lastly, eat your vegetables, which are the most insoluble of your fibers. This would keep you from digesting your food too quickly.

I have to tell you that I was amazed at how different I felt. And the up side of the diet was that I was less hungry. I lost about ½ lb almost every other day. The weight I lost was around the midsection, the hardest place for a middle-aged man or woman to lose. I have felt more energetic. I have had to actually buy smaller pants. I look and feel younger. I’m very amazed.

A couple other things that I did to help amplify this process. I used ghee instead of butter. I used Agave Nectar to replace all sweeteners.  I only eat sour dough bread, at her suggestion. And I have added cayenne pepper to my diet in some way a couple times a week. Also, I am making sure that I get 5 servings of fruit or vegetables a day.

As far as exercise goes, I have continued on the same regimen as before—yoga 3-4x a week, and gardening and walking or hiking for aerobics.

Coaching people with diet and exercise is one of the jobs I do. If you’re interested in some private help, you can give me a call at 615-445-8861 or you can get some help in my MP3 store with a hypnosis download for weight loss for only $5.99. You do need a Paypal account to pay—FYI. www.bosebastian.com