Fruit - Can you eat too much fruit?
spatt786
Posts: 24 Member
Here is my story:
I was a closet smoker for 20+ years. I always wanted to quit but lacked the willpower/motivation. I finally put them down 6 month ago and haven't looked back. I don't really even get cravings for them. I am also a sweet tea addict. I drank about 500-600 calories a day in tea alone. I gave that up about 2 months ago.
Since my smoking cessation I have been trying to control my appetite and learn as much as I can about nutrition and eat better. That's why I gave up the sweet tea. I haven't switched over to diet sodas (although I have a few of them a week for the caffeine) but I have a hard time drinking tons of water consistently. So I've been replacing all of that with fruit. I may eat 5-6 servings a day in addition to vegetables, 1-2 servings a day. Then I try to balance that with nuts, but then I go overboard with the nuts, which throws me way over my calorie goals. I get tired of chicken, I do not like beans.
I have managed to only gain 5lbs after quitting smoking 6 months ago. I think that's not bad considering I have tanked my metabolism. No caffeine and no nicotine.
Somebody give me some suggestions. I feel like I stay hungry all day long. I know it's probably just mental. My real question is can you really over do it on the fruit? I've read that as long as you are eating natural sugars along with the fiber, it is ok. Thoughts?
I was a closet smoker for 20+ years. I always wanted to quit but lacked the willpower/motivation. I finally put them down 6 month ago and haven't looked back. I don't really even get cravings for them. I am also a sweet tea addict. I drank about 500-600 calories a day in tea alone. I gave that up about 2 months ago.
Since my smoking cessation I have been trying to control my appetite and learn as much as I can about nutrition and eat better. That's why I gave up the sweet tea. I haven't switched over to diet sodas (although I have a few of them a week for the caffeine) but I have a hard time drinking tons of water consistently. So I've been replacing all of that with fruit. I may eat 5-6 servings a day in addition to vegetables, 1-2 servings a day. Then I try to balance that with nuts, but then I go overboard with the nuts, which throws me way over my calorie goals. I get tired of chicken, I do not like beans.
I have managed to only gain 5lbs after quitting smoking 6 months ago. I think that's not bad considering I have tanked my metabolism. No caffeine and no nicotine.
Somebody give me some suggestions. I feel like I stay hungry all day long. I know it's probably just mental. My real question is can you really over do it on the fruit? I've read that as long as you are eating natural sugars along with the fiber, it is ok. Thoughts?
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Replies
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Are you logging the fruit? The calories certainly do add up, so if you're not logging it, 5-6 servings of fruit could easily undo your deficit for the day.
Make sure you're weighing it and logging it. If you're hungry all the time, maybe replace some of the fruit calories with some fat and protein calories. I know that fruit is just not that satiating for me unless I pair it with fat/protein (e.g., I will eat some cantaloupe with my eggs in the mornings or some strawberries and full-fat cottage cheese as a snack).
As long as you don't have a medical condition, such as insulin resistance or diabetes, that requires you to moderate your sugar intake, then you really don't have to worry about it (neither natural nor added). I don't even track my sugar, since I'm always in the red at the end of the day - I just track fiber. If you're eating at a calorie deficit, then you're generally moderating your sugar intake by default if you're hitting your other macros.
If you enjoy fruit, eat it as much as you like within your goals. Just make sure you log it and get enough fat and protein and you'll be fine.
*Edit: forgot how to words0 -
You can eat as much fruit as you like, as long as you stay within your calorie goal and it's not at the expense of other macros/nutrients.
For example, make sure you're also hitting your protein and fat etc goals.
I could eat a whole days calories worth of fruit, but I'd be seriously lacking in other macros.
And congrats on quitting smoking. I quit around 4mths ago. But now I'm puffing on of those vaporisers. Still better than smoking, but yet another thing i have to work on giving up!!0 -
I eat at least a pound of berries per day, they are very low calorie.0
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I didn't go to the vaporizers because I knew I'd never break the nicotine addiction. I did it cold turkey and was finally successful after many attempts. Now if I could just be as successful with the diet and exercise.
I need some ideas on how to turn my macros around. More fats and proteins are needed, but I have only a 1200 calorie limit so eating a small handful of nuts takes up almost 200 calories. Same thing with peanut butter. And I've tried protein shakes - I hate them.
