Natural sugar from fruit= belly fat??

jenlayport
jenlayport Posts: 154 Member
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
I have heard that belly fat is a result of too much sugar. I watched a segment on tv the other night that said bananas and apples have a high amount of natural sugar and since our bodies can't tell the difference..its helps contribute to belly fat. They said to only eat dark berries for fruit. Then today I watched another segment that said the natural sugars in fruits are okay to eat, and to eat lots of them! What do you think? Im torn...I love my bananas and but hate my pooch. =(
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Replies

  • Kaelinnn_102
    Kaelinnn_102 Posts: 50 Member
    I would love to know too! I just LOVE eating fruits!
  • TheReluctantDragon
    TheReluctantDragon Posts: 21
    Hmmm...
    I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about this subject.
  • katt742
    katt742 Posts: 196 Member
    Im sure your one or two bananas a day isn't hindering you in any way. Now if you are eating 5 apples and 5 bananas a day it may be a problem!! lol. Everything in moderation...including fruit.
  • Ash852
    Ash852 Posts: 10
    hmmm....yes, I would like to know that too...
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
    No food contributes to any fat stored in a specific area of the body. Your genetics determine where your body stores fat, regardless of the source.
  • kimbermoore
    kimbermoore Posts: 7
    I was just about to ask a similar question. I'm doing good on my diet and exercise but I go well over my sugar intake goal every day and I don't know how to avoid that especially since its calculated in fruits and almost everything else I eat.
  • pittsblue99
    pittsblue99 Posts: 277 Member
    baahaa, I would LOVE an answer to that too! I love fruit (except honeydew or watermelon) but I wish I could blame my "pooch" on fruit - mine is from having 2 c-sections.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    No.



    Excess calories cause an increase in body fat.
  • SassyStef
    SassyStef Posts: 413
    do your own experiment..lay off of them for a while and see what you think. Personally too much sugar is too much sugar no matter where it come from. I have changed my fruit to blueberries, raspberries, cherry's and pears. I eat a banana here and there and same with apple but I keep my sugar under 31g every day. you also get sugars from veggies and other foods too so I think keeping you daily number in check is best.
  • TinaS88
    TinaS88 Posts: 817 Member
    I am always going over on my sugar... it's crazy... I think fruit is fine... everything in moderation... I would avoid the fruit juices though!!
  • Buckeyt
    Buckeyt Posts: 473 Member
    There's a number of different types of sugar in fruit.

    GLucose, Fructose and Sucrose (good ole table sugar) among them. A Mango, for example, is predominatley Sucrose.

    Your body processes each one differently, but it can't tell the difference between Sucrose from a piece of fruit or out of one of those packets you put into your coffee.

    Tim
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
    I read a book my aunt had called The Belly Fat Diet or something where you're limited to 6 servings of carbs and 15g of sugar (most of which is taken up by a single piece of fruit). I'm not really buying that cutting out sugar from good natural sources like fruit is gonna reduce belly fat, or fat from anywhere specifically. I average 70-100g of sugar a day and my stomach is shrinking... haha
  • msmonique0919
    msmonique0919 Posts: 183
    I am in agreement with what you read because if it were not true, then these fruits would not be harmful to diabetics. My family members who suffer from diabetes are constantly urged to stay away from watermelon, pineapples, bananas and apples because their sugar levels rapidly increase, even after eating small amounts. I do not believe that our body can assess what type of sugar it is, but simply registers sugar and therefore, I am very careful with regards to eating these fruits or eat some type of protein or fiber with them to help absorb!
  • TinaS88
    TinaS88 Posts: 817 Member
    I also think fat comes from too much eating with no exercise or just sitting around all day. I was a manager at a little ceasers last year and I ate pizza, cheese sticks, you name it! and TONS of soda EVERY DAY .. and I STILL lost A LOT of weight because I was on my feet working hard 10 hours a day ( we were a really busy store on an army base).....It's when I quit working and started sitting on my bum all those hours with the same eating habits that I started gaining weight back.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    I've been staying away from fruit for weeks now on a low carb diet. Just had a piece of cantaloupe last night but other than that, I've read to eliminate fruit (except for some berries now and then) if you're losing weight.

