Fruit Calories - WTF

tnorth82
tnorth82 Posts: 186
edited December 17 in Food and Nutrition
I snack a lot during the day, I am always hungry, so I snack on fruit and a few almonds

My diary shows Im eating around 400 calories in fruit a day
On average this comes from
1 banana early morning
1 apple mid morning/early afternoon
1 kiwi mid afternoon
1 pear mid afternoon
a few almonds

I appreciate theres no fat in them but How can they be so high in calories?!

400 calories is like 1 meal on 1200 a day

If I dont exercise that day that either means one of my meals has to sacrifice in calories or I go hungry through the day! OR I go over my 1200!

suggestions??
I cant cut snacking out as I cant cope with being hungry between meals. Breakfast is 7:30, lunch is 12:00, dinner is approx 7pm. Breakfast and lunch cant change times due to work.

PS I am drinking lots of water through the day too.
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Replies

  • lucky312
    lucky312 Posts: 22 Member
    I feel like some people's opinions vary on fruit. I know that on WW they count as 0 points.. so that always seems to confuse me. I always try to snack on fruit too..It's the sugar that make the fruit calorically high.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Try berries and grapes instead of banana, apple and pears.
  • RideaYeti
    RideaYeti Posts: 211 Member
    They have high calories because they are high in sugar. Granted, it is natural sugar and you do get a lot of fiber and a lot better than snacking on buttered popcorn or something like that. But if you are watching calories, then switch the fruit for veggies. Switching to things like celery, carrots, tomatoes, etc. can make a big difference in your calorie count.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    My suggestion, honestly? Up your calories. 1200 is too low and not sustainable. It's almost certainly under your BMR. There are many threads around of men/women eating much more and still losing. fat2fitradio has been eye opening for me. Check out their website and tools. They have a great podcast too. :-)
  • JodieElijah
    JodieElijah Posts: 136 Member
    Ditto on the upping your calories.

    Also, switch a piece of fruit for some carrot sticks or celery pieces!! Just as yummy but lower calories :)
  • AeolianHarp
    AeolianHarp Posts: 463 Member
    Fruit is overrated when you're trying to lose weight. The amount of fibre in fruit just for the amount of carbs is ridiculous.

    There is one better option. Berries (specifically raspberries and blackberries for high fibre content) are the best. You can eat in excess of 200g and barely hit 104 calories with 14g of fibre if you chose raspberries. Since fibre has less calories than other carbohydrates, you're consuming fewer calories. If you go the strawberry route, you can eat a lot of it for very few calories (50 calories for around 200g).

    Also, if you cut out fruit, you're decreasing calories therefore you won't be eating 1200 calories anymore. And 1200 calories is insanely low. Are you only losing a pound a week on this?
  • bsinno
    bsinno Posts: 344 Member
    i agree with PP. check out a fruit calorie chart (you can just google one online) and swap out a few during the day for grapes, berries & oranges. its totally ridiculous!!!
  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
    There's a lot of sugar in fruit and that's what is contributing to the calorie counts. Most people recommend that you try to stick to 1-2 servings of fruit while you're trying to loose weight, as anything you can get from fruit, you can also get from veggies (without the sugar & high cal count!). Based on what you provided, you are having a lot more than 1-2 servings of fruit a day!

    I think you may want to try making your actual meals more filling (using lean protein and healthy fats or possibly upping your portion sizes) so that you don't feel the urge to snack so much.

    ETA: Cutting back on your calories from fruit intake, but increasing your meal portions with lean protein and healthy fats will also help keep you eating enough. As others have mentioned, you do not want to net fewer than 1200 calories a day.
  • mwestmount
    mwestmount Posts: 40 Member
    On WW fruit is usually 1 point (50 cal) but some are 2 points (100 cal) like bananas..........Maybe you should change your fruit choices......grapes instead of banana or maybe melon, melons have more water content. Fruits have lots of natural sugar. Why not try raw veggies for a snack even they have calories, but not as many. I have cut down to 2 fruit per day and have increased my veggie intake instead. Good luck!
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    I personally eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Most days I have at least 1-3 servings of fruit and probably more like 3-5 of veggies. I don't feel guilty or bad eating that much fruit and veggies. I try to watch the calories (half a banana, not a whole one) and the carbs (only limiting myself to 1 higher carb fruit just 1-2 times a week, not everyday) *edit: I eat a lot of berries too, raspberries, LOTS of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries. I pretty much quit being concerned with how much sugar is in most fruits because that was where the bulk of my sugar came from, that and sugar in veggies as well. I really try not to eat processed foods and do pretty well but it's hard to avoid some of it 100% of the time, also I try to buy sugar free stuff too.

