confused about fruit and sugar

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maryzcontrary
maryzcontrary Posts: 70
in Food and Nutrition
I am new to MFP. When I set up my food diary, I did not use the "sugar" counter. I have been eating lots of fruit for snack time -- watermelon and grapes, mostly, as they are "in season" and quite refreshing! I have a banana in my smoothie in the morning as well....I have lost 2 lbs already....well, as I am poking around in the forums I see lots of stuff about not eating fruit because of the sugar. So I add the counter, and WOW! I am over on my sugar big-time --- I thought that my goal was to not eat over 1200 calories, and usually I don't, but do I have to give up my fruit, too??? I am very confused. The fruit is very satisfying, and helps me to not binge on carby-starchy stuff. I'd rather have it than some other kind of snack...

Advice? Warnings? Input?
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Replies

  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    Eat your fruit and be blissful. It's good for you.
  • dorisholaway
    dorisholaway Posts: 531 Member
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    My opinion, and it is just an opinion is to eat your fruits. I hear from some that they have natural sugars. If they fill you up and keep you from bingeing then I would not give them up.
  • Wifeykimm
    Wifeykimm Posts: 4
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    eat the fruit! The fruit is much better for you then simple sugar "sweets" like cookies and candy. Some fruits are higher than sugar than others.. If you are not choosy, you might want to go with the lower glycemic index fruits.. In general I say if it isnt broke.. dont fix it! You are losing and eating healthy. Keep up the good work!
  • lauristewart
    lauristewart Posts: 379 Member
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    Fruit is fine!! Are you eating fruit instead of the bad carbs you used to eat? If so, you are fine.....I do usually eat 3 to 4 svg of fruit a day, and I do watch my "bready" carbs....so I might not have as much of the pasta, rice, bagels, cereal, like I used to, but instead I eat fruit, veggies and yogurt. You will ready too some people are saying do not eat a lot of dairy, but again, if you are eating that instead of the bad carbs, you will be fine. I watch my carbs, protein, fat and fiber really close. Carbs are carbs, whether they come from bready carbs, fruit, or yogurt....they all turn to sugar once they hit the blood stream. Some carbs are just better b/c they have fiber in them and it digests slower than the other carbs. As long as you are losing weight, you are fine!! Good luck!! That is the nice thing about this site, you do what works for you and what works for your life style.
  • piperjon
    piperjon Posts: 157 Member
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    Eat fruit. You have excellent reasons to continue eating them, including proven weight loss. I believe the worst thing you can do is to limit yourself from entire food groups. So-called "diets" that cut out important groups also cut out the important nutritional benefits they provide.

    That said, if you have issues with your blood sugar, or with other sugar-related things, then it would be good to start tracking it. I have had problems with PVCs that I successfully can treat by being aware of carbs and sugars. Your mileage may vary.
  • Thriceshy
    Thriceshy Posts: 707 Member
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    Eat your fruit--it's a good source of various nutrients, and usually has some fiber in there, to boot. I'm diabetic and I eat my fruit--even my doc tells me to. I avoid fruit juices, however, except for artificially sweetened cranberry once a day. I've been told by two docs and two nutritionists now that fruit juice isn't much to write home about unless you do your own juicing at home.

    Kris
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    as long as you are losing good i would not worry about it
  • jjhanlon
    jjhanlon Posts: 74 Member
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    I agree! Eat your fruit! The "sugar" in fruit is not added sugar. Also, fructose (the type of sugar that is found in fruits) is thought to have less of an impact on the glycemic index scale than refined sugar. Fruits are too good for you to give up!
  • rowbseat13
    rowbseat13 Posts: 147 Member
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    I am having this problem, too... Fruit is my go-to snack. When I voiced some concerns about going over my MFP "recommended" sugar intake, a lot of people pointed out that MFP goals are just an estimate when it comes to specific components of food. When you plug a food into the MFP calculator, it just sees sugar as sugar... Not natural sugar from fruits that have many, many health benefits VS. sugar from a giant chocolate chip cookie. I have reached a peace about eating as much fruit as I want, over MFP sugar standards or not. :)
  • J5lester
    J5lester Posts: 5 Member
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    Stick with the fruits and just get rid of processed sugars. Your body will thank you for it.
  • J5lester
    J5lester Posts: 5 Member
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    Also, keep in mind, the MFP goals for proteins, fats, and carbs are all a little tweeked. Look up the percentage of calories for each by the American Heart Association if you want something healthier.
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    Eat the seasonal fruit! I'd just watch your macros (carbs, protein, fat) and make sure you try to stick to those. <3

