Fruit and vegtables, How do people live without them?

Kizzle87
Kizzle87 Posts: 16
edited October 14 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,
I've been reading through forum posts, and having a look at people diaries who have posted in threads, and I see 1 reoccurring theme, the large lack of fruit and vegetables. Now i understand that monetary costs can be an issue, I spend around £30 a week feeding 2 adults and a dog, which isnt a huge budget but 1 persons food diary i saw didn't eat 1 piece of fruit or vegetables in a whole week!

Is this just me being judge mental?why would someone not have 1 piece of fruit or veg in a week? i understand some people aren't keen on it, but how on earth are the getting there vitamins eating processed junk all day?

I just find it madness!

Replies

  • agreed,,, i cant live without my mega fix of veg... some fruit too in a day :)
  • Does banana bread count as a fruit?
  • cygnetpro
    cygnetpro Posts: 419 Member
    It IS madness, but I used to live like that, believe it or not. I eat tons of fruit and veg now, but for years in college and grad school I had the palate of a toddler, and lived, literally, on things like potato chips and pizza (with no veggies on it, of course!). I could go weeks, and possibly months, without any real veg crossing my lips, assuming that you don't count pizza sauce and potato chips as veggies. My only fruit was if I drank a mixed drink with fruit juice!

    The maddening part for me is that I was a TWIG back then, and healthy as a horse! haha Ah, youth.
  • i agree as well! It is hard to believe. You forget what real, fresh food tastes like after eating processed crap for so long! I am trying to get back to more fresh, less processed myself.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    I notice the same thing a lot, but usually don't say anything. They're adults, surely they know what's recommended. I think usually they're just not used to incorporating a lot of fruits, berries, and veggies into their diet. Some may not know how to do it - they might find it too hard to prep veggies, for example. Others may be so used to processed foods they don't like the taste of more natural fare. Not going to lecture them about it =)
  • No kidding! I just ate a container of fresh raspberries for a snack! Love fruit and veggies!!!
  • jezlightyear
    jezlightyear Posts: 167 Member
    i TOTALLY agree!! i thought i was bad with keeping up with my 5 a day ... i can't believe some people's diets.
    i have a piece of fruit with my breakfast, one or even two at lunch, and another in the evening, along with lots of salad at lunch time and veggies with my dinner! i reckon i get about 10 a day or more haha :D
    no idea how people can go without, i'd be so sad.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    I'm SO with you. I don't think it's being judgmental, I don't think they're bad people because they don't eat fruit or vegetables, but at the same time I don't understand it at all. Occasionally I'll be traveling or whatever and have a few days without much produce in my diet (which for me means a roughly "normal" diet for most people), and I feel terrible, I can't imagine living like that. Plus, veggies, and especially fruit are DELICIOUS! Why wouldn't you want to eat them? Now back to my regularly scheduled carrot eating...nom nom nom...
  • Totally agree! Vegetables should actually make up a substantial part of your daily intake.
  • kettrickenx
    kettrickenx Posts: 92 Member
    Most of what I eat is fruits & vegetables and I'd actually have them rather than anything else.:) They're irreplacable and light food. But I've also noticed that some people rarely include them in their meals.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Fruit isn't all that important. Most of it is laden with sugar (All sugar is the same - the body does not distinguish. The fructose in fruit is the exact same fructose in table sugar and HFCS) and had been genetically engineered to be sweeter (i.e higher in sugar/fructose) than it's predecessors. You can get vitamin C and fiber through dark leafy greens (and calcium!).

    I can only do fibrous veggies (because they are low in sugar/carbs) and leafy greens (once again low in carbs and very, high in nutrients). I can only tolerate low-sugar berries on occasion. I don't log food because I don't have to count calories to maintain my weight. I control the quantity and quality of my carbs (which come from fruits and veggies) and make sure I eat plenty of protein and fat. In fact - fat is what I eat the most (no PUFA commercial oils here. Only real butter, coconut oil, and animal fats!). I'm maintaining without trying and my health is the best is has ever been.

    If you are willing and able to eat the entire animal (at least an animal eating its true diet) then you have no need for fruit or vegetables.

