Nutri Ninja time....but confused with 'natural sugars'!!

Mitramonday
Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! Having tried - and failed - to maintain weight loss with all the fad diets, I've treated myself to a Nutri Ninja and am enjoying (so far....only my 2nd day :D ) various 'blast' recipes. However, having been warned by a more experienced fellow blaster, that she actually put weight on because she was using too much fruit high in sugar, I'm trying to decipher those fruits that I need to avoid. I'm now really confused!! I read somewhere that using foods with low GI is good for dieting - but apples, for example (that most sites say are high in sugar), appear as low GI? I do have a sweet tooth so really don't fancy the grapefruit/lemon/lime route :s ! Can anyone out there de-confuse me?!

Replies

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    CICO. If you eat/blend/drink more calories than you burn you will gain. Doesn't matter what it is. Don't worry about GI index as far as dieting. None of that really matters. You need to log everything you are consuming. If you are in a deficit you will lose. If you are in a surplus you will gain.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Your total calories ingested is what matters, not natural sugars. If your friend gained weight, it wasn't specifically because of the sugar in the food she ate; her problem was that she was eating too much food, period.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    It's the calories that made your "fellow blaster" put on weight, not the sugar. They ate and used foods too high in calories.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    are you diabetic? do you have some sort of blood sugar problem? If not, it doesn't matter. It wasn't the "sugar" it was the total calories.

    Your friend was eating too many calories, period. Which can be super easy to do in a shake. Think about it... you can easily drink a 1,200 calorie date-o-rade, or 5 bananas and a bunch of veggies, but if you were to sit down and chew these foods? I doubt it.

    This is why i generally prefer to eat my foods as opposed to drink them. Either way, control the total calories of the items you add in, and blast away!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    A calorie surplus causes one to put on weight.

    There's nothing magical about the ninja . you won't lose weight just because your drinking smoothies from your ninja blender.

    Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. Calories in / calories out.

    There's no reason to be afraid of the sugar in fruits. Sugar alone doesn't cause weight gain. A calorie surplus does. Do you have a medical condition ?

    In order to lose weight one must be at a calorie deficit. It makes no difference if you use a ninja blender or eat the fruits and veggies.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    May I ask what you're hoping to accomplish by drinking fruit smoothies instead of just eating the fruit?
  • Mitramonday
    Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
    edited May 2016
    @snickerscharlie - I hasten to add that I am not drinking 'fruit smoothies' per se! I am blasting a whole load of veggies (kale/spinach/chard/celery etc) along with coconut water/non-dairy milk, nuts/seeds etc. and using them as meal replacements for one or two meals per day, but the fruit adds a bit of sweetness ;)@Scarface - I do realise there's nothing 'magical' about the Ninja (despite the name!) but I'm hoping it will help train my tastebuds to enjoy a healthier diet altogether (even when I'm not limiting the calories). So far, I'm enjoying the blasts! Thanks everyone for your input - I guess I'll stop worrying too much about 'natural sugars' then!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Just be sure you're weighing all your ingredients as you add them (use a measuring cup for liquids) - milk, coconut water, nuts, fruit - those calories can really add up fast!
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
    Make your smoothies with less fruit. Add some low carb options such as plain fat free yogurt and green vegetables. Throw in some nuts and seeds for staying power.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Hi all! Having tried - and failed - to maintain weight loss with all the fad diets, I've treated myself to a Nutri Ninja and am enjoying (so far....only my 2nd day :D ) various 'blast' recipes. However, having been warned by a more experienced fellow blaster, that she actually put weight on because she was using too much fruit high in sugar, I'm trying to decipher those fruits that I need to avoid. I'm now really confused!! I read somewhere that using foods with low GI is good for dieting - but apples, for example (that most sites say are high in sugar), appear as low GI? I do have a sweet tooth so really don't fancy the grapefruit/lemon/lime route :s ! Can anyone out there de-confuse me?!

    Put your recipie in the recipe builder and see how many calories it is. If it fits in your calorie goal it is fine. If it causes you to exceed your calorie goal reduce portion size or change ingredients.
    It would be easy to get a ton of calories in a blended type drink or smoothie so weigh and measure ingredients and log it.
  • andyluvv
    andyluvv Posts: 281 Member
    I've been having this as a breakfast smoothie for quite a while now.
    1 cup of frozen spinach, half a banana and half a cup of berries.
    I make some matcha tea, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and add cold water before adding to the mix.

    Then I add a scoop of protein powder and spices...I love to add some ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper...gives it a bit of a kick to start the day. Been adding maca powder lately too.
    It's filling and because you don't get as much fruit, it's not calorie dense.

    I tend to freeze it overnight to not wake up my flatmates and have it as a slushie in the morning.
  • Mitramonday
    Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
    Hi Ready2Rock, cbelc, Lounmoun and andyluvv - Thanks for adding your comments to this post - I do indeed weigh everything carefully (including the liquids) and - yesterday, at least - I was under my calorie goal, probably because I swapped all meals for a blast. I live in a community and we eat together in the evenings, with people signing up to cook - that's all well and good, unless you're calorie counting, so I have to exert portion control (not something I find easy :/ ) Just wait, though....I'm cooking for the community on Thursday....heh heh heh heh >:)>:)>:) .....

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