low carb diets & Fruit?

jogglesngoggles
jogglesngoggles Posts: 362 Member
edited October 31 in Food and Nutrition
So those of you that are on low carb diets, do you eat fruit? I've been on low carb for a while now with no fruit per a couple of trainers I saw, although recently I'm really craving fruit and trying to find a better balance in my diet. Looking for what you do and what works. Thanks.
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Replies

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    So those of you that are on low carb diets, do you eat fruit? I've been on low carb for a while now with no fruit per a couple of trainers I saw, although recently I'm really craving fruit and trying to find a better balance in my diet. Looking for what you do and what works. Thanks.

    Curious as to why the trainers said go on a low carb diet and to avoid fruit

    Fruit should be fine on a low carb diet
  • jaybird951
    jaybird951 Posts: 53 Member
    fruit is good....as others said, on a low carb diet where you are staying away from unnecessary things like french fries, bread, etc..
  • peaches
  • WonderKP
    WonderKP Posts: 146 Member
    well Fruits are high in sugar....but they also have fiber! I absolutely love blackberries and blueberries. If you want to eat fruit, go for dark/ deep colored fruits high in fiber. (apples are good too!) Blueberries also supposedly have healthy antioxidants and have anti-aging elements.

    (avoid bananas as they are very starchy for fruit!)
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
    i actually stay away from fruit as much as possible - my body does not tolerate the sugar at all. However, if i do need fibre i will go for an apple..

    I ahvent eaten a banana in years!
  • Clew
    Clew Posts: 910 Member
    Agreed. Fruits (fresh, not in heavy syrup or in a pie, LOL :wink: ) are great for you. Processed and refined crap is what needs to be avoided. Enjoy some lovely fruit! :heart:
  • this person did not ask whether or not you agreed with his or her diet, they asked for low carb fruits. jus sayin.

    berries, apricots, green apples.
  • lindseyski
    lindseyski Posts: 1 Member
    From what I have read it all depends on how sensitive each individual is to the sugars in the fruit....some people can handle more carbs in their diet than others due to their insulin reaction and the heavier you are the more sensitive you will be but as you get closer to your goal your body will deal with it in a more normal way. I have done South Beach (which you can eat fruit) and I was the thinnest I have ever been. I would just add them into your diet slowly and see if your weight loss stalls or slows and if it doesn't then great! Hope that makes sense:)
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    fruit is healthy for you.. i try to eat at least one or two servings a day ..nothing canned though..either fresh or for berries i will have frozen because they are so expensive to buy when not in season
  • Clew
    Clew Posts: 910 Member
    "Looking for what you do and what works". That's what I do and what works. If it reads any other way it was not intentional.

    :flowerforyou:
  • jogglesngoggles
    jogglesngoggles Posts: 362 Member
    The two trainers that I talked to about this told me that Carbs including fruit turn into sugar and the goal is to keep sugar out of your bloodstream to train the body to use it's fat stores as energy, and that excess sugar in your body will turn into fat. I've followed this for a while now, and have lost 52 lbs, but I want fruit. I'm scared to start eating fruit as I still have 30 lbs to lose. Thanks for your reply's. Banana's are my absolute favorite fruit, but I know those are the worst as far as fruit go. Maybe I will just treat myself to one apple a day and see if that helps this craving without causing me to gain weight.
  • cpldjski
    cpldjski Posts: 64 Member
    I have been doing low carb for about 4 months. One thing I never restricted was my fruit. It is good in so many other ways that I just decided I would eat it anyways. I have continued to lose even though I have bananas, oranges and grapes.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    The two trainers that I talked to about this told me that Carbs including fruit turn into sugar and the goal is to keep sugar out of your bloodstream to train to body to use it's fat stores as energy, and that excess sugar in your body will turn into fat. I've followed this for a while now, and have lost 52 lbs, but I want fruit. I'm scared to start eating fruit as I still have 30 lbs to lose. Thanks for your reply's. Banana's are my absolute favorite fruit, but I know those are the worst as far as fruit go. Maybe I will just treat myself to one apple a day and see if that helps this craving without causing me to gain weight.

    Assuming you are in a caloric deficit, the carbs you eat will not be stored as fat. So eat some fruit if you want. Also low carb diets have no metabolic advantages.

    Any initial weight gain by reintroducing carbs will be some water retention, nothing to be alarmed about
  • i'm on a low carb as well and i didn't have any fruits for the first week and a half. when i spoke to my Dietician he told me i should have fruits but in moderation (2 fruits a day)... stay away from fruit juice and dried fruits but have a few fresh fruits .... be realistic with your diet, are you going to never have fruits again? do you really think people have gain weight cause they had an apple or two? that's what my Dietician told me :) Good luck
  • SocraticS
    SocraticS Posts: 19 Member
    I am carb conscious (about 100 grams a day). I love off of strawberries, blue berries, black berries, raspberries, PEACHES sometimes, and CUTIES (clementines). I stay away from fruit with a higher glycemic index: pineapples, grapes, watermelon. And I do eat oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and corn tortillas but I try to eat these morning or the later at lunch.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    "no one ever got fat eating too many grapes" - some smart person
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    I am carb conscious (about 100 grams a day). I love off of strawberries, blue berries, black berries, raspberries, PEACHES sometimes, and CUTIES (clementines). I stay away from fruit with a higher glycemic index: pineapples, grapes, watermelon. And I do eat oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and corn tortillas but I try to eat these morning or the later at lunch.