    It's hard because fruit is so tasty!
  • sarahbear1981
    sarahbear1981 Posts: 610 Member
    I would suggest that while fruits are simple carbohydrates and people suggest that you avoid simple carbohydrates in favor of complex carbohydrates that they are just fine to eat if you combine them with protein. This combination makes the fruits burns slower and spend more time in the digestive track, Its the combination that keeps them from being harmful and simulates the same effect as complex carbs would do. On another note, fruits contain natural sugar versus the processed sugar we find in so many sweets, the two are not the same and therefore should not be treated the same. In the end, its really more about balance between your macro nutrients (protein carbs fat) than anything else. So if you eat some fruit balance it with some protein and watch your tummy melt away!. Edited to add; Of course the rest of you will melt away too with a balanced diet and good exercise. As schwiggity says: you can't spot reduce.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    >mfw people act like you can spot gain and spot reduce.

    105w56s.jpg
  • TateFTW
    TateFTW Posts: 658 Member
    Why do people think everything is black and white? Sugar creates an insulin response which ushers nutrients from the blood stream into your body tissue. This insulin response helps nutrients get into your muscles after you workout, but it also leads to fat being stored. Some natural sugar is perfectly fine in your healthy diet, but eating it all the time is bad.

    This whole diet thing can get really complex. You won't succeed in oversimplifying it, and saying you should eat tons of one thing or none of one thing is oversimplifying.

    A trule of thumb; if it's natural, it probably has a place in your healthy diet, but eating tons of one thing probably isn't a good idea, whatever that thing may be.
  • karenkwalker
    karenkwalker Posts: 155 Member
    I've pretty well cut out all sugar - fruit included. My biggest problem area is my belly fat. I have low blood sugar also - so I think everything ends up there. I have lost two sizes since I quit the sugar - haven't dropped a ton of actual weight but substantial difference in my muffin top :bigsmile: So I believe fruit does contribute to belly fat. Switched my fruit to fresh vegetables instead.
  • jocelynlewis
    jocelynlewis Posts: 94
    Yes it is ok to eat all the fruit you want, yes they contain a lot of fructose, but the difference is they also contain fiber which helps in aid of slowing down digestion and allowing the sugar to be release into the bloodstream slowly and not all at once like the refined table sugar or like high fructose corn syrup that is in just about everything that has been process.

    Hope this helps!:)
  • solse005
    solse005 Posts: 1
    I have a four year degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, and Grglandr is correct. When you eat sugar/fat/protein from any source, it is generally evenly distributed throughout the entire body. Some people tend to store fat on their hips and thighs while others will store excess fat on their belly (based on genetics). The only time sugar (from any source) is stored as fat is when you consume too much of it; more than your body can store at any one time. As long as you are burning more calories than consuming, ie calories out > calories in you will lose weight. Genetics on the other hand, we obviously cannot control.

    Good luck!
  • MayhemModels
    MayhemModels Posts: 367 Member
    The USDA recommends 2 servings of fruit per day. 2 servings of fruit = 1 cup
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    The USDA recommends 2 servings of fruit per day. 2 servings of fruit = 1 cup

    http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/fruits_amount_table.html

    Chart to go with it.
  • MayhemModels
    MayhemModels Posts: 367 Member
    The USDA recommends 2 servings of fruit per day. 2 servings of fruit = 1 cup

    http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/fruits_amount_table.html

    Chart to go with it.

    *These amounts are appropriate for individuals who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity, beyond normal daily activities. Those who are more physically active may be able to consume more while staying within calorie needs.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Losing weight is as simple as this, assuming you don't have a metabolic disorder:


    1. Find your maintenance calorie amount.
    2. Create a 10-20% deficit.
    3. Hit your minimum requirements of fat and protein as these are essential.
    4. DISREGARD trying to time meals, avoid carbs, avoid sugars, trying to control metabolic hormones (insulin, GH, IGF-1, etc.), avoid eating late at night, making sure you eat breakfast, etc., as all of these things are VERY irrelevant in regards to body weight and body composition.
    5. Get MOST of your foods from whole food sources as they tend to be dense in micronutrients, but DON'T BE AFRAID of the food that you love. Cereal, fast food, candy, ice cream. It can ALL be enjoyed in moderation and you can ENJOY FOOD.


