In place of fruit?

Fruit is healthy.
Everything in moderation.

Is your problem fruit? Or not finding it easy to eat one portion and then stop?

Those are different issues.

Old me would scarf several pounds of candy and carbs per day.

Perhaps not everyone’s problem, or not to my degree.

But rather than feeling guilty about enjoying lovely, healthy fruit, I just tell myself, “It’s better than it was before”.

And it seriously is.

In the nutrients I track for MFP, I swapped out sugar for fiber.

When I was in Costa Rica for 6 weeks I ate tropical fruit all day long and dropped a size without even trying. How? I created a calorie deficit because the higher calorie foods I normally ate were not available.

However, these days I do add a protein with fruit snacks - for example 112 g cottage cheese. When I was eating higher fat I would have a small amount of PB and/or cheese with apples.

OOO, I wonder if my local apple orchard has Honey Crisps in yet...

If you're not diabetic (or some similar health condition that requires you to limit total carbohydrates including inherent sugars in no-sugar-added foods), there's no need to limit fruit unless you eat so much that it either:

1. Prevents you from staying at reasonable calorie totals, or
2. Drives out other essential nutrition while you're staying within calorie goals.

Even the national/international health organizations (USDA, WHO, etc.) recommend limiting *added* sugars. That's for the above 2 reasons, plus the risk of dental cavities, if you read the detailed text explanations of their recommendations.

Fruits have fiber, micronutrients, and (depending on the specific fruit chosen) possibly some macronutrients beyond carbs. Many people find them filling. They're more nutrient-dense, less calorie dense than common sugar-added sweets (cookies, candies, cakes, etc.). Some people find that eating fruit helps reduce their cravings for less nutrient-dense sweets (baked goods, candy). That was true for me.

Fruit is fine, as long as you don't regularly have either of the two numbered problems above, with the amount of fruit you eat.

I went over the MFP default sugar goal every day while losing weight, when the only added sugar I ate was a single daily 30-calorie tablespoon of all-fruit spread in which concentrated fruit juice (which counts as added sugar) well down the ingredient list. The rest was inherent sugars in fruit, veggies, and no-sugar-added dairy foods. Once I realized that, and saw that I was getting enough protein & fats within calorie goal alongside the fruits, I swapped out the sugar column in my diary display for fiber.

I lost weight fine (class 1 obese to healthy weight in less than a year), and have maintained a healthy weight for 5+ years since, eating multiple servings of fruit most days, and getting lots of milk sugars from no-sugar-added dairy foods, especially plain Greek yogurt (with its ample protein, good micros, and versatility).

WailingDusk wrote: »

Certain fruits are higher in sugars than others, but you also need to remember that fruit is very high in fiber, so you're definitely not going to be able to overeat it without feeling really full.

If you're concerned about sugar, try going for berries (I buy frozen mixed berries and blend them), granny smith apples, kiwi (I usually have two of these before bed. They help you sleep), cantaloupe, watermelon. If you're craving something sweet, Fruit is going to be your best, most nutritious option. Yeah you could go for something that's artificially sweetened, but you're not going to get the extra benefits.

Eat fruit. Don't be scared of it. I eat it all the time and still manage to lose weight. Stay away from fruit juices or dried fruits though.

For me, dried fruit seems over-demonized at times, too. Yes, it's calorie dense (less water), but the fiber and nutrients are similar to fresh fruit. In a calorie counting context, reasonable portioning is possible.

I eat prunes regularly out of hand, and dried mango fairly often, others occasionally. I always have a beverage (usually water, but maybe coffee or matcha) alongside, and usually do a "nibble and sip" kind of thing, enjoying the concentrated flavors of the dried fruit. The combo of the dried fruit and fluid can be pretty filling, similar to whole fruit.

It's helpful that dried fruit travels well (small/light), without bruising or spoiling, like as a snack while walking or biking if desired, or to have on hand on long car trips. (Anything long enough for a snack, I'd always have a water bottle, too.)

I'm not a big juice drinker, don't know whether it may work for others. I prefer vegetable juice (V-8 or tomato), if I'm having juice. It's not a calorie/satiation thing, though, so much as not being a fan of sweet drinks.