    And even "healthy" processed foods are processed - they are still junk. If the ingredient list is as long as the box - it's isn't good for you.
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
    oh i just don't log in my veggies, b/c they're so low in cals. i do log in fruits. i actually don't know many people who don't consume one or the other with most of their meals besides my cousin. he is such a carnivore but doesn't gain an ounce. :laugh:
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    TO each their own, but I won't discontinue the consumption of fruits or veggies. I just love them too much! I figure better my sugar com from a cherimoya than a piece of cake!
    And like a PP stated, I sometimes don't log my veggies either. Like I'll have celery or a carrot for a snack, but I don't log it.
  • Most of the time i dont log veggies because they are so low in calories, and just about every category im tracking, that it takes more effort to look for it and to log it than it is to actually add it into my calorie consumption and be worried about it. thats just me though. I do log my fruit though.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    Fruits and veggies make me feel more hungry and some give me heartburn. I will eat a banana or drink a V-8 from time to time, but I don't worry a whole lot about it. I just supplement with a multi vitamin and get on with my life.
  • I eat at least a piece a fruit, or a vegetables each day.
  • RUN2CJ
    RUN2CJ Posts: 64 Member
    Okay, so I don't eat fruits and vegetables daily.

    So does that make me a bad person, NO, and if you ARE judging me by what I put in MY body then yes, you are being judgmental. Maybe I haven’t experienced eating in this manner because I can tell you that I love MEAT. I am most definitely a carnivore. My B.S. is in animal science and I love every animal walking this earth. That doesn't mean that I want to eat every furry, slithery, jumping, bounding creature that I see, it’s just my preference. I tried being a vegetarian once because of my love for animals and it didn’t last for a full day. I prefer my rabbit food, like lettuce and carrots, to be accompanied by bacon bits and ham and a big juicy t-bone steak. Apparently I may be doing something wrong since I am on this site trying to lose weight. I am all about changing for the better, and everything that I do is most definitely not always right, but when and if I change my diet because its healthier and better for me, I will do so in my own time. Judge that.
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
    Does banana bread count as a fruit?

    No LOL
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    Fruit isn't all that important. Most of it is laden with sugar (All sugar is the same - the body does not distinguish. The fructose in fruit is the exact same fructose in table sugar and HFCS) and had been genetically engineered to be sweeter (i.e higher in sugar/fructose) than it's predecessors.

    1) Exactly which fruits have been genetically engineered? They have been the subject of selective breeding, in nature, and by humans, but that is different from genetic engineering.

    2) It is true that your body eventually breaks all carbs down into glucose, however, the rate at which it does so is different for different chemical compounds, fructose for example, is broken down more slowly than sucrose. There is more recent evidence, that exactly how you cook a vegetable/starch (e.g. a baked vs. boiled potato) influences how much of the starch is digested in the body (see http://www.livestrong.com/article/532408-the-glycemic-index-of-baked-potatoes-vs-boiled-potatoes/ for a popular press article on this line of research). So again, not everything is as equal as might have once been thought.
    If you are willing and able to eat the entire animal (at least an animal eating its true diet) then you have no need for fruit or vegetables.

    3) Do you have a citation for this, I would love to see it. I'm pretty sure this is true for obligate carnivores (e.g. cats), but I doubt it's true for humans.

    4) When was the last time you ate the contents of the digestive tract of an animal that had been eating its natural diet?
  • Florawanda
    Florawanda Posts: 283 Member
    I confess, I find it hard to eat my 5-a-day of fruit and veggies. I blame it, probably unfairly, on the war. As a wartime baby, fruit from overseas was simply not available, so I never learned to like them. I can remember having my first banana when I was 5 - and I do like bananas. Oranges I have never liked, except as juice. I'm getting better on veggies now. But I can see I shall have to re-educate my palate.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,221 Member
    Does banana bread count as a fruit?

    If pizza counts as a vegetable, then I don't see why not.:devil:
  • Thanks for your posts guys and girls! It's lovely to see some people's opinion on it! fruit and veg is deffo a winner for me! so glad so many of you agree!
  • Okay, so I don't eat fruits and vegetables daily.

