Smoothies and sugar

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adam_frith5
adam_frith5 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, started a low calorie at the start of this month and to date I have dropped 7lbs. I've recently started to introduce fruit smoothies to my diet Not vast amounts of fruit but generally a banana, blueberries or raspberries and almond milk. My question is this how important is it to watch the fruits due to the sugar content? Do any of you limit your fruit intake? Or can you go all guns blazing and eat lots of fruit? I started at 233 lbs and my target weight is 200. Thanks

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  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Do you have a medical reason to watch your sugar? If so, then limit the fruit. If not and you enjoy it and it fits your goals then eat the fruit.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Do you have a medical reason to watch your sugar? If so, then limit the fruit. If not and you enjoy it and it fits your goals then eat the fruit.
    100% this.
  • adam_frith5
    adam_frith5 Posts: 4 Member
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    No, no medical reasons. I simply found that snacks between meals at work were not cutting it and figured fruits smoothies would give me the kick I needed. I just don't want to overdue it on the sugar side of things...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I generally keep to one or two servings of fruit per day and put a premium on vegetables. When I started I had pre-diabetic blood work...going hog wild on fruit would have been just as bad of an idea as guzzling soda... in the end, sugar is sugar.
  • tress29
    tress29 Posts: 614 Member
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    Diabetic here too! I can eat a small apple, when it's in my oatmeal with some walnuts, but just eating the fruit by itself? I'd rather eat a bunch of veggies and spend my carbs on some hummus!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2017
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    adam_frith5 wrote: »
    Hi guys, started a low calorie at the start of this month and to date I have dropped 7lbs. I've recently started to introduce fruit smoothies to my diet Not vast amounts of fruit but generally a banana, blueberries or raspberries and almond milk. My question is this how important is it to watch the fruits due to the sugar content? Do any of you limit your fruit intake? Or can you go all guns blazing and eat lots of fruit? I started at 233 lbs and my target weight is 200. Thanks

    I don't particularly watch my fruit, but I make sure I have enough vegetables, protein, and healthy fats in my diet, as well as variety, and that tends to mean I eat no more than 1-2 servings of fruit in the winter and 2-3 in the summer (when I eat more because I adore many local fruits when in season).

    When it comes to smoothies (or any other meal), my personal goal is to have a good amount of protein + vegetables at all meals, as well as some healthy fats, so I tend to add lots of vegetables, some nutmilk or nuts (homemade nut milk has more fat and calories than the storebought stuff, but sometimes I use yogurt or dairy milk instead), some protein powder, and then only a little fruit. My smoothies still have a decent amount of sugar -- the last one in my diary has about 22 g, from strawberries, kale, fennel, winter squash, plus some yogurt -- but I end up not going over my sugar for the day anyway.

    That said, as I noted above and as others said I don't really worry about sugar from fruit and veg and dairy (or in general), but instead making sure my diet has the nutrient it needs overall and that nothing is crowding out the other things I need.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    adam_frith5 wrote: »
    Hi guys, started a low calorie at the start of this month and to date I have dropped 7lbs. I've recently started to introduce fruit smoothies to my diet Not vast amounts of fruit but generally a banana, blueberries or raspberries and almond milk. My question is this how important is it to watch the fruits due to the sugar content? Do any of you limit your fruit intake? Or can you go all guns blazing and eat lots of fruit? I started at 233 lbs and my target weight is 200. Thanks

    I don't particularly watch my fruit, but I make sure I have enough vegetables, protein, and healthy fats in my diet, as well as variety, and that tends to mean I eat no more than 1-2 servings of fruit in the winter and 2-3 in the summer (when I eat more because I adore many local fruits when in season).

    When it comes to smoothies (or any other meal), my personal goal is to have a good amount of protein + vegetables at all meals, as well as some healthy fats, so I tend to add lots of vegetables, some nutmilk or nuts (homemade nut milk has more fat and calories than the storebought stuff, but sometimes I use yogurt or dairy milk instead), some protein powder, and then only a little fruit. My smoothies still have a decent amount of sugar -- the last one in my diary has about 22 g, from strawberries, kale, fennel, winter squash, plus some yogurt -- but I end up not going over my sugar for the day anyway.

    That said, as I noted above and as others said I don't really worry about sugar from fruit and veg and dairy (or in general), but instead making sure my diet has the nutrient it needs overall and that nothing is crowding out the other things I need.

    Something I think that is often overlooked. There's more to proper nutrition than just a bunch of fruit and/or veg.
  • Savannah2990
    Savannah2990 Posts: 19 Member
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    I love smoothies but the sugar just makes me hungry .
    So I limit it alot and never at night
  • adam_frith5
    adam_frith5 Posts: 4 Member
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    Some great advice. Thanks guys!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    adam_frith5 wrote: »
    Hi guys, started a low calorie at the start of this month and to date I have dropped 7lbs. I've recently started to introduce fruit smoothies to my diet Not vast amounts of fruit but generally a banana, blueberries or raspberries and almond milk. My question is this how important is it to watch the fruits due to the sugar content? Do any of you limit your fruit intake? Or can you go all guns blazing and eat lots of fruit? I started at 233 lbs and my target weight is 200. Thanks

    I don't worry about the sugar in smoothies per se but found I need to have protein, fat, and fiber as well as carbs in order to feel satisfied. This keeps me full for hours:

    2f47819eaf4955640f2abfb07692ff80.png

    When I was in Costa Rica with no AC and plenty of fresh local fruit, I did eat a lot more of it.

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