    There have been a LOT of threads about "fruit sugar" and it's gotten pretty nasty, so I just figure that sugar in a natural proportion, that my body recognizes, is always a good option. Given the choice between "low sugar" cookies and an apple, with the same amount of calories, I'd take the apple.
  • beth40n2
    beth40n2 Posts: 233 Member
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    Eat your fruit. I am over on my sugar every day and all my sugar is from fruit. Snacking on fruit helps to keep the blood sugar just high enough so that you are not famished at a meal. When I snack on fruit, I tend to eat less calories at the next meal.
  • sasalou
    sasalou Posts: 1 Member
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    Also - eat proteins with fruit (a few nuts, for example, or healthy cheese) to keep your blood sugar balanced!
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
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    My opinion based on my own individual experience (everyone is different). Regard fruit as a treat and stick to the ones that are lower on the glycemic index. There isn't anything you can't get from vegetables that you can get from fruit -- minus the sugar.
  • maryzcontrary
    maryzcontrary Posts: 70
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    Well! I am convinced! All of you Wise Folk who are so inspirational with your great weight losses whilst consuming mass quantities of fruit have made me decide that I will simply continue on!!

    Thank you all for your encouragements

    Wishing you prosperity
  • 05Oaks
    05Oaks Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks Mary for your great question.
    It was actually the same question I had on my mind this morning. I was glad to see all th great advice! I still feel that raspberries are so much better for me than cookies! I am glad to see that alot of people that responded have lost alot of weight so they must know what they are talking about:smile
  • cydonian
    cydonian Posts: 361 Member
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    Fruits contain natural sugar which doesn't break down and get stored as fat as easily as processed sugar (corn syrup and it's many derivatives). In my opinion, eat your fruit. I don't agree with these people that say it's bad for you. Fruit contains a plethora of vitamins that -are- good for you, especially being female and we have that lovely problem of expelling a lot of nutrients from our body during that time of the month.

    Now, I will ask what else you are eating because in a lot of American foods, sugar is an added ingredient. Pasta sauce, pickles, salad dressings... a lot of them contain sugar and you'd never know because you eat it and don't taste any sweetness. Check your cupboard for things you're eating regularly that have sugar where they don't belong. Bread is another issue, and watch your intake of high fructose corn syrup which has cropped up in everything. I stress that I don't think fruit is what's causing your sugar overage.
  • Madrow
    Madrow Posts: 62
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    Don't worry about too much fruit. It's a natural unprocessed source of nutrition without added sugar.

    That being said, don't forget your vegetables! They are just as important and do not contain as much sugar in any form. They are also easy to sneak into other foods if you don't like the salad approach.

    And cydonian has a good point about sneaky forms of sugar in our food. I love how the corn grower's association talks about high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation, but it's hard to get it in moderation -- that *kitten*'s in everything unless you really pay attention.:huh:
  • cydonian
    cydonian Posts: 361 Member
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    And cydonian has a good point about sneaky forms of sugar in our food. I love how the corn grower's association talks about high fructose corn syrup being fine in moderation, but it's hard to get it in moderation -- that *kitten*'s in everything unless you really pay attention.:huh:

    It's sick, isn't it? My husband is from Britain and they don't have that crap in their food, so he came here and was astonished by reading the labels on food. We've 100% cut it from our diet; if we do buy soda, we buy Throwback so that it has actual sugar instead of HFCS. We've struggled to find bread locally that didn't have the HFCS, and finally have found 2 brands that don't (one has sugar unfortunately, though). Also... my current quest: relish! I want a sweet relish with no HFCS, dangit.

    /steps off of soapbox

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