Low Carb Fruits

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Glitch615
Glitch615 Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've just started eating low carb because I need to lose well over 200 pounds and that has been most effective in the past. Today, when I went to enter my fruit into MFP, I realized that 1 apple has more than my daily allowance of carbs! I'm sure that is natural sugars, but do you count that in your allowance? Should I refrain from eating fruit?

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  • Daveacpa2
    Daveacpa2 Posts: 19 Member
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    Get ready for a flood of people telling you to only worry about calories in and calories out and not worry about the carbs.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Here's a good overview: https://www.ruled.me/best-low-carb-fruits-avoid/
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It doesn't matter if it's "natural" sugar; sugar is sugar. How low carb are you aiming for? Low carb can be a wide range. If you eat keto, you'll have to avoid most fruit. You don't have to eat low carb to lose weight, but it's effective if it helps you stick to your calorie allowance; it's not effective if it makes you binge and regain. With 200 pounds to lose, your calorie allowance should have plenty of room for fruit.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Berries
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    Eating low carbs can be very effective for limiting calories overall without counting, which is the primary reason you lose weight on a low carb diet. There is a secondary effect that eating low carb has a diuretic effect, so you can see large weigh loss in the first few weeks.

    It's entirely up to you how low you go. If you want to do an Atkins-like diet, then you go very low in carbs for a few weeks, adding a some back after that. Some people stay ultra-low-carb for extended periods while others don't feel well doing that. You will have to gauge it for yourself.

    I think there's very good advice in Atkins' book (which not enough people read before going on the diet) and also on this web page:

    https://www.atkins.com/how-it-works/library/articles/how-to-do-atkins-right-10-mistakes-to-avoid
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Not all berries, but raspberries are very low net carbs. Avocado is another low net carb fruit. ;-)

    If by low carb you mean like under 100, it's not that hard to fit in some fruit.

    If, as I assume from your first post, you mean keto, and specifically something like under 20 g (which really is not necessary for ketosis), you can't really fit in fruit more than very rarely, unless you mean avocado or sacrifice vegetables and/or nuts (and still keep the amount quite small). I tried keto as an experiment and even doing around 35 g net carbs I could not fit in fruit (I eat lots of vegetables and some nuts), and quit for the summer as I adore summer fruit.
  • Glitch615
    Glitch615 Posts: 16 Member
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    I was trying to stay under 30 g a day. Thanks for all of your input.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Diet doctor has a section on low carb fruits and berries you might like:
    But I think your best bet is to plug in all of the fruit you like to eat into your diary and see what comes up. A whole apple is too many carbs for your limit you said but what about 80g of thin apple slices with some cheddar cheese to go with it? That's 9g of net carbs and might be doable - and worth it if you love apples!

    Try and be as flexible as you can be within your limits instead of working from a list of dos and don'ts. Best wishes and definitely join the Low Carber Daily group if you haven't - lots of nice people and good advice. Best wishes.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,370 Member
    edited October 2017
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Daveacpa2 wrote: »
    Get ready for a flood of people telling you to only worry about calories in and calories out and not worry about the carbs.

    Right. Because that's how weight loss works.

    Yes, and compliance is a very big thing in being able to maintain the CICO balance, and in her case, she has already said that low-carb works for her in helping to maintain the calorie deficit needed to lose the weight.

    OP - you could have any of the berries (blue, black, strawberries, raspberries) but you may have to forgo veggies (other than things like lettuce and celery) on the days where you indulge in the berries. Another option would be to eat only 1/2 the apple (or buy apple slices and eat a few of them each day). You can always moderate the fruit by eating partial servings and saving the rest for another day.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
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    jennba5 wrote: »
    I was trying to stay under 30 g a day. Thanks for all of your input.

    So you're eating according to keto? Is there a reason why? Just asking because I am low carb at 100g net, so I am still able to eat an apple a day - actually yesterday I ate an apple, a pear, and pineapple chunks. So unless you have some health issues, you can try increasing your carbs.

    Otherwise, berries are your best choices. You still have to really moderate it if you prioritize vegetables.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    ccrdragon wrote: »
    Yes, and compliance is a very big thing in being able to maintain the CICO balance, and in her case, she has already said that low-carb works for her in helping to maintain the calorie deficit needed to lose the weight.
    She didn't say that. She said that "that has been most effective in the past". This could actually mean the oppsite - the need to do it again could mean that what she did, lead her to rebound binging; it could also just mean that she experienced the initial extra water weight loss from dropping carbs.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    As others said, 30g is a ketogenic carb level - very low carb. It may be hard to fit much fruit into your day and include other vegetables. This is fine, but be aware that a bowl of berries may have as many carbs are a large plate of salad with other veggies on it.

    Lowest in carbs in fruit are berries. That is followed by temperate fruit like apples, plums, nectarines, peaches, oranges and some melons (a few slices). Many ketoer's will have just part of those fruits so they can eat other veggies too if they wish. Or skip them. If you are eating quality meat products, there is nothing in fruits that you need that is not in animal products, or other veggies.

    Tropical fruits like banana, mangos, and even grapes are quite sugary. Dried fruits like raisins, dates and figs should probably be skipped. So should any fruit juices.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    most berries are low carb...

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Here's something I posted on the low carb forum a while back (since I'm too lazy to look everything up again):

    100 g blueberries: 57 cal, 14 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 2 g fiber
    100 g strawberries: 32, 8 g carbs, 5 g sugar, 2 g fiber (I didn't realize strawberries lower carb than blueberries until this comparison!)
    100 g peaches (but a peach is bigger than 100 g, of course): 39, 10 g carbs, 8 g sugar, 1.5 g fiber
    100 g apples (again, not a whole apple): 52, 14 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 2.5 g fiber
    100 g bananas: 89, 23 g carbs, 12 g sugar, 2.5 g fiber
    100 g pineapple: 50, 13 g carbs, 10 g sugar, 1.5 g fiber
    100 g raspberries: 52, 12 g carbs, 4.5 g sugar, 6.5 g fiber (to me raspberries always taste sweeter than strawberries and blueberries, so weird!)

    Not as much of a difference on the whole as I expected, and I am surprised by blueberries and pineapples (in opposite ways):

    Net carbs (per 100 g):

    raspberries=5.5
    strawberries=6
    peaches=8.5
    apples=11.5
    pineapples=11.5
    blueberries=12
    bananas=20.5
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    One thing with berries, though, is of course it's easier to just eat fewer of them, whereas I find it basically impossible to eat less than a whole apple unless someone wants to share it, since it goes bad (doesn't taste as good) once it's cut if you try to save it.

    I think I also prefer clementines to oranges mainly because they come in such a convenient size (although then I can easily eat 5 in a row). ;-)
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Just cut off part of the fruit close to the core and the next time do the opposite side of the fruit. Since it isn't exposed to the air it doesn't go bad - or at least I've never had an issue with it and think it tastes just as good.

    Like this:
    appleslice1.gif
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    Yes, and compliance is a very big thing in being able to maintain the CICO balance, and in her case, she has already said that low-carb works for her in helping to maintain the calorie deficit needed to lose the weight.
    She didn't say that. She said that "that has been most effective in the past". This could actually mean the oppsite - the need to do it again could mean that what she did, lead her to rebound binging; it could also just mean that she experienced the initial extra water weight loss from dropping carbs.

    ^^This.

    Repeating a past pattern that has led her to a situation where she needs to lose 200 pounds doesn't seem like particularly great idea to me.

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