Fruit = fat?
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Compare 100 calories of fruit to 100 calories of any bread to see what I mean, nutrient and fiber wise, fruit is a win!
oh absolutely0 -
I'd ditch the sugar phobia. Especially if you have calories and nutrients in check. Here's a blurb that I wrote in a recent article that needs to be read here:Yesterday Gordy and I had a business meeting. We conversed over mugs of beer, hot wings, cheese steaks (we’re Philly boys… what do you expect?) and finished it off with some cheesecake. Yet, we’re both leaner than most people in this country and do things like mountaineering, mountain biking, lifting heavy things, hiking and everything else that most people seem to have forgotten.
This isn’t bragging.
The point is, the diet culture needs to move away from polarized categorizations. We have this terrible tendency to make blanket categorizations about food being either “good” or “bad” on its own merit without context.
By and large this either-or mentality generates loads of anxiety and guilt. It leads to what appears to be neurotic and obsessive behavior. This mentality sets people up to feel as if they’re walking a tightrope – one misstep can lead to nutritional disaster in their minds. Inevitably, when that misstep happens… and it does happen… these dieters typically give up entirely and binge.
It’s the teenager psychology – tell them over and over again not to do something and chances are they’re going to do it.
First, the intentions behind labeling specific foods as good/bad or clean/unclean are well-meaning. People like simplicity. It’s easier to make decisions when there’s an obvious right or wrong. Very few things in life are black and white, however. Most of life happens in some shade of gray and it’s no different with the foods that we eat.
You need to realize that things can seem one way when viewed in isolation and look quite a bit different when viewed in the grand scheme. For example, people tend to look at junk food as a deal breaker as far as fat loss goes. They see the cookie, and solely the cookie, and believe it’ll ruin their dieting efforts.
What happens when we zoom out a bit though? How devastating does that cookie look once your total diet and lifestyle is factored into the equation? Assuming your calories are in check, assuming you’re consuming adequate amounts of protein, essential fats, fibrous veggies and some fruit, and assuming you’re doing some sensible exercise… do you really believe a few cookies are going to break you?
Hint: They’re not. Unless you let them.
What’s worse is many dieters carry their polarized viewpoints over to the other side of the fence. On one side they are in total control. On the other they’re entirely out of control. It’s a viscous loop where they’re unnecessarily rigid while dieting, then they eventually cave, and when they cave they cave hard. Instead of eating a few cookies, they eat the entire box. Eventually the guilt and self-pity amounts to a point where the only way to feel happy again is to diet. And so the cycle continues.
All of this anxiety, obsessiveness, and stress about eating isn’t healthy. If you need a reason to stop, think of it like this…
Your body deals with psychological and physiological stress pretty much the same. In your body’s ‘mind,’ stress is stress have it be psychological, physical, real, imagined, or whatever. In addition, it has a finite capacity to cope with stress. Anal retentiveness can come back to bite you in the *kitten* (see what I did there).
Read the book written by Robert Sapolsky called “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.” He’s a great author and a genius when it comes to the stress response of the body. Humans unfortunately can work themselves up into such a psychological mess about the future by thinking about catastrophic thoughts and building psychological hurdles that are simply impossible to clear and thus, their biology that’s really in place to keep them alive winds up going in overdrive.
People just need to relax, set realistic expectations, avoid perfectionism, and be patient.
I’m not here to tell you to eat junk food. Most of us have vices though and if you learn to eat them in moderation, the process can be a heck of a lot less painful and volatile. Dirty food doesn’t make you fat irrespective of the big picture.
What does clean food even mean? Is it washed really well? Is it grown a certain way? When it comes down to it, food is simply a vehicle we use to deliver nutrients, vitamins, minerals and water to our bodies. Pretty much all foods are capable of doing this – junk food or not. Sure, some foods are denser with nutrition. But that’s looking at things in a vacuum.
Moral of the story – look at the nutritional quality of your overall diet rather than each individual piece of food on its own. Be aware of the categorizations you’re using to help make decisions and make sure they’re logical.0 -
Hmmm....this got me thinking that I'm not going to track my sugars either since I don't usually eat any processed foods. Calories in must be less than calories out --- bottom line!0
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Take for example, the Atkins diet: Fruits are generally forbidden as they contains sugars which are, despite being all natural and healthy, considered carbs, which subsequently mean out-of-bounds for those who are following this diet.
