Sugar from fruit - is it as bad for weightloss???

paigebolling

Since tracking my foods, I've noticed that I seem to always go over my limit for sugar for the day but it mostly comes from fruit?? Is naturally occuring sugar going to hender my weightloss as much as processed sugar would?

skb32881

I'm definitely not an expert but I don't think it hinders your weight loss. Fruit is one of the best things you can eat and I've lost plenty of weight eating tons of fruit . And most things I've read (here and elsewhere) say the same thing. I was concerned when I first joined MFP and my sugars were always WAY over the limit but I just learned to ignore it.

ladybg81

I've never heard of anyone being obese from eating too much fruit.

UponThisRock

Neither processed sugar nor sugar from fruit will hinder weight loss if you are in a calorie deficit.

amaion17

i would avoid fruit juice though. fresh fruit is awesome, i do not think this is a problem.

robinogue

I'm not expert but from what I understand healthy sugar is okay.. I always go over my sugar amounts because I try to have lots of fruits daily.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

The benefits of fruit far outweigh the cons. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, cancer fighting properties, anti aging properties, hydration, low calorie - why wouldn't you want to eat fruit! Its natural and unprocessed sugar, so go for it!

Just remember: everything in moderation.

UponThisRock

The benefits of fruit far outweigh the cons. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, cancer fighting properties, anti aging properties, hydration, low calorie - why wouldn't you want to eat fruit! Its natural and unprocessed sugar, so go for it!

Just remember: everything in moderation.

what are the cons?

cas1960

Two fruits daily, Two starches Daily, Two Proteins Daily and Four vegatables daily; A winning long term combination

spacedebris

Just go easy on mangoes and pineapple

Ilisidi

I think you are ok if you are eating the fruit, the fibre, vitamins and other good stuff is way better than processed alternatives - however I do try to avoid fruit juices because if I'm going to take the sugar hit I want to know I am getting all the benefits that the fruit(s) can offer.

TourThePast

The previous responses are generally confusing two separate issues, health and weight loss.

Health: Sugars from fruit are far healthier insofar as fruit also contains other benefits, fibre, minerals etc.

Weight loss: 100 calories worth of sugars from fruit will have exactly the same effect on your weight loss as 100 calories of refined.

BOTH refined sugars AND high-sugar content fruits need to be eaten in moderation to control total calorie input.

While losing weight, I ate more veg than fruit, now I'm on maintenance I'm upping the fruit again.

paigebolling

Thanks guys!!! Lots of good advice! I was so discouraged because I would review my food diary at the end of the day and most things were great and then I would see my sugar intake and it was way over the limit. And I could not believe how many calories and sugars bananas have!!! I could eat them all day and before I found MFP would eat 2 or 3 sometimes! But everyday I have been under my calorie goal and I never eat back the calories that I have earned through exercise, seems counterproductive to me. So good news for me and apples I guess!!

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

The benefits of fruit far outweigh the cons. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, cancer fighting properties, anti aging properties, hydration, low calorie - why wouldn't you want to eat fruit! Its natural and unprocessed sugar, so go for it!

Just remember: everything in moderation.

what are the cons?

Just what she said about the sugar. & some (like grapes) can be a little high in calories. But those are very minor, nothing serious.

fatguyweightloss

Fruit does provide vitamins/fiber but compared to other foods they do not provide a lot of nutrient density. http://www.fatguyweightloss.com/real-nutrient-densities-of-foods-we-eat/

I normally stick to berries all the benefits but much less sugar compared to the bred to be sweeter apples/oranges/bananas/grapes/pineapple/etc. I find that these just raise my blood sugar to much in the end just making hungrier...

raven56706

The Number 1 cause of Obsecity in America is...... Apples!


Fruit is all good

cdevous

Sugar from fruit is delivered in fiber, and therefore is absorbed more (much more) slowly than refined sugar. A higher rate of change in blood sugar will precipitate a higher level of insulin production, which will lower blood sugar to the point where you get hungry.

So while it is true that 100 calories of fruit = 100 calories of C&H, the latter is likely to make you hungry faster, which will lead to snacking, which will lead to calorie surplus, which will cause weight gain.

Eat all the fruit you want.... but continue to count calories and stay in deficit or even. It's what will help you succeed in the long run.