    So does that make me a bad person, NO, and if you ARE judging me by what I put in MY body then yes, you are being judgmental. Maybe I haven’t experienced eating in this manner because I can tell you that I love MEAT. I am most definitely a carnivore. My B.S. is in animal science and I love every animal walking this earth. That doesn't mean that I want to eat every furry, slithery, jumping, bounding creature that I see, it’s just my preference. I tried being a vegetarian once because of my love for animals and it didn’t last for a full day. I prefer my rabbit food, like lettuce and carrots, to be accompanied by bacon bits and ham and a big juicy t-bone steak. Apparently I may be doing something wrong since I am on this site trying to lose weight. I am all about changing for the better, and everything that I do is most definitely not always right, but when and if I change my diet because its healthier and better for me, I will do so in my own time. Judge that.

    I wasn't having a go, just merely stating a fact that I had seen, I also love my meat, it doesn't detract from my love of fruit and vegetables though, I'm not some over the top vegetarian activist and that's not how I wanted to come across, I'm a carnivore same as the majority of people on this planet are. I wasn't taking a personal stab at you, and it's obvious I wasn't, so no need to get in a huffy about it. I'm here because I have made bad choices in the past, I've eaten to much and not done enough exercise, but when I happen to visit my doctor, and being 12st overweight might I add, that she thinks I probably eat them most varied types of veggies and fruit and have the most balanced diet she has ever seen before in 45 year of being a doctor and I'm 12st overweight, then what the hell do people eat! So if i can eat a healthy diet (albeit probably large portion of carbs and meat with those veggies other wise I'd be slim), being 'fatter' than the majority how come so many people can't? you make it sound like i named and shamed you, not sure how I could as I've never mentioned anyones name and even seen your username before, but when people moan about not losing weight and yet not 1 fruit or veggie has passed there lips in a month I'll hop on my soap box like you have. Im 21st, with fantastic blood pressure and choleterol and my fiancee who eat less than me and is over 8st lighter but never eats fruit and veg has both high cholesterol and blood pressure, who do you think is is healthier? how about you judge that.
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
    I don't understand this either. If I didn't eat fruits and veggies, at least half my food for the day would be missing. I have a feeling it might have something to do with the protein craze most people are hyped up about. They think they need massive amounts of protein and the only way to do that "must" be to eat massive amounts of meats in lieu of produce.
  • I don't understand this either. If I didn't eat fruits and veggies, at least half my food for the day would be missing. I have a feeling it might have something to do with the protein craze most people are hyped up about. They think they need massive amounts of protein and the only way to do that "must" be to eat massive amounts of meats in lieu of produce.

    lol I agree, we didn't just eat meat when we were cave people, personally I don't see the hype, i understand more protein when building muscle is important, and I know carbs don't agree with some people, but i'd be lost without my carbs!
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    Ditto. It's amazing to me, too. Sometimes I'll read through a diary and think about how awful my body would feel if I ate like that.

    Then again, there are days where my own diary makes me feel that way, but it's not that often! haha

    I <3 veggies
  • paprad
    paprad Posts: 321 Member
    I am on Atkins induction just now and its hard not reaching out for a fruit because I luuuuuuuurve fruit and can eat vast chunks of any fruit, in any meal. And in a way that could be my problem because I am insulin resistant - it's easy to binge on fruit and then get fluctuating sugar levels. I hope when i get to my goal weight i can add fruit back, but I also do need to watch how much fruit goes into me.
  • KingofWisdom
    KingofWisdom Posts: 229 Member
    edited March 2015
    If I don't get enough fiber, I'm ravenous throughout the day. No matter how much protein I get. I simply cannot stay in a calorie deficit without fiber. Where the fiber comes from matters too. I've found that the Fiber One cereal (Nutty Clusters & Almonds) does nothing for me. I ate nearly an entire box one day and it didn't fill me up, nor did it give me the runs (like I would normally get if I ate too much fruit).

    Oops, I am just now realizing I responded to a three year old thread. I apologize if that's frowned upon around here.
  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
    I have nothing intelligent to add to this discussion but the thread is crying out for this

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  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
    If I don't get enough fiber, I'm ravenous throughout the day. No matter how much protein I get. I simply cannot stay in a calorie deficit without fiber. Where the fiber comes from matters too. I've found that the Fiber One cereal (Nutty Clusters & Almonds) does nothing for me. I ate nearly an entire box one day and it didn't fill me up, nor did it give me the runs (like I would normally get if I ate too much fruit).

    Oops, I am just now realizing I responded to a three year old thread. I apologize if that's frowned upon around here.

    Woops me too.
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