This is what I do like: Some nuts, pepitas, fruit, green lettuce, raw cabbage, raw peppers, (I usually make a salad and use a 100 calorie vinaigrette - carefully measuring out my serving), chicken, pork, steak, bread. That's not a whole lot to choose from. I do not like yogurt, cottage cheese, cooked vegetables, beans. So I feel like it is hard for me to eat a lot of the protein side of my likes because they are high calorie (except for chicken and pork) and the rest is just healthy fillers (fruits and veggies) to keep something in my mouth.
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I think I eat at least a few pounds of watermelon a day. I just recently realized there is no fiber. But it's filling.0
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You can get lean steak, or lean ground beef/ground turkey for additional protein sources. It also sounds like you are trying to only eat high protein, high fiber foods. Are you having any treats? I find a good piece of chocolate or a cookie increases my fats pretty easily
When I quit smoking (over 3 years ago) I picked up running and just a getting more active in general. It helped offset the extra calories I was eating (and I actually lost weight), plus it gave me a wonderful incentive not to smoke again-not to mention getting out all of that craving nicotine rage.
1200 calories is not much, so I'm probably not much help here. Are you sure you need to eat that low?0 -
Yes hun you can, as it's got sugar in too, natural sugar but still sugar. I was only reading about that earlier let me see if I can find it and post link , congrats with the quitting too, 6 months wow give yourself a great big pat on the back for thatHere is my story:
I was a closet smoker for 20+ years. I always wanted to quit but lacked the willpower/motivation. I finally put them down 6 month ago and haven't looked back. I don't really even get cravings for them. I am also a sweet tea addict. I drank about 500-600 calories a day in tea alone. I gave that up about 2 months ago.
Since my smoking cessation I have been trying to control my appetite and learn as much as I can about nutrition and eat better. That's why I gave up the sweet tea. I haven't switched over to diet sodas (although I have a few of them a week for the caffeine) but I have a hard time drinking tons of water consistently. So I've been replacing all of that with fruit. I may eat 5-6 servings a day in addition to vegetables, 1-2 servings a day. Then I try to balance that with nuts, but then I go overboard with the nuts, which throws me way over my calorie goals. I get tired of chicken, I do not like beans.
I have managed to only gain 5lbs after quitting smoking 6 months ago. I think that's not bad considering I have tanked my metabolism. No caffeine and no nicotine.
Somebody give me some suggestions. I feel like I stay hungry all day long. I know it's probably just mental. My real question is can you really over do it on the fruit? I've read that as long as you are eating natural sugars along with the fiber, it is ok. Thoughts?
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Ya, I love fruit, but too much fruit and not enough protein and fat and I'd be hungry too.
I never get tired of chicken. Maybe some of these recipes will inspire you: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/12/baked-chicken-recipes-that-arent-boring_n_6445264.html
When I want to shake things up I go Asian like http://www.chow.com/recipes/31184-slow-cooker-burmese-style-noodles (I use half the coconut milk and go easy on the noodles.)0 -
Change your goals to one pound a week so that you can eat more protein.I didn't go to the vaporizers because I knew I'd never break the nicotine addiction. I did it cold turkey and was finally successful after many attempts. Now if I could just be as successful with the diet and exercise.
I need some ideas on how to turn my macros around. More fats and proteins are needed, but I have only a 1200 calorie limit so eating a small handful of nuts takes up almost 200 calories. Same thing with peanut butter. And I've tried protein shakes - I hate them.
This is what I do like: Some nuts, pepitas, fruit, green lettuce, raw cabbage, raw peppers, (I usually make a salad and use a 100 calorie vinaigrette - carefully measuring out my serving), chicken, pork, steak, bread. That's not a whole lot to choose from. I do not like yogurt, cottage cheese, cooked vegetables, beans. So I feel like it is hard for me to eat a lot of the protein side of my likes because they are high calorie (except for chicken and pork) and the rest is just healthy fillers (fruits and veggies) to keep something in my mouth.
Eat more steak and pork. Decrease the fruits slightly so hat you can fit in the meat.
Good job on cutting out smoking!
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I get a ton of protein and vegies for few calories from my chicken stir fry0
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You can get lean steak, or lean ground beef/ground turkey for additional protein sources. It also sounds like you are trying to only eat high protein, high fiber foods. Are you having any treats? I find a good piece of chocolate or a cookie increases my fats pretty easily
When I quit smoking (over 3 years ago) I picked up running and just a getting more active in general. It helped offset the extra calories I was eating (and I actually lost weight), plus it gave me a wonderful incentive not to smoke again-not to mention getting out all of that craving nicotine rage.
