Too much fruit?

dutchk

Rethinking my dietary choices. I'm a creature of habit so my breakfasts and lunches are typically routine. Cold whole grain cereal or oatmeal for breakfast (eggs sometimes) and yogurt/whey protein for lunch. I vary my dinners and usually have the a weekend barbecue and/or Sunday traditional dinner. I guess I'm Ok there. But what I'm worried about is my consumption of fruit (too much) and veggies (maybe not enough). I love both but it is far easier to grab and apple/banana/orange for a snack than it is to have some type of veggie. It appears that I'm consuming about 90-100 mg of sugar each day, a lion's share attributed to the 4-5 pieces of fruit I eat a day. I do almost always hit my calorie goals so that's the good news, but I'm worried that my overall nutritional balance may be askew. Thoughts and/or alternatives?

RoBalance

I've been on a raw fruitarian diet for a year where my diet consisted of ca. 80% raw fruit every day. So I would say you've got nothing to worry about. One of the issues I had was that I was low in energy and lost muscle due to too much calorific restriction. But if you still feel energetic then I believe you should be fine.You could try to incorporate more vegetables in an easy way by pre-cooking your lunches on the weekend. A yoghurt only for lunch doesn't sound like very much, to be honest.

MyJourney1960

how many fruits are you actually eating? I have a similar problem, i love fruit, and especially summer fruit...but try to limit myself to 3-4 a day.

As for veg, what helps me is to spend an hour or two on the weekend in prepping some vegetables so that i can have something that is 'snackable' - like cutting up carrots, cucumbers, kholrabi, radishes, fennel, peppers, pouring some water/lemon and salt over, and just keeping in the fridge - usually keeps for 3-4 days. if you like spicy, then cut up one hot pepper also.

Or, take a big bag of coleslaw mix, and add a light dressing (i use olive oil/mustard/honey/lemon) , toasted almonds (about 2 Tbls), and craisins, salt and pepper. this lasts for about five days.

Make sure you have washed lettuce in the fridge.

Make gazpacho - i made a batch this week - yum. tomato juice, onion, garlic, pepper, a few ripe tomatoes, and cucumber in the blender, add a litle vinegar (can also add some olive oil, i didn't), and basil if you like (i don't:laugh: ).

nikilis

But what I'm worried about is my consumption of fruit (too much) and veggies (maybe not enough). I love both but it is far easier to grab and apple/banana/orange for a snack than it is to have some type of veggie. It appears that I'm consuming about 90-100 mg of sugar each day, a lion's share attributed to the 4-5 pieces of fruit I eat a day.

a large carrot is the vegetable version of a banana, they fill you up, are lower in cals and have a bunch of fibre. they make a great snack - and its a vegetable. some people go for celery, not my thing, but its another one.


a lot of people say don't worry about sugar from fruit. I'd agree with that. but definitely try to fit in some more veg.

unless you have a health problem that makes you need to limit your sugar you shouldn't stress over it too much, but its worth cutting out other sources of sugar, i.e if you have it in coffee / tea.

you could start having salads with roast vegetables:

1 cup baby spinach

---

IRON
1/2 to 1 tomato chopped

---

its a vegetable
1.4 avocado chopped

---

good fats + vegetable
your choice of nuts and seeds

---

good fats
+ dressing (i go for mustard, its low cals)

and your choice of roast veges so roast potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, whatever you like.

it makes a seriously substantial meal at around 350cals, and is 4+ serves of vegetables. it pretty much kicks your 5 a day in the *kitten*.

billymcd

Wow...can sooooo associate with you on this one! Also a creature of habit and since starting my weight loss journey, I've well whipped the 5 a day....These days (work days only) I've replaced my lunch with fruit. Every morning looks like a wee fruit bowl on my desk...lol.

Being on MFP for a few months now and have to say...feeling better for it. My justification is that fruit and veg are good for you compared to other snacks and the amounts that you would need to consume for the fructose sugar amounts to have a negative effect on your progress are awesome and you'd have other side effects.

We need to be balanced in our approach...Yes we may exceed some of our limits...but are these some of the baddies...i.e fat...carbs...

I'd say as long as you are making progress and you are happy with your routine....stay with it. Why try and fix something that ain't broken ;-)

dutchk

I might add that I eat 6 times a day. 3 meals/3 snacks. My dinner (which I prepare for myself and my wife) usually is the most calories at around 500-600 with the rest of the meals/snacks at around 250-300. I have a 1760 calorie goal and I exercise 5-6 days a week so I'm usually eating back calories. I track nutrients (too bad I can't easily see any more than 5 macros plus calories at a time) and never have a problem with sodium or cholesterol but often don't hit my iron goals and sometimes my potassium (low sodium V8 is my go-to for that problem). I'm fairly often pretty tired and wondering if the lack of iron may attribute to that. I've read somewhere that eating too much fruit may also lead to tiredness.

When I stick to the plan I do drop weight and gain health so I know I'm doing something right. Just trying to be the best I can be. Know what I mean?

dutchk

you could start having salads with roast vegetables:

1 cup baby spinach

---

IRON
1/2 to 1 tomato chopped

---

its a vegetable
1.4 avocado chopped

---

good fats + vegetable
your choice of nuts and seeds

---

good fats
+ dressing (i go for mustard, its low cals)

and your choice of roast veges so roast potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, whatever you like.

it makes a seriously substantial meal at around 350cals, and is 4+ serves of vegetables. it pretty much kicks your 5 a day in the *kitten*.

Much thanks!!

Maddie299

I would only consider reducing your fruit intake if you are struggling to continue with your weight loss...i.e have hit a weight plateau! Or try lower kcal fruits like berries (strawberries, blackberries etc) and the citrus fruits

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Sugar is just a carb. As long as you're eating enough fats and protein, your carbs/sugar aren't particularly important unless you have a medical issue that requires carbs/sugar to be monitored.

However, it should be noted that fructose and sucrose can only be stored as liver glycogen and not muscle glycogen. The liver can hold 100-120g glycogen so anything more than that will be converted to triglycerides. As long as you still have a calorie deficit this will even out. Just try to make most of your carbs glucose and not sucrose or fructose. Fructose in particular has been shown to decrease exercise performance, increased likelihood of gastrointestinal distress, and increase perception of exertion.

Here are some studies:
http://www.setantacollege.com/wp-content/uploads/Journal_db/the effects of glucose....pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592616


As long as you're under your calorie goal, you'll lose weight. Some people find that sugar (even from fruit) causes them to have more sugar/carb cravings so keep that in mind.

For information on setting your macro target, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/911011-calculating-calorie-macronutrient-needs?page=1#posts-13821336