How important is fruit AND veg in one day?

Morgaen73

Hi

I'm trying to cut down on carbs for a mini-cut (2 weeks) so how important is having fruit AND veg in one day?

For instance I have 1 fruit a day, however on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have vegetation rich lunches and suppers.

Would I be able to cut our out the fruit on those days?

kommodevaran

If that was me, I'd have the fruit and the vegs and not worry about carbs, but focus on whatever made it possible to stick to my calorie allowance. In fact, that's what I'm already doing, and it's working wonderfully.

Alatariel75

I never eat fruit. Ever. I eat a huge amount of veggies but fruit is gross. There's no rule that says you have to have both. The whole 5 veg/2 fruit a day recommendation was put in place because if they'd just recommended 7 veg a day, people would be less likely to go for it. Nothing in fruit you can't get in veg.

HeliumIsNoble

I think it's fine if your fruit and veg count for the day is entirely vegetables.

livingleanlivingclean

If I had to choose, I'd choose vegies.

StealthHealth

Solid advice above but chimed in to say I rarely eat fruit but I do eat a lot of vegetables.

I think that as long as you're diet contains a plentiful variety of vegetation you're good.

JeromeBarry1

Big Banana exerts political control over nations. Resist.

stephieleee

For me it's important because I don't take vitamins or supplements or anything, but I also don't care about my macros. I would say if it's only for 2 weeks you should be a'ight.

TonyB0588

"Using the MyPlate icon as an example for meal planning and food portion sizes helps increase produce consumption. Fruits and veggies are low in calories, high in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber. Experts suggest that we eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily."

This is recommended, but small variations wouldn't necessarily be detrimental.

HeliumIsNoble

Actually, come to think of it, I mostly only eat vegetables. See, it's definitely fine.

I've seen public health advice that said that to meet the old British 5 A Day recommendation, people should only eat a maximum of two (2) portions of fruit, and should use vegetable sources to make up the other three (3) portions, but never have I ever seen public health advice that said it was imperative to include fruit!

Morgaen73

Thank you very much

geebusuk

The point of such advice is to get the vitamins and minerals your body requires - something that's often lost as the message is passed along.
To the point you'll get some people that eat the same 5 pieces of fruit/veg and think they're doing great.

Unfortunately it's a complicated subject and it's quite hard to get a decent idea of what you need.

kommodevaran

geebusuk wrote: »

The point of such advice is to get the vitamins and minerals your body requires - something that's often lost as the message is passed along.

Exactly.

To the point you'll get some people that eat the same 5 pieces of fruit/veg and think they're doing great.

So sad. So true.

Unfortunately it's a complicated subject and it's quite hard to get a decent idea of what you need.

No, it's complex, but not complicated. Nutrition is not an exact science, it's filled with controversy, and right and wrong is something else every day. The good news is that the body is adaptable and forgiving, and just by eating a variety of foods, and enough, but not too much, we're doing great.

Morgaen73

Thank you very much I'm just going to do it for 2 weeks and then it will be back to my normal meal plan.

mirandaworkout

I don't eat fruit much. But I've heard its more important to focus on hitting your macro goals. doesnt matter much where they come from

OliveGirl128

For short term it won't hurt anything to cut fruit out/back. I'd still try and get as much veggies in as you can though.

rjan91

I am eating low carb - I have 1-2 pieces/servings per week. I go with the veggies.

lemurcat12

If you have enough vegetables, I wouldn't worry about eating fruit (although I think it's good for you and tastes good, so if you wanted it I'd have it).

I personally would prioritize getting a substantial amount of vegetables per day, and a variety of them, over some super low carb number.

kommodevaran

Morgaen73 wrote: »

Thank you very much I'm just going to do it for 2 weeks and then it will be back to my normal meal plan.

The most important factor of any X day meal plan, is what you'll be doing on day X+1. "Going back to/transitioning into to a healthy diet" is one of the things a grand plan deludes us into thinking will happen. But instead, what we go back to is eating the chocolate today, and the orange tomorrow. To permanently change, be a person who consistently eats the orange today and the chocolate tomorrow.

dfwesq

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Nothing in fruit you can't get in veg.

This isn't quite right. There are some phytonutrients such as anthocyanins that have been shown to improve health that are much easier to get from fruit. But in general fruits and vegetables are pretty similar.

PaulaWallaDingDong

Hopefully not too important because I rarely eat fruit. I'm not low carb. It just doesn't interest me.

Unknown

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dmkoenig

For long term nutritional benefits, fruits and veggies are both really important. For short term cutting, because fruits also come with sugars that's the thing to cut out to help you with your short term goals.

tiffaninghs

this reminds me that i need to eat more fruit. i eat all veggies but not fruit.. i need to do better

peleroja

tiffaninghs wrote: »

this reminds me that i need to eat more fruit. i eat all veggies but not fruit.. i need to do better

As long as you're getting a variety of vegetables to cover your micronutrient bases, I wouldn't be too concerned. Fruit tends to be a little higher cal since it's higher in sugar, so if you like and eat vegetables daily, adding fruit isn't really going to be particularly beneficial to your health or weight loss (unless you're adding it in place of a higher-calorie sugary snack or something). No real need for it if you're eating plenty of veg IMO.