1200 calories is not much, so I'm probably not much help here. Are you sure you need to eat that low?
Yes, unfortunately. I am only 5'1 and I'm just over 150lbs. I would be happy with 20lbs loss, but I really need 30. So I get put on the lowest calorie limit in order to lose weight. Unless I exercised to the extreme. Same thing when I did WW, I always got the lowest points.
I do eat Dole Dippers as a treat. My problem is though, once I eat one package, I go back and get more and more and more - they are awesome. I do better if I just don't buy them.
Thanks for all the support. I guess I'm feeling frustrated because I am craving and having a hard time sticking to food/exercise regime regularly, but I guess it could be worse. I have only gained 5lbs when most gain 20. I have kicked 2 habits, but can't manage to kick the sugar.
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I ignore the sugar in fruit and dairy, two things I eat each and every day. Because I refuse to give them up. In summer I eat tons of fruit0
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You can eat too much fibre and too much vitamin C.
Take care.0 -
Spatt: I love fruit, especially this time of the year: peaches, plums, strawberries, watermelon, etc. But I find when I am at the end of the logging day, I have had too much sugar at the bottom of the MFP food log. I do not go over my calorie allowance though. But, I have been trying to eat less. So I know what you mean. It is not easy. I can't seem to kick the sugar either, even though it is fructose, no sucrose. Wish I had a good solution.
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kshama2001 wrote: »Ya, I love fruit, but too much fruit and not enough protein and fat and I'd be hungry too.
I never get tired of chicken. Maybe some of these recipes will inspire you: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/12/baked-chicken-recipes-that-arent-boring_n_6445264.html
When I want to shake things up I go Asian like http://www.chow.com/recipes/31184-slow-cooker-burmese-style-noodles (I use half the coconut milk and go easy on the noodles.)
Thank you for this link!! I found a few recipes in there that I'd like to try.
I think you just reminded me of something - I'm probably hungry because of all the fruit sugar. I was thinking the fiber should keep my full.
I'm going to try something. I take a small handful of medications in the morning usually when I go to work, which is only 3 days a week. Allergy meds, multi vitamin, fish oil. The days I am off, I am out of routine and I usually just don't remember to take them. I am wondering if taking the fish oil is helping with my appetite (being a fat). I'm going to try to pay attention and see if that helps.0 -
So I wasn't the only one hooked on sweet tea. I was raised on tea, that's what people in the deep south drink. For 64 years - I've been drinking sweet tea. For some reason in the last 6 months I tripled the amount I drank to three glasses a day. Just kicked the habit a month ago to one glass sweetened with truvia blend. Congrats on the smoking and the tea.
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So I wasn't the only one hooked on sweet tea. I was raised on tea, that's what people in the deep south drink. For 64 years - I've been drinking sweet tea. For some reason in the last 6 months I tripled the amount I drank to three glasses a day. Just kicked the habit a month ago to one glass sweetened with truvia blend. Congrats on the smoking and the tea.
Ha!! I was drinking about 3 quarts daily. I don't even know how many glasses that is. I grew up on it too. I brewed it fresh daily.0 -
I know it's not the same, but have you tried making iced herbal teas and -fruit teas- most of them are little to no calories, you could sweeten them with a tiny bit of honey or agava until your able to drink it straight or even try it straight a lot of the fruit infusions are already nice. Could even try adding fresh fruit in there instead. I'm only saying this because it's helped me cut way back on diet Pepsi and fruit juice, I also have a soda stream machine and make tea pops when I want the bubbles.0
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christinev297 wrote: »
Vitamin C toxicity is a thing. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-c/faq-20058030
Obv fruit isn't the only source, but supplementing on top of a natural intake that is adequate seems dubious,.0 -
christinev297 wrote: »
Vitamin C toxicity is a thing. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-c/faq-20058030
Obv fruit isn't the only source, but supplementing on top of a natural intake that is adequate seems dubious,.
I'm taking high doses per my periodontist. She recommended 20g, which is 20,000mg I believe??
I started off on that dose, but went down to 10g daily because it was getting too expensive.
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Amazing work - congratulations!
christinev297 wrote: »
Vitamin C toxicity is a thing. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-c/faq-20058030
Obv fruit isn't the only source, but supplementing on top of a natural intake that is adequate seems dubious,.
