Can You Eat Too Much Fiber?

4 tips on how much fiber per day you should eat in order to hit your dream body goals.

How much is too much fiber?

Fiber intake isn’t necessarily a “more is better” situation once you’ve met the daily requirement. Eating significantly more fiber than is recommended won’t magically improve your health, and could actually make you feel a lot worse!

In this video I give you 4 tips on how to know exactly how much fiber you need to eat per day in order to hit your dream body goals.

Can you eat too much fiber? I think we all know the answer is:

Yes, yes you can.

30-50g per day tends to be a comfortable and healthy for most people.

Sadly, most people average about 15 grams per day, regardless of how many calories they eat, typically because they eat a lot of processed foods and not many whole foods.

High fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts are an essential part of a healthy diet.

But, if your fiber intake exceeds an amount that your body can handle, it can result in symptoms like abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation.

Finding the right amount of fiber to keep your digestive system balanced is key.

You don’t need to go from zero to 60 and overcompensate for a lack of fiber by eating more than is necessary.

Here are my 4 tips on how to know exactly how much fiber per day you need to eat in order to hit your dream body goals.

1. Space Out Portions of Fiber

Spreading out your fiber intake throughout the day will allow your body time to process it and to avoid some of the symptoms that may come about by eating too much at once sitting.

2. Increase Fiber Slowly

If you are increasing your fiber intake, increase slowly. The body doesn’t respond well to drastic changes, and it isn’t going to do any good to try to make a quantum leap overnight.

If previously you were only eating around 15 grams of fiber a day and are trying to get 30 grams a day or more, that’s a big shock to the system!

Start by increasing to 20 grams daily for a week, then increase to 25 grams the following week, and keep increasing by 5 grams every week so you can ease your body into this new way of eating.

3. Eat What Works For You

Pay attention to how your body responds to various foods. I’ve noticed for myself, I can’t eat a lot of broccoli, the skin on cucumbers, or squash skin. Other people feel fine with these food.

I also cannot eat multiple protein or fiber bars in one day.

Beans are another notorious food for the gas they can produce, as well as the fiber they contain.

Eat what works for you and again, when experimenting with new foods, start with small portions to see how your body responds.

4. Hydrate

If you are trying to get more fiber in your diet, make sure that you’re also getting enough water. Most people are chronically dehydrated.

If you aren’t drinking enough water and you increase your fiber intake, you may become constipated and bloated.

Gradually increase your water intake as you increase your fiber. This is super important!

Here’s the thing, if your diet is largely made up of whole foods, including lots of vegetables, beans, fruits, and whole grains, you could easily meet or even slightly exceed the daily recommended fiber intake.

My recommendation to my clients is not to get caught up in all the rules.

Eat mostly whole foods. Focus on nourishment and satisfaction with your meals.

And a lot of times, things like getting the proper amount of fiber per day ends up happening on it’s own when you put self-care and nurturing your body toward your goals at the top of your past of priorities.