I have never tried Atkins and dont think I could, to be honest, but I take a bit of useful knowledge out of every diet I have ever read about and put together a base of facts which may or may not be true, so it's good to learn other people's POV's.
I have always been against the fad diets for fear that they are a diet... you stop dieting you stop losing.... I couldn't live without Fruit!
Atkins is not a fad, it is a lifestyle change.
Fruit is not forbidden on the Atkins plan. It is added back in the eating plan in a particular order in order for a person to test themselves for food intolerances. You start adding back in fruit after the 2 week induction phase and you start with the lowest glycemic fruits first, which would be berries, then melons, then citrus, etc.............
Why speak on a subject that you have obviously have never explored or even educated yourself by reading the book?
Why not speak about a subject I know less about than people like yourself?
This is a discussion board, after all. Is it not?
Thanks for your valuable input.0 -
Thumbs up!
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This is interesting because has anyone ever KNOWN someone who ate a bunch of fruit and got fat? Back in our ancestoral days, if we were wanderers and gatherers, than the human body surived on fruits and things from the land.....
Personally, I always do lower carb eating plans so I rarely eat fruit of any kind. :frown: I'm trying to reincorporate some fruit into my diet now and get over the whole "its full of sugar - don't eat it" stereo type fruit has been given.0 -
I am constantly drinking the Naked Green Machines, it is high in natural fruit sugars. Packed with vitamens fruits and vegetables, I no longer have any cravings and I am still losing weight while eating my daily recommended cals.0
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For you sugar phobes... what's the top 3 reasons you fear it so much? Just curious.0
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Just to set the record straight people:
I like to think I eat a well balanced and healthy diet and I make sure my calories/fat grams dont go over my goal. 95% of the time.
I dont deprive myself of any type of food. Within reason, if I want something, I will have it, I just know I'll need to balance the rest of my day out.
I do indulge sometimes, I am not overly strict on myself (although this site is helping to make me more disciplined, hats off to it) and as long as I meet my target goal, I am happy.
You only live once, after all, and one of life's greatest pleasures (to me at least) is FOOD. All kinds of food. Exercise is important, being active, feeling good and eating healthy foods all in equal measure make for a good balance.
***I asked about the sugar theory because I was hoping to see what the general consensus was, simply that.***
It certainly does not mean I will or have stop(ped) eating the fruits (or any foods for that matter, good or bad [occasionally]) that I enjoy.
Life's too short and food's too good
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Fruit does have lots of sugar in them, but its a natural sugar. Some fruit have more than others.
I keep my fruit intake to 2-3 a day.
Keep in mind, grabbing a fruit when you need something sweet, is better than any junk food.0 -
Does sugar turn directly into fat? Or does it feed fat? Doesn't sugar feed cancer cells? ( I don't believe this myself but I would like your take)For you sugar phobes... what's the top 3 reasons you fear it so much? Just curious.0 -
Does sugar turn directly into fat? Or does it feed fat? Doesn't sugar feed cancer cells? ( I don't believe this myself but I would like your take)For you sugar phobes... what's the top 3 reasons you fear it so much? Just curious.
Carbs being stored as fat is actually rare under normal diet conditions. Look up de novo lipogenesis. The first place carbs are stored (assuming they're not used or immediate energy) is in your liver and muscles as glycogen.0 -
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Mind you that I'm talking about direct storage. The above statement does NOT imply that you can eat unlimited carbs and never store fat. When we eat carbs, fat oxidation is reduced so more of the fat that you consume gets stored.
Ultimately though, energy balance is going to be the ultimate arbiter as to whether you're gaining or losing tissue. You're body's too damn smart.
The general pathways go like this:
Fat gets stored in fat cells. Some of it will wind up in the muscle as intramuscular triglycerides.
Carbs get stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen.
Protein gets used to build new things like muscle, hormones, etc.
