So... Fruit will make me FAT?

BurningAway

I work with a doctor who says apples are equivalent to a snickers bar. *eye roll*

I'm not saying they're equivalent, but in terms of strictly sugar they can be sorta similar. A large apple has 20ish grams of sugar. A full size Snickers has 27 grams of sugar. I've learned that my body doesn't really notice much of a difference between the sugar in an apple and an equivalent amount of sugar in a Snickers bar, at least when it comes to my blood sugar readings.

If you have to choose, make it an apple...

shannashannabobana

Dr LOLstig?

Dr. Lustig, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California San Francisco versus some guy on the internet who is doing a grade school drive by insult. Who should I believe??

Acg67

Dr LOLstig?

Dr. Lustig, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California San Francisco versus some guy on the internet who is doing a grade school drive by insult. Who should I believe??

Perhaps do a little more research on his claims, then pick who you should beleive

http://evolvinghealthscience.blogspot.com/2012/04/sugar-showdown-science-respond s-to.html

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/02/19/a-retrospective-of-the-fructose-alarmism-debate/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/988127-scientific-review-of-lolstig-s-fat-chance?hl=lolstig+fat+chance

hookilau

True Story....

I started MFP this past January to try to lose the excess weight that had been creeping on over the course of the last 6ish years, despite being a regular at the gym (lifting) and cutting out soda & all fast food several years ago. Bear with me, there's a point to all of this. SW 160# 5' tall GW 130# 44 yrs old

1200 cal worked within the first 2 wks and moved close to 5 pounds off my frame that would'nt budge in the past few years.

I did the 1200 cal because that's what MFP set for me, until I got to reading the boards & thought it may be too little for me because after the first 2 weeks, I didn't lose anything. I upped the cals to 1400 or so and continued working out, switching to 5x5. Didn't lose any more weight btw.

I ended up having to go to the doctor for a major pain high up in my abdomen, upper right quadrant. Totally expecting to hear that I had an angry gall bladder (due to symptoms and my age).

Imagine my surprise to be told I had a casual blood glucose of 266mg/dl :noway:
The pain in my tummy was from an angry liver which can happen if you suddenly lose weight too quickly.

The VERY first words out of my mouth were 'but I only eat 24 grams of sugar per day!' I'm only over 2 grams what MFP set for me and it's all from the fruit smoothies I have in the mornings!!! :huh:

I can laugh now because the next 3 doctors I saw (cardiologist, endocrinologist, and GP) all rolled their eyes when I said that.

My point is, it's not so much about the sugar from the fruit you are consuming, it's that in addition to the carbs you eat that turn to glucose in you body that can cause you harm, if you already have the genetic predisposition to develop metabolic disease.

If you don't have metabolic disease or close family members with genetic metabolic disease, the positives to including fruit in your diet outweigh the negatives. :drinker:

SideSteel

Dr LOLstig?

Dr. Lustig, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California San Francisco versus some guy on the internet who is doing a grade school drive by insult. Who should I believe??

Perhaps do a little more research on his claims, then pick who you should beleive

http://evolvinghealthscience.blogspot.com/2012/04/sugar-showdown-science-respond s-to.html

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/02/19/a-retrospective-of-the-fructose-alarmism-debate/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/988127-scientific-review-of-lolstig-s-fat-chance?hl=lolstig+fat+chance

^ all of this. Not Lustig.

hookilau

Yes, anything can make you fat if you eat too much of it. Fruit, however, is a complicated issue.

The sugar is fruit is fructose which can only be processed in the liver whereas most other sugars can be processed by other organs as well. Too much fructose results in excess adipose tissue production and fatty liver disease. More of fructose goes directly to fat than other sugars.

On the other hand, fruits are high in vitamins and minerals. Whole fruits are high in fiber. Eating limited servings of complete fruit per day is "good for you" in balance. Drinking filtered fruit juice removes the fiber and thus is more of a hit to the liver. Too much fructose can also interrrupt communication to the brain that controls hunger. More sugar indeed makes you hungrier for more sugar.

For more information on this, watch "The Skinny on Obesity," a series of short videos from University of California Television ( and also the university guest lecture "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

And, no, no matter what the corn industry says, not all sugars are the same.

^^This is a *very* intelligent answer

AJinBirmingham

YES IT WILL.

I was at my goal weight (128 lbs) on Weight Watchers - not recommended; it's like MFP, but not as good and it costs money - when they changed their programme to encourage members to eat more fruit . . . and, although I stayed on program, I ballooned up to 142 lbs!

Fruit is good. Eat it. It also has calories. Remember that.

Fruit was the only thing you ate and you gained 14 pounds from it?

Because that is the only way you could possibly blame fruit on its own for your weight gain.

But, yes, it has calories and WW making it "free" was a stupid move.

Adding additional fruit was the only thing I CHANGED - not the only thing I ate, but the only variable in my 14 lb weight gain.

xinit0

Please someone explain this to me. I am ALWAYS over on my sugar because I really do eat a lot of fruit. It keeps me full, its delicious and I thought it was healthy! I would hate to have to cut it out but it seems that if I have one piece of fruit, like an apple, I am automatically way over my sugar.

