Are vegetables and fruits really necessary?

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Relaxingmind
Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
edited September 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm 5'7 and last year after a 40+ pound weight loss I was down to 121. My step family is Asian and I happened to be spending more time with them because they were visiting (along with my uncle) for a year and a half. They were giving me lots of their leftovers of home cooked Asian food out of generosity. We also occasionally ate as a family at the home they were renting. It was foods like white sticky rice, fish, glass noodles, egg Foo Yung, teriyaki jerky, orange chicken, chicken stir fry, peanut shrimp, etc. All of it was homemade and consisted of little to no produce. This was the year I lost all that weight. After they left back to Thailand and I ran out of their food, I started doing my own cooking again because that's all I really know (potatoes, veggies, unseasoned meat, fruits, cottage cheese, nuts, etc). Like a modified Paleo. A majority of my calories came from the veggies and fruits by the way. Eventually some of the weight came back and now I'm 136 (gained 15 of the pounds back)! I'm wondering if it will be easier to lose the weight again if I wipe out the veggies and fruits. Maybe I can get recipes from my Asian step family through Skype or facebook? Or eat sticky rice and more meat instead of potatoes with more veggies/fruits? And I'm considering getting rid of dairy too. They don't use dairy. They use coconut oil/milk. What do you think? I seemed to do very well on a low-no produce Asian diet.
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Replies

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited September 2016
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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    Bingo. Every asian I know (and I know some first generation Americans, and some recent immigrants VERY well) eats a crap ton of fresh vegetables. (They also don't eat egg foo yung or orange chicken, but that's neither here nor there).

    Are vegetables and fruits necessary? For what? The number on the scale? No. HEALTH? I'd say yes, leafy green vegetables anyway.

    You went from borderline underweight to a REALLY healthy BMI. Maybe your body is happier there?
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    I doubt it was the fruits and veggies that led to weight gain. They tend to be lower calorie than meats, nuts, and starches like rice. I suspect you need to take a closer look at your portion sizes. Besides, you'll be missing out on lots of nutrients by skipping fruits and vegetables.
  • Relaxingmind
    Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
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    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    How much oil are you using when you prepare you vegetables? Gaining weight comes down to calories eaten, not the type of food you're eating.

    True it might have been the oil. My question though is will it affect my health or make a difference? Because I'm considering cutting out veggies and fruits (and possibly dairy) since those were the majority of the way I was originally eating (before and after the visit) which means a majority of my calories obviously come from fruits, veggies, dairy.
  • Relaxingmind
    Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    OP never said he/she was Asian. Either way it's more calories that made you gain weight. Cutting vegetables/fruits is a personal preference.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    Rice and stir fry can easily add to weight gain depending on how they are prepared.

    Vegetables are going to give you fiber and nutrients, that is the last thing you would want to cut out.

    Eat less rice and be aware of how much oil and nuts are used to make the dishes you eat. I sub whole grains or don't do any depending on my calorie goals.

    Also count your calories. You will see a pattern that is often times hard to notice without tracking what you eat.
  • Relaxingmind
    Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.
    He did. He said you gained weight because you ate more.

    He didn't mention if fruits and veggies are necessary and why. Hence, the heading. And I gained it back when I switched back to Paleo. I was losing weight when eating rice and meat. That's why I'm confused and considering cutting out veggies and living off grains and meat. But everyone swears by Paleo being good for weight loss and health lol.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.

    If you know people who eat this way and are fine, then why would you need to ask if eating differently were required? Obviously, it's not.

    But as noted above, if you gained weight it was not the foods fault but the amount of it you chose to consume.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    I have crohn's disease and cannot eat most fruits and vegetables so my diet is low in them and I'm normal weight :p I do take a lot of supplements though
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Fruits and vegetables provide a lot of nutrients--vitamins, fiber, etc. Many veggies and fruits are also low in calorie and yet are quite filling (especially when eaten raw.)

    Not everybody swears by paleo being good for weight loss. Bottom line, you need to ingest fewer calories than you burn, whether those calories come from grains, fruit, veggies, meat, oil, dairy, or anything else.
  • Relaxingmind
    Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.

    If you know people who eat this way and are fine, then why would you need to ask if eating differently were required? Obviously, it's not.

    But as noted above, if you gained weight it was not the foods fault but the amount of it you chose to consume.

    Does that mean you can become overweight (hypothetically speaking) on paleo?
  • Relaxingmind
    Relaxingmind Posts: 55 Member
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    StrengthPowerStamina wrote: »
    Trolls gonna troll.

    How am I trolling? I just want the weight gone again :/
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.

    If you know people who eat this way and are fine, then why would you need to ask if eating differently were required? Obviously, it's not.

    But as noted above, if you gained weight it was not the foods fault but the amount of it you chose to consume.

    Does that mean you can become overweight (hypothetically speaking) on paleo?

    Yes, of course.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,996 Member
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    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No vegetables? Hmmmm, quite the opposite of just about every Asian I know and relatives back home. If you gained weight back, it's because you ate more.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    I don't think you're getting the point of what I'm asking. I never said every Asian eats that way. My step family does. Instead of trying to prove people wrong, please give helpful advice related to the heading post.

    If you know people who eat this way and are fine, then why would you need to ask if eating differently were required? Obviously, it's not.

    But as noted above, if you gained weight it was not the foods fault but the amount of it you chose to consume.

    Does that mean you can become overweight (hypothetically speaking) on paleo?

    You can become overweight on any way of eating if you eat more calories than you burn.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Relaxingmind wrote: »
    StrengthPowerStamina wrote: »
    Trolls gonna troll.

    How am I trolling? I just want the weight gone again :/

    Then eat at a calorie deficit.

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