If you ate lots of carbs, your body would burn less fat. So more of the fat that you ate would be stored. But if you're in a calorie deficit, your body, needing to make up the energy shortage, would tap into its stored forms of energy.
And if you cut out your fat intake in an attempt to halt fat storage, thus leaving the normal diet situation, de novo lipogenesis would ramp up thus causing the conversion of carbs to fat. And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
Moral of the story...
Control calories.
Eat enough protein to support growth, repair, and muscle maintenance.
Eat essential fats due to your body's inability to make them and the laundry list of benefits they carry.
Eat some veggies and fruit to cover micronutrition needs, promote satiety, get your fiber, etc.
And after that... not much else is going to matter in the healthy individual who's trying to look better nekkid.0 -
That article is a bit shortsighted. I mean, the analogy implies that high GI sugars will ruin your metabolic engine. It implies that high GI carbs are harmful without context.
I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that mainlining straight glucose into your veins as your sole source of calories would pose some problems. But the typical dieter who's eating a balanced diet isn't a comparable situation. The big picture makes a big difference.0 -
Mind you that I'm talking about direct storage. The above statement does NOT imply that you can eat unlimited carbs and never store fat. When we eat carbs, fat oxidation is reduced so more of the fat that you consume gets stored.
Ultimately though, energy balance is going to be the ultimate arbiter as to whether you're gaining or losing tissue. You're body's too damn smart.
The general pathways go like this:
Fat gets stored in fat cells. Some of it will wind up in the muscle as intramuscular triglycerides.
Carbs get stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen.
Protein gets used to build new things like muscle, hormones, etc.
If you ate lots of carbs, your body would burn less fat. So more of the fat that you ate would be stored. But if you're in a calorie deficit, your body needing to make up the energy shortage, would tap into its stored forms of energy.
And if you cut out your fat intake in an attempt to halt fat storage, thus leaving the normal diet situation, de novo lipogenesis would ramp up thus causing the conversion of carbs to fat. And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
Moral of the story...
Control calories.
Eat enough protein to support growth, repair, and muscle maintenance.
Eat essential fats due to your body's inability to make them and the laundry list of benefits they carry.
Eat some veggies and fruit to cover micronutrition needs, promote satiety, get your fiber, etc.
And after that... not much else is going to matter in the healthy individual who's trying to look better nekkid.
Always, always enjoy reading your input Steve.0 -
energy balance is going to be the ultimate arbiter as to whether you're gaining or losing tissue. .
And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
And even then, if you ate less energy than your body needed, the stored energy would be pulled back out for use.
Moral of the story...
Control calories.
Eat enough protein to support growth, repair, and muscle maintenance.
Eat essential fats due to your body's inability to make them and the laundry list of benefits they carry.
Eat some veggies and fruit to cover micronutrition needs, promote satiety, get your fiber, etc.
And after that... not much else is going to matter in the healthy individual who's trying to look better nekkid.
I'm going to highlight the above to simplify this excellent post. I spammed one sentence up there because this is where people get very short-sighted in their dietary theories. You can't look at the immediate effects of insulin without PUTTING INTO CONTEXT the big picture. This was a really good post and I hope it reaches some people.0 -
I recently have replaced most of my junky sweets with fruit and have found that this has helped me along in my journey. For most people. eating fruit in moderation within their calorie allowance for the day will not make them fat.0
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For you sugar phobes... what's the top 3 reasons you fear it so much? Just curious.
Watch the lecture "Sugar, the bitter truth" on Youtube.0 -
The sugar in fruit is unprocessed so your digestion needs to go through more steps to break it down than with something like HFCS or other refined sugars. That makes a difference, metabolically speaking.
This is completely false. Fructose is very quickly absorbed by the body.0 -
For you sugar phobes... what's the top 3 reasons you fear it so much? Just curious.
Watch the lecture "Sugar, the bitter truth" on Youtube.
Already did. A lot of alarmism in that video. Check out my buddy Alan Aragon's response to that video. Dr. Lustig even chimes in for some debate in the comments section.
http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/0 -
I'm sooo glad someone asked this finally!
I'm close to vegetarian (by chance, not by life choice) so I eat a ton of fruit!
my diet ends up usually pretty low in fat, but high in carbs and spot on in protein...