TourThePast

The previous responses are generally confusing two separate issues, health and weight loss.

Health: Sugars from fruit are far healthier insofar as fruit also contains other benefits, fibre, minerals etc.

Weight loss: 100 calories worth of sugars from fruit will have exactly the same effect on your weight loss as 100 calories of refined.

BOTH refined sugars AND high-sugar content fruits need to be eaten in moderation to control total calorie input.

While losing weight, I ate more veg than fruit, now I'm on maintenance I'm upping the fruit again.

I get what you're saying, the theme of this is weight loss, as a person loses bodyfat they will improve health indicators. I think priority is getting down weight then cleaning up your diet.

Trouble is, when someone starts moving to a healthier diet, it's tempting to go from eating cakes and biscuits and chocolate and sweets, straight onto sweet fruits.

Far better to completely forget the sweet stuff for a while, eat a load of salad and vegetables every day, and go back to having small portions of the sweeter fruits when you're out of the habit of having sweet stuff every day. While there are benefits in having some fruit, it's easy to "waste" calories on fruit sugars, when you could be eating foods that are more sustaining.

fatguyweightloss

I get what you're saying, the theme of this is weight loss, as a person loses bodyfat they will improve health indicators. I think priority is getting down weight then cleaning up your diet.

or you could just clean up your diet and eat healthy and be surprised when weight just comes off

Troll

I've never seen someone gain weight from eating apples I don't really count my sugar ( i make a yummy smoothie with my juicer and TONS of fruit and veggies, the sugar in a serving is something like 34g, and there are 2 servings-but it's all fruit sugar so i'm not worried)

You know what to look out for? Bamboo. I've never seen a skinny panda.

TourThePast

My opinion is,for example, as you probably know, people who make a big change in their diet, usually relapse and gain the weight back. Things need to be done gradually.

Depends on the person. Cake and biscuits, for instance, I haven't had more than once or twice in the last 12 months. I didn't say to myself "never again" I simply told myself that just for now I'd be filling up on healthier things.

Had some cake at Christmas, absolutely hated it. It was sickly sweet and disgusting, doubt I'll ever eat it again. Not because it's something I have forbidden myself to eat, but simply because my tastes are now more sophisticated.

This is why i recommend staying under your calorie limit, eating what you want, this will make it easier. Of course exercise, and work on getting the weight down. Then work on cleaning up your diet. I still have some weight to lose, I do personally work on making semi healthy choices, but if I want a piece of junk food and it fits in my calories, I'll eat it.

Me too, though I'd have to do a pretty stiff workout to get enough calories for junk food.

Some people are saying "eat all the fruit you want, it's healthy" and I'm sure you'll agree that you simply cannot do that, nor that it's a good idea to get a large proportion of your daily calories from sugar, whether it's from fruit or refined sugar.

paigebolling

So the general consensus is that health wise fruit is a much healthier choice to obtain my daily sugars from but as from a weightloss standpoint a 100 calorie banana with 30 grams of sugar is the same as eating a 100 calorie cake with 30 grams of sugar.

As far as making any radical changes in my diet I don't think thats what I have done, as I have always ate and loved fruit and vegetables. My problem is that I love all food, including the bad kind! :ohwell: So the changes in my diet consisted of continuing to eat fruit and vegetables, baking instead of frying and passing on the super sweets and greasy. Eating healthy is not a problem for me at all. I just love sweet things and don't think I could ever go one day without eating something sweet even if it is fruit. I know that I also consume refined sugars + my natural sugars and thats what sends my sugar totals out the roof.

Allyson1985

I'm sorry if this has already been said:

But sugar is only a problem if you have a medical issue, such as diabetes.

Otherwise, only worry about calories.

Kimsied

Some people are saying "eat all the fruit you want, it's healthy" and I'm sure you'll agree that you simply cannot do that, nor that it's a good idea to get a large proportion of your daily calories from sugar, whether it's from fruit or refined sugar.