I don't know about former smokers, but I know current smokers do need more vitamin C.
Who knows if that matters long-term, though. In a couple of studies both current and former smokers had increased lung cancer risk with synthetic beta carotene / Vitamin A (but were fine with it from natural sources)
both the CARET and ATBC studies showed a significant increase in lung cancer risk among study participants taking beta-carotene supplements or beta-carotene and retinyl palmitate supplements.
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/
so multivitamins might be worth staying away from
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/MVMS-HealthProfessional/
(just a heads up)0 -
Yeah, the whole reason I've got this problem in the first place of because of years of stupid bloody smoking0
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BitterSweetWinter wrote: »I know it's not the same, but have you tried making iced herbal teas and -fruit teas- most of them are little to no calories, you could sweeten them with a tiny bit of honey or agava until your able to drink it straight or even try it straight a lot of the fruit infusions are already nice. Could even try adding fresh fruit in there instead. I'm only saying this because it's helped me cut way back on diet Pepsi and fruit juice, I also have a soda stream machine and make tea pops when I want the bubbles.
I have always been a straight up sweet tea drinker, fresh brewed daily and I would have it no other way. I didn't like adding anything to my tea except for sugar and it had to be the same flavor, no lemon, raspberry, no instant tea. So I'm not sure I would like herbal fruit tea, BUT, I am willing to give it a try. I might just try it straight since I haven't adjusted my taste buds to anything certain teas yet. I think that's the best way to go.0 -
My real question is can you really over do it on the fruit? I've read that as long as you are eating natural sugars along with the fiber, it is ok. Thoughts?
Sure, you can overdo anything.
For me, though, overdoing it on fruit would mean (1) eating so much that I was going over my calories; (2) eating so much that I was low on protein or fat (there are minimum amounts of both you need and with protein in particular eating more than the minimum can help maintain muscle when losing weight and keep you satiated); or (3) if I found there to be some other negative effect on me, digestively, for example, or if I thought I wasn't as satisfied as if I had a bit more of some other food or combination of foods.
As an aside, "sugar" shouldn't really be the scapegoat people make it, also, just as the "fat makes you fat" thing was never sensible. The issue with lots of sugary foods is calories and low nutrient density, so you don't want them to be huge parts of your diet, but not because the sugar itself is necessarily a problem. It can be if you are insulin resistant, of course. (A lot of the calories aren't even from sugar, also, but fat.) So it's not that "natural sugar" is different from cane or beet sugar added to foods, but that fruit gives you a whole package including things you need like fiber and micronutrients and tend to be lower calorie and for many of us more filling.0 -
Thanks for all the support. I guess I'm feeling frustrated because I am craving and having a hard time sticking to food/exercise regime regularly, but I guess it could be worse. I have only gained 5lbs when most gain 20. I have kicked 2 habits, but can't manage to kick the sugar.
Try experimenting with cutting back the fruit a bit and adding in more protein. I find that I stay satisfied longer if I get more protein (and to a lesser degree fat). Also veggies add volume and have low calories, so I'd up those. When I was doing 1250 I based every meal around protein and LOTS of veggies and then added in other things as the calories fit. To the extent I snacked I made sure I had some protein in those too--some greek yogurt with the fruit, for example.
People get satiated by different combinations of things, so it's worth experimenting, though--what works for others of us won't necessarily be the thing that works for you.
Huge congrats on stopping smoking and not gaining much.0 -
too much of anything is poisoning, even water0
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Short answer, yes, you can eat too much fruit. It's pretty easy to tell when you have, though - you'll get a case of the runs and potentially bloating and gas, basically.
The body makes a fructose transporter which essentially transports the fructose from the intestines to the blood stream. However, the body only makes so much of this (I think it's called GLUT5). If you eat more fructose than you have fructose transporter available, then you have excess fructose left in your intestines. The gut bacteria feast on this and that is part of what starts to cause the gas and so on.
There's a condition called fructose malabsorption where folks basically don't make enough of this transporter and so their fructose levels have to stay very low to keep from reacting. But everyone has a, well, I guess I'd call it a fructose threshold where they can't eat any more fruit without having problems.
Other than that, though, it's only a problem if you're getting so full on fruit that you're neglecting foods that would give you other nutrients you need, is all. :-)0
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