    GI is irrelevant for weight loss :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/453817-low-gi-vs-high-gi-diet-satiety-energy-intake-bw
  • storknursekelly
    storknursekelly Posts: 94 Member
    pears are high in fiber, 22 carbs but 7 g fiber so makes it a perfect choice, also strawberries, blackberries, blueberries are very high in fiber as well and you can have more of them. I know the trainer wants you to have a low carb diet, which you can have and still eat some fruit, they should be of low glycemic index and any working out will cause your body to produce free radicals, which are the bad oxidation for the body, to reduce your free radical damage you must eat antioxidants which fruits and veggies are very high in :) Sounds like you are in good hands with your trainer, but you can make changes & incorporate certain fruits by cutting back on some of the good carbs you are eating and substituting certain fruits. Congrats on all your hard work. Kelly, Registered Nurse & Preventative Health Care Consultant :)
  • letsstealahouse
    letsstealahouse Posts: 3 Member
    In general, a low carb (Keto) dieter should avoid foods that are high in sugar - including fruit. For me, this is the hardest part about Keto... I would kill a man for some granola and fruit juice!


    However, if you are working out - even low impact - you may need a carb boost, which can explain the fruit craving. A banana before your workout won't ruin your diet, but you'll want to be careful about staying in Ketosis (the point where your body has used all of the carbs as fuel, and is excreting ketones). As Kparr25 said, try sticking with darker fruits that are also high in fiber. North American labels include fiber in their carbohydrate totals, so make sure you are subtracting the amount of fiber from your carbs if you are tracking. Example: An item with 6g carbs, 1g fiber, would count as 5g carbs.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    So those of you that are on low carb diets, do you eat fruit? I've been on low carb for a while now with no fruit per a couple of trainers I saw, although recently I'm really craving fruit and trying to find a better balance in my diet. Looking for what you do and what works. Thanks.

    Yes, a few times a week i have a piece or 2 of fruit. I concentrate on vegetables due to blood sugar issues though.
  • issyfit
    issyfit Posts: 1,077 Member
    On South Beach no fruit for the first 2 weeks, after that low sugar fruit is ok in moderation, but no watermelon or pineapple. Too much fruit can cause fluctuations in blood sugar that can lead to hunger and cravings.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    "no one ever got fat eating too many grapes" - some smart person

    Umm, yes you can gain weight eating too much fruit. Whomever said this is totally inaccurate. Unstable insulin in the blood stream is not healthy and can and does lead to weight fluctuations.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    The two trainers that I talked to about this told me that Carbs including fruit turn into sugar and the goal is to keep sugar out of your bloodstream to train the body to use it's fat stores as energy, and that excess sugar in your body will turn into fat. I've followed this for a while now, and have lost 52 lbs, but I want fruit. I'm scared to start eating fruit as I still have 30 lbs to lose. Thanks for your reply's. Banana's are my absolute favorite fruit, but I know those are the worst as far as fruit go. Maybe I will just treat myself to one apple a day and see if that helps this craving without causing me to gain weight.

    I know a lot of people that have had Registered Dieticians, Doctors and other professionals to tell them to leave the fruit out or very limited until 90% of weight loss is achieved and then slowly start introducing fruits and see how your body reacts to each one individually.
  • Berries are lower in carbs! If you want fruit add one serving in for a couple weeks then add two and etc... If you add in a bunch of fruit all at once the sugar will affect your weightloss on low carb. In south beach you gradually add in the whole grains and fruit. If I were you I would eat some fruit. Listen to your body, you might be defencient in a vitamin or mineral that fruit has.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    "no one ever got fat eating too many grapes" - some smart person

    Umm, yes you can gain weight eating too much fruit. Whomever said this is totally inaccurate. Unstable insulin in the blood stream is not healthy and can and does lead to weight fluctuations.

    insulinfairycopyfinal.jpg

    Not saying you can't get put on weight from eating only fruit as any calorie intake above maintenance will do this. Think of the physical volume of fruit you would require to put on weight being that the avg woman's maintenance cals is around 1800 & guys higher than this.
  • floweringcurrant
    floweringcurrant Posts: 112 Member
    I did a low carb diet before and it involved zero to minimal fruit. It did not work out for me in the long term because I love fruit. I personally believe that fruit is healthy and I currently include it in my diet (which is not low carb, but a lot more balanced, and making me a lot more happy).
  • _Kate_P
    _Kate_P Posts: 132
    basically what everyone already said. the point of low carb is to cut out processed carbs like breads, pasta, rice, crackers etc. and to get your carbs from whole sources, like fruits and veggies
  • AliceIsRunning
    AliceIsRunning Posts: 220 Member
    There's a difference if you're just limiting the carbs you're having or if you're restricting carbs to be in ketosis (as other's have posted) you generally have to avoid fruits.

    You can enjoy berries: the darker the better. :)
  • The point of low carb is to get "bad" sugar out of your body then eating healthy sugar in moderation. If you read Atkins you gradually add whole grains and fruit. If you read South Beach, the same thing at a quicker rate.
  • im on atkins most berries (strawberries are the lowest in cabrs in the berry family) all servings are a 1/4 cup are between 2-4 carbs, blueberries, raspberries ect, and melon is decent also hope this helps
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