I always wondered if (most my carbs are from fruit generally) i was shooting myself in the foot by training so much, but then eating so many fruit-y carbs0 -
If you eat fruit as a snack within your calorie limits, you won't get fat. Some people are concerned because of the high sugar levels in fruit, but it's paired with fiber, and its not processed sugar. Think about it.. what do you think is better for you, getting some natural sugars in an apple or eating a donut? Big difference in the nutritional makeup of those foods.
And in fact it's not just the fiber. We need many micronutrients (particularly vitamins) which are crucial for normal cellular chemistry. Deficiencies in these nutrients can actually SLOW metabolism at the cellular level because many of these vitamins are coenzymes for the reactions of cellular respiration. There is a simple answer that's been echoed above. Weight gain is about calories, not sugar. You can eat a low sugar diet and gain weight and a high sugar diet and lose weight depending upon your total calories. Personally I do not track sugar. The vast majority of my sugar comes from sources (like fruit) that are highly nutritious in other ways (like fiber and vitamins) and as part of a balanced, calorie controlled diet have allowed me to lose nearly 50 lbs. in six months. If you're diabetic or have a diagnosed medical reason to watch sugar super closely then circumstances are different to be sure. But in general, fruit is a great part of a weight loss plan provided it isn't overdone (or some other part of the diet isn't overdone).
For the record, the natural/processed sugar argument is moot. At a cellular and calorie level they are no different. It's the other components of fruits (and veggies) that make the naturally sweet ones a better, healthier option that sugars in processed foods. It's not that the sugar is processed that matters; it's what it is combined with. And don't forget -- all carbohydrates become sugars in the bloodstream!0 -
This is interesting because has anyone ever KNOWN someone who ate a bunch of fruit and got fat? Back in our ancestoral days, if we were wanderers and gatherers, than the human body surived on fruits and things from the land.....
Personally, I always do lower carb eating plans so I rarely eat fruit of any kind. :frown: I'm trying to reincorporate some fruit into my diet now and get over the whole "its full of sugar - don't eat it" stereo type fruit has been given.
I don't think anyone is arguing that you can't live off of it. But back in the day we would want to be putting on fat during certain seasons, as it is stored energy for when a draught came, or when we couldn't kill any game.
Just because something is natural doesn't mean its all good.
The human body (as well as squirrels, bears, deer, and a whole heck of a lot of animals) would try to eat whatever gave them the most energy with the least exertion.
Take black bears as an example. They gain weight like crazy before the winter months, eating a lot of BERRIES! and fruits. They do eat meat, but a good portion of their diet is fruit.
Not arguing that fruit is bad. Fruit is very good for you. But in moderation! I try to eat more veggies and if I do eat fruit, 2 servings of low sugar fruit per day. And if that puts my sugar over, so be it.0 -
We all know fruit is good for us, lots of nutrients and vitamains, that is a given.
If most fruit = high sugar levels (albeit in fructose form, not processed), then surely high sugar levels = fattening?
So really, fruit is beneficial to our weight loss but it appears it can also be detrimental. Right or wrong?
A contradiction in nutritional terms if ever there was one...discuss.....
what ? !?!0 -
Take black bears as an example. They gain weight like crazy before the winter months, eating a lot of BERRIES! and fruits. They do eat meat, but a good portion of their diet is fruit.
probably not the best example.
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I thought it was ok. I like bears 0
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So...say you hit your target calorie goal of 1,500 for example, spot-on.
But your sugar intake is DOUBLE your RDA......then will that then indirectly up the calories (ie would this sugar eventually turn into hidden calories)?0 -
I thought it was ok. I like bears
I'm a bear, does that count? Prolly not the kind of bear you were thinking of. I do like berries though... 0 -
So...say you hit your target calorie goal of 1,500 for example, spot-on.
But your sugar intake is DOUBLE your RDA......then will that then indirectly up the calories (ie would this sugar eventually turn into hidden calories)?
What do you mean by hidden calories?
That's like asking, "if I used two rules instead of one to measure the length of this wall, would they wind up showing hidden inches?"
Calories are simply a unit of measurement.0
This discussion has been closed.
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