    LIVE LIFE, and enjoy a healthy relationship with food. Without it, LONG TERM weight loss and maintenance are very difficult.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    No food or macronutrients = belly fat.
    Excess calories = fat.
    Deficit in calories = fat LOSS.

    Period.
  • TK421NotAtPost
    TK421NotAtPost Posts: 512 Member
    Losing weight is as simple as this, assuming you don't have a metabolic disorder:


    1. Find your maintenance calorie amount.
    2. Create a 10-20% deficit.
    3. Hit your minimum requirements of fat and protein as these are essential.
    4. DISREGARD trying to time meals, avoid carbs, avoid sugars, trying to control metabolic hormones (insulin, GH, IGF-1, etc.), avoid eating late at night, making sure you eat breakfast, etc., as all of these things are VERY irrelevant in regards to body weight and body composition.
    5. Get MOST of your foods from whole food sources as they tend to be dense in micronutrients, but DON'T BE AFRAID of the food that you love. Cereal, fast food, candy, ice cream. It can ALL be enjoyed in moderation and you can ENJOY FOOD.


    LIVE LIFE, and enjoy a healthy relationship with food. Without it, LONG TERM weight loss and maintenance are very difficult.

    mapexdrummer6,

    What is this revolutionary new diet plan you just outlined? Is it new?

    I cannot possibly follow this diet. It doesn't have a trendy name, nor does it have any hard and fast rules about foods which must be avoided, and at which times I can eat, and when I can introduce carbs into my system.

    I don't like diet plans that are based on a caloric deficit. I prefer ones that change the laws of thermodynamics and villify an entire food group! :laugh:
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
    We should have 5-9 servings of fruit and or vegetables a day. People get fat not by eating healthy but eating unhealthy. 2000 calories is a HUGE amount of food unless you eat at a fast food restaurant where you can blow it or more then half on a burger and fries.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Losing weight is as simple as this, assuming you don't have a metabolic disorder:


    1. Find your maintenance calorie amount.
    2. Create a 10-20% deficit.
    3. Hit your minimum requirements of fat and protein as these are essential.
    4. DISREGARD trying to time meals, avoid carbs, avoid sugars, trying to control metabolic hormones (insulin, GH, IGF-1, etc.), avoid eating late at night, making sure you eat breakfast, etc., as all of these things are VERY irrelevant in regards to body weight and body composition.
    5. Get MOST of your foods from whole food sources as they tend to be dense in micronutrients, but DON'T BE AFRAID of the food that you love. Cereal, fast food, candy, ice cream. It can ALL be enjoyed in moderation and you can ENJOY FOOD.


    LIVE LIFE, and enjoy a healthy relationship with food. Without it, LONG TERM weight loss and maintenance are very difficult.

    mapexdrummer6,

    What is this revolutionary new diet plan you just outlined? Is it new?

    I cannot possibly follow this diet. It doesn't have a trendy name, nor does it have any hard and fast rules about foods which must be avoided, and at which times I can eat, and when I can introduce carbs into my system.

    I don't like diet plans that are based on a caloric deficit. I prefer ones that change the laws of thermodynamics and villify an entire food group! :laugh:

    LOL! :)
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
    Do yourself a favour - Go to your food diary and add:

    Bananas - Raw - 1 cup and
    Blueberries - Raw - 1 cup, and you will clearly see why berries is a very good option....less calorise, less sugar, more fibre - and some other "magic goodies" like antioxidants etc....

    Note I am not saying banana's are bad - but for me personally bananas are on my "treat" list - but I eat 2 cups of berries every day ...... and it still comes in under the calories of 1 banana....
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