There are a lot of pieces to the fat loss puzzle.

And if you ask 10 people what it takes to be successful … you’re likely to get 10 different answers.

But there’s always one thing in common that I’ve never heard anyone waiver on.  And it’s what I’m calling the "secret" weapon in the fat loss game.

Fiber.

Sorry if you were thinking I was going to say some mystical new fat loss supplement or magical gadget you strap to your belly to shake the fat off and burn 10,000 calories per minute.

While maybe hearing that you should eat more fiber isn’t a "sexy" message … it’s not getting across.

The average American eats 12 grams of dietary fiber per day.  The recommendation is 2-3 times that amount.

But here’s where it gets tricky.  Fiber is great.

Actually, let’s take a step back.  The fiber naturally found in foods — foods like beans, veggies, fruit and oats — for example is great.

When companies starting "fortifying" foods with fiber, though, it doesn’t really have the same bang for its buck.

Here’s our rule of thumb — if a food package boasts about how wonderful its food is, leave it on the shelf.

DOUBLE FIBER bread.  This doesn’t mean loaded with extra whole grains — it usually means the company added an ingredient like inulin, maltodextrose or polydextrose.  These are not naturally occurring ingredients and clearly don’t have the same benefits that naturally occurring fiber does.

Outside of the loads of health benefits, how does it help with weight loss?

It keeps you fuller, longer.  And when you’re more full, you eat less.  And when you eat less, you lose fat. 

Hence the title of "Fat Loss Secret Weapon."  Eat more REAL fiber lose more REAL fat. 

There’s not a single food (or group of foods) that reminds me more of when I was younger than cereal.

My brother and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. 

For breakfast.  As a snack.  Before bed. 

We ate cereal literally ALL the time.  We would mix them together to see what creation we could come up with.  We’d often eat it out of mixing bowls. 

And I wonder why I was overweight when I was younger.

I digress.

While we did eat it all the time and clearly ate way too much of the goodness, we still always had healthy options.  My mom had a rule that our cereals didn’t have more than 10 grams of sugar per serving.  Only sometimes could we get Honey Nut Cheerios, but even then we mixed it with plain Cheerios so it wasn’t as sweet.

Smart lady that Mama Mohr. 

But one time, I was with my Dad at the grocery store, and I "tricked" him — we needed cereal and somehow I was able to convince him to buy E.T. Cereal — telling him that our mom let us have it.  The E’s were chocolate.  The T’s peanut butter.  Clearly not a regular cereal of choice in our house.

And it broke one of the cardinal rules of eating that we now suggest to people.  Our favorite food clearly was our "enemy" when trying to eat well.

You see, cereal can be a GREAT option …

…but it can also be no different than if you were to fill a bowl with a can of Coke and eat that.  Sugary junk.  In flake form.

So while we encourage everyone to fuel their bodies as soon as they wake up (well, within about 30-60 minutes), we want this fuel to be fuel that works for you, not against you.

Cereal is often a quick go to option because it’s quick and convenient.

If that’s you, though, picking cereal for a quick on the go option, follow our 6 Food Rules to make sure you’re starting your day right (or ending your day, if you were anything like my brother and I).

1. It should  have at least 3 g of fiber/serving (Mohr Results Picks – rolled oats, Grape Nuts, Kashi Good Friends Cereals, Wheat Chex).
2. If there is a cartoon on the box, leave it on the shelf.
3. If it turns your milk colors, toss it in the trash.
4. If it has more than 10 grams of sugar per serving, find a different option.
5. If sugar (or any variation of the name, sugar) is one of the first 3 ingredients, put ti back on the shelf.
6. Don’t fall for marketing hype and claims that are pasted all over food labels now, like "made with whole grains" even though that may do nothing to boost fiber and it’s still loaded with sugar.

Fueling your body with breakfast is not an option — it’s a necessity.  But fueling your body right is just as important.