So long as you aren't diabetic or have some other condition, and you don't eat 30 bananas a day or drink nothing but 'fruit' smoothies from Jugo Juice or gallons of fruit juice, then you should be okay. Just track your calories.

onedayatatime12

Blasphemy!!! Fruit will NOT make you fat.

I believe that NOTHING made by nature will make you gain weight (unless you go over your calories of course then ANYTHING in excess will make you gain weight)

I eat one apple and one banana a day or one plum and one apple a day (some variation of two fruits). I'm over my sugar by 20/30 sometimes even more! I don't care! It's natural sugar, not sugar from cookies/crackers/candy. So it doesn't count.

cmeiron

YES IT WILL.

I was at my goal weight (128 lbs) on Weight Watchers - not recommended; it's like MFP, but not as good and it costs money - when they changed their programme to encourage members to eat more fruit . . . and, although I stayed on program, I ballooned up to 142 lbs!

Fruit is good. Eat it. It also has calories. Remember that.

Fruit was the only thing you ate and you gained 14 pounds from it?

Because that is the only way you could possibly blame fruit on its own for your weight gain.

But, yes, it has calories and WW making it "free" was a stupid move.

Adding additional fruit was the only thing I CHANGED - not the only thing I ate, but the only variable in my 14 lb weight gain.

If you added extra chicken breast, or extra whole grain bread, or extra chocolate bars on top of your maintenance calories, the result would have been the same; all would have contributed extra calories, therefore resulting in weight gain. Fruit itself was not necessarily the culprit, it was the added calories.

eric_sg61

Dr LOLstig?

Dr. Lustig, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California San Francisco versus some guy on the internet who is doing a grade school drive by insult. Who should I believe??

How many people has Lustig got to single digit bodyfat? If fruit and sugar make us fat, how come all these ripped people are eating it and NOT getting fat.

Acg67

Blasphemy!!! Fruit will NOT make you fat.

I believe that NOTHING made by nature will make you gain weight (unless you go over your calories of course then ANYTHING in excess will make you gain weight)

I eat one apple and one banana a day or one plum and one apple a day (some variation of two fruits). I'm over my sugar by 20/30 sometimes even more! I don't care! It's natural sugar, not sugar from cookies/crackers/candy. So it doesn't count.

Does the bolded mean unnatural things will magically make one fat in the midst of a caloric deficit?

rml_16

YES IT WILL.

I was at my goal weight (128 lbs) on Weight Watchers - not recommended; it's like MFP, but not as good and it costs money - when they changed their programme to encourage members to eat more fruit . . . and, although I stayed on program, I ballooned up to 142 lbs!

Fruit is good. Eat it. It also has calories. Remember that.

Fruit was the only thing you ate and you gained 14 pounds from it?

Because that is the only way you could possibly blame fruit on its own for your weight gain.

But, yes, it has calories and WW making it "free" was a stupid move.

Adding additional fruit was the only thing I CHANGED - not the only thing I ate, but the only variable in my 14 lb weight gain.

*sigh*

You fully and utterly missed my point.

xinit0

Adding additional fruit was the only thing I CHANGED - not the only thing I ate, but the only variable in my 14 lb weight gain.

*sigh*
You fully and utterly missed my point.

So... 14lbs x 3500 calories = 49000 calories.

Assuming a medium sized banana with 100 calories (for easy mathing)...

That's 490 bananas.

rabblerabble

I average about 4 servings of fruit and several servings of fibrous vegetables a day and am constantly losing weight.

charseekingchar

I never pay much attention to the sugar that comes from fruit. I eat a banana and a yogurt and i'm over (and I eat plain greek yogurt...) so, never pay attention to being over on sugar. This account is new, but i am not new to weightloss and nutrition. I lost over 20 pounds and never paid any attention to fruit.

cicisiam

bump

allisonrinkel

Prolonged caloric surpluses cause fat accumulation. Fruit, within a hypocaloric diet, does not.

So if you're eating a caloric surplus and getting fatter, it's the diet in its entirety causing the fat gain rather than some evil singular food item. I would stop listening to your carbophobic friend.

Listen to the man with the pretty abs. He knows what he's talking about.

Agreed! Oh one day I hope of I have pretty lady abs!!

Mslmesq

I eat fruit, yogurt (whole, plain, organic, greek), and nuts for breakfast most mornings. It has never increased my weight and I usually lose weight while following a healthy diet...healthy being mostly vegetables (bulk of days food), then some fruit (1-2 servings a day), a little whole grains (usually 1-2 servings a day, but sometimes none), a little nuts (about 5-7 nuts a day), some beans (about ever 2-3 days), fish 1-2x a week (sometimes more), other meat rarely and organic only and in very small portions. I do not use diet anything cause I don't like chemicals. I always mix my own salad dressing. I cook with oil and butter. Use whole milk that is organic and non homogenized. Try to eat mostly organic food and no chemicals or processed food items. Drink mostly water, some tea and some wine. With this diet, when I'm following it, I have trouble keeping weight on.

shannashannabobana

Perhaps do a little more research on his claims

Your first link goes to a blank page, so that's a great start.

I'm not anti fruit (I believe in nutrient dense foods, whereever possible), and neither is Dr. Lustig, btw, I just found your initial comment completely useless.