# Fiber, Vitamins and (Still) Eating Like a Pig... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703 "2010-06-02T22:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/1 "2010-06-02T22:51:12Z")
Yeah, for about ten years now I have been taking fiber supplements. One of my doctors had me take it when I had hemorrhoids about ten years ago (seems to have done the trick too–but I digress). I also have been taking a multi-vitamin/mineral complex also for about ten years–maybe more. Sounds like I am doing everything right, doesn’t it? There’s only one problem–_I still eat like a pig!_ Since my mother died, about 15 years ago, my father and I primarily eat at restaurants. And as you know, they are not on average the healthiest places to eat. So do these things basically cancel each other out–fiber and vitamins/eating like a pig? Okay, okay I am under a doctor’s care. And I will probably bring this up with him when I see him next month. So just think of this as a hypothetical question–I am not asking you for medical advice for me of course. Thanks to all who reply:) ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/2 "2010-06-02T23:01:52Z")
Uh, the only thing that cancels out eating like a pig is not eating like a pig. The only thing that is “doing everything right” would be not ordering and eating huge amounts of food. I’m a little baffled that anyone really believes it’s that easy. No pill is going to do it. Vitamins have no effect on appetite (well, maybe for some rare conditions) and while fiber may help, it’s certainly not going to have a huge effect- especially if you are taking a supplement instead of filling up on high-fiber (and therefor low-calorie) foods. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/3 "2010-06-02T23:14:37Z")
I’ll let you know what I do. Virtually every meal I get eating out I make into 2 meals. Eat half there, save the other half for lunch or dinner the next day. If that aint quite enough for you for the meal at the time, order something like a big salad (without a bunch of fattening crap on/in it) to munch on and then eat half of the meal you ordered, saving the other half for later. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/4 "2010-06-03T10:57:36Z")
Am I the only one who is unsure what the OP’s question is? I can’t tell if he’s asking if the fiber & vitamins are supposed to keep him from overeating, or if he’s going getting any health benefits from them because he eats a lot of less than healthy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/5 "2010-06-03T14:01:15Z")
Fiber will keep your cholesterol lower than it would be without fiber, so there’s that. Otherwise, I’m not sure of the specific question either. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/6 "2010-06-03T17:07:57Z")
It’s not just appetite that goes into how much most adults eat. It’s also things like [how much food is on the plate](http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v13/n1/full/oby200512a.html), being told that it’s bad to waste food or not “clean your plate”, thinking it’s better to overeat at a buffet so you “get your money’s worth”, etc. Even if your vitamins did reduce your appetite, you’d still have those other cues telling you to keep eating. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/7 "2010-06-03T17:27:16Z")
“Eating like a pig” can mean any number of things. Are you referring to the quantity of the food you eat or the quality? If you’re just eating a larger-than-normal quantity of food, why the need for a multivitamin? Aren’t you getting enough nutrients from all that food? A few intelligent choices regarding the food you order should make the multivitamin and the fiber unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/8 "2010-06-03T17:36:04Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > order something like a big salad (without a bunch of fattening crap on/in it) to munch on and then eat half of the meal you ordered, saving the other half for later. This isn’t a foolproof strategy to eat healthier in restaurants. It’s not always obvious which restaurant salads contain a lot of fattening crap. Sometimes it is, or it should be to a reasonably intelligent person (if your salad has a lot of fried chicken, bacon, or cheese, it’s probably not healthy- that’s obvious). _But it isn’t always obvious_. For example, the Field Greens Salad from CPK, which has no meat or cheese in it, has 998 calories (according to the Nutrition Facts section on their site). It also has more than 800 mg of sodium, which is a third of the amount you should get in a day. Sodium is going to be another concern if you’re eating most of your meals from restaurants or packaged foods. Ordering the dressing on the side for any salad and using less of it than they give you would probably help. Ordering a half salad instead of a full salad, at restaurants that give you that option, would also be a good idea. I recommend _Eat This, Not That_ if you have to eat in restaurants but still want to eat healthier. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/9 "2010-06-03T18:08:18Z")
From _Eat This, Not That:_ [The Worst Salads in America.](http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/content/worst-salads-america-2009) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/10 "2010-06-03T19:39:32Z")
Yeah, OP, this thread is gonna go a lot better if you chime back in and tell us what you mean by “eating like a pig.” Eating a lot? Eating only fried stuff? Eating only white or brown food? Eating the same six things over and over? There IS healthy food available at restaurants, depending on the restaurant in question. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/11 "2010-06-03T20:01:33Z")
You just lower you head and consume everything in front of you? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/12 "2010-06-04T00:32:13Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Am I the only one who is unsure what the OP’s question is? I can’t tell if he’s asking if the fiber & vitamins are supposed to keep him from overeating, or if he’s going getting any health benefits from them because he eats a lot of less than healthy stuff. I’m sorry, I thought I made myself clear. **I mean** if I’m going getting any health benefits from them because I eat a lot of less than healthy stuff. Forgive me, but I thought I made that clear: i.e., am I healthy if I do **both**? Clear now:)? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/13 "2010-06-04T00:35:17Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Yeah, OP, this thread is gonna go a lot better if you chime back in and tell us what you mean by “eating like a pig.” Eating a lot? Eating only fried stuff? Eating only white or brown food? Eating the same six things over and over? > > There IS healthy food available at restaurants, depending on the restaurant in question. Well, “eating like a pig” for me usu. means eating stuff that isn’t too healthy. Actually, I do try to eat the salad bar in the restaurant if I can. Typically, I don’t think I eat as healthy as I can though. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/14 "2010-06-04T01:17:45Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > **I mean** if I’m going getting any health benefits from them because I eat a lot of less than healthy stuff. Forgive me, but I thought I made that clear: i.e., am I healthy if I do **both**? Clear now:)? Eating fiber and taking vitamins are good things. You can easily overwhelm them by eating lots of crap and not exercising. They’re not a get out of jail free card. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fiber-vitamins-and-still-eating-like-a-pig/541703/15 "2010-06-04T01:36:08Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Actually, I do try to eat the salad bar in the restaurant if I can. Not everything on the salad bar is healthy, though. What you eat from the salad bar and how much of it you eat matters, a lot.