I think that would depend on what "all the fruit you want" means, you can over eat just about anything. I doubt many people got fat eating fruit, and high fiber fruits like apples, berries etc can help control appetites. I agree more vegies than fruit is ideal and moderation is key. Most people should be fine eating 2 or 3 pieces of fruit a day. (3 bananas may be a bit much though, I usually eat a banana, but I think ideally the two or three pieces should be different fruit to make use of the different vitamins and fiber in different fruit. And ideally mostly higher fiber fruits). I've lost weight in the past drinking fruit juice, but that is a lot iffier since it is easy to over do it,it doesn't fill you, and doesn't have the fiber whole fruit has, etc so it is wisest to limit or avoid juice in my opinion (do as I say not what I sometimes do on that one). It is a challenge getting enough nutrition while dieting, so if someone is eating so much fruit that they don't have the calories left to eat enough protein and healthy fats then it may be a problem.

bethdris

I eat a lot of fruit, and never had a problem losing while on MFP!

blueimp

You have lots of answers already. My experience is this: sugar, any sugar. has lots of carbs. For me, my body can't handle the high carbs and so I lose weight slowly even on a limit of 80 grams of carbs per day (set by my nutritionist). I would agree that fruit sugar is better than refined (white) sugar, but it is still sugar. Just my opinion.

GettinMyLifeBck

Personally I had to decrease my fruit intake my weight had hit a standstill. My dietitian suggested that I should decrease my fruit to at least 1-3 servings a day.Every ones body is different,I also found when I did decrease my fruit I started losing more weight... Just find what works for you!!

MinnieInMaine

So the general consensus is that health wise fruit is a much healthier choice to obtain my daily sugars from but as from a weightloss standpoint a 100 calorie banana with 30 grams of sugar is the same as eating a 100 calorie cake with 30 grams of sugar.
(snip)

I wouldn't say that's the general consensus at all - that's just the opinion of a few of the responders to your question and because your question was only about the sugar content of fruit.

Eating a 100 calorie apple with 30 grams of sugar is WAY different from eating a 100 calorie cake with 30 grams of sugar. Apples have fiber, vitamins, nutrients and are fat free. Cake might have trace amounts of fiber and vitamins/nutrients but it's basically a nutritionally void food. No where near the same thing.

IMHO, ignore the sugar from fruit. As someone else pointed out, there are no cons to eating fruit...it's natural and good for you.

Kimsied

So the general consensus is that health wise fruit is a much healthier choice to obtain my daily sugars from but as from a weightloss standpoint a 100 calorie banana with 30 grams of sugar is the same as eating a 100 calorie cake with 30 grams of sugar.

I kind of half disagree, calorie wise they may be equal and sugar wise the same, but... Most likely the banana should have more fiber than the cake (though there are higher fiber cakes) and fiber makes a difference for weight loss and health. The banana would have some nutrients the cake most likely does not have such as potassium. I do think (from information I read and experience) that electrolights like potassium do help with recovery from workouts and fluid balance (and fluid balance problems can cause frustration while dieting i.e. if we retain more fluids the scale goes up). Those may be smaller factors weight loss wise, but it is still a wiser choice to choose the 100 calorie sugar food that actually offers some other benefit and nutrition as opposed to a cake. You probably don't want to eat three bananas if you are eating three servings of fruit, the others should ideally be higher fiber, lower sugar fruits like apples, berries, etc. But if you can satisfy a sweet tooth and get some good nutrition while staying within your calorie range, one banana can be fine. i prefer to eat them after a workout in a smoothie with higher fiber vegetables and fruit, though I've cheated the past two days and had them with breakfast.

Crawflowr

This link seems to give a very good summary of the whole good sugar bad sugar issues:

http://www.reducetriglycerides.com/diet_triglycerides_sugar.htm

Bottom line seems to be that you should limit your consumption of fruit and eat more vegetables.

fatguyweightloss

IMHO, ignore the sugar from fruit. As someone else pointed out, there are no cons to eating fruit...it's natural and good for you.

To paraphrase Robb Wolf, "Uranium is natural too, but you probably should avoid it" Fruit used to be healthy but now they are bred for higher sugar content because people like sugar. No breeding has been done to make the fruit better for you since that does not sell fruit. Fruit should be looked as a treat or even a dessert and not just a snack to hold you over. Just gives you a sugar spike making you hungry when it comes time for your actual meal. Now people react to sugar differently so sure some people can eat 13 bananas a day and still lose weight...I do not happen to be one of those people