    I try to stay away from the heavier/starchy veggies such as potatoes, I pick the smallest one and don't use salt, butter or sour cream on it. Usually just some pepper or rosemary and I probably only eat 1-2 baked potatoes a month. I eat A LOT of baby carrots and after a while of not eating celery (married to a picky eater, sometimes I could not finish the whole bunch before it spoiled) but that has changed. I go through at least 1 bunch of celery a week, at least a 1lb bag of baby carrots a week, I've been adding spinach to most everything I eat, even my smoothie the other day! I go through one of those big bags once a week without fail, I eat lots of grape tomatoes and luckily DH likes those. Also we're pepper (red, green, yellow) fiends. All in all I think I do pretty good, I try to make a good balance of it all.

    I figure hey, it's better than eating bad for you crackers or chips or candy bars. :wink:
  • Definitely go easy on the fruit - it's natural sugar, but it's still sugar. Why not try swapping half of your fruit servings with vegetables (like say carrot sticks and hummus), or sugarfree gummy candy if you have a sweet tooth? I used to eat so, so much fruit before I found out it wasn't doing my insulin any good - end of the day, a sugar is a sugar and you don't want to eat too many of those :)

    Oh, and I think WW counting fruit as 0 points is bloody stupid. I mean, you could like easily eat 500+ kcal a day in fruit without logging it and not lose a gram!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Fruit is overrated when you're trying to lose weight. The amount of fibre in fruit just for the amount of carbs is ridiculous.

    There is one better option. Berries (specifically raspberries and blackberries for high fibre content) are the best. You can eat in excess of 200g and barely hit 104 calories with 14g of fibre if you chose raspberries. Since fibre has less calories than other carbohydrates, you're consuming fewer calories. If you go the strawberry route, you can eat a lot of it for very few calories (50 calories for around 200g).

    Also, if you cut out fruit, you're decreasing calories therefore you won't be eating 1200 calories anymore. And 1200 calories is insanely low. Are you only losing a pound a week on this?

    Pretty much agree with this whole post! In addition to berries the other fruit I eat include bananas, easily accessible glucose and electrolytes before a workout, and apples, lower calorie load and high fiber load. I rarely have a banana when not working out as it's calorie load and glycemic factor are fairly high. 1200 calories? Just not enough in my opinion. You are having trouble complying based on your post. Any goal that makes it hard to comply is self defeating.
  • I have noticed the same since using this site and I have changed to instead of all fruits to some vegetables. Carrots, celery, 1/2 of an avacado, it's a good direction to go in because there are not as many natural sugars in veggies. It's up to your taste buds really. and what is most filling. One thing that I know I forget with when I have veggies is what to have them with. So use caution :) Good Luck Hope this helps.
  • EmeriaDewes
    EmeriaDewes Posts: 73 Member
    Bump
  • jenn_may
    jenn_may Posts: 154 Member
    My suggestion, honestly? Up your calories. 1200 is too low and not sustainable. It's almost certainly under your BMR. There are many threads around of men/women eating much more and still losing. fat2fitradio has been eye opening for me. Check out their website and tools. They have a great podcast too. :-)

    I agree whole heartedly. I have been eating 1200-1330 and feel like with exercise that is too few calories. I am 5'6" 205lbs. So I am going to try eating back half of my exercise calories for a month.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Lots of options here: Up your calories. Do some exercise. Switch to vegetable snacks.
  • jenn_may
    jenn_may Posts: 154 Member
    This post has convinced me I need to eat more berries!
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    Up your calories and make sure you're eating fiber and protein at your meals so you're satiated longer.
  • Bridget0927
    Bridget0927 Posts: 438 Member
    Sugar counts and makes u gain when you have too much, regardless of its source (fruit/candy/Sweets) obviously fruit is a bettere option than candy but it still had a load of sugar and you need to be careful not to over eat that either.

    This screwed me in the past, once I started trackijng my sugar i started to lose weight.
  • Bridget0927
    Bridget0927 Posts: 438 Member
    also, helpful tip. Fruit that grows in cooler climates generally have lower sugar and more antioxidants :-)
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
    A couple things:
    1. I agree with folks saying to up your calories, but only because I found that if I don't personally eat at least 1390, I run into plateaus consistently.
    2. If you're hungry, eat. Hunger is a message from your body that it needs fuel.
    3. Change what you're eating for snacks. I find that if I have a little protein with my snack, I don't get hungry as quickly. Try switching out fruit for a hard boiled egg or string cheese or peanut butter. I keep mini snack crackers from Trader Joe's at my desk along with a jar of peanut butter. 4 little crackers and a teaspoon to a tablespoon of peanut butter can hold my hunger at bay for 2 - 3 hours at times.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I like fruits. I don't care about the calories. But If you are that concerned about the calories substitute half of them for veggies.... a serving (3 oz) of baby carrots is only 35 calories. A cup of raw broccoli is only like 20 or 40 or something. Celery basically has no calories. A whole bell pepper is 50 calories. (I only eat half in one sitting, so 25 cals)
  • andreanicole686
    andreanicole686 Posts: 406 Member
    I would try to get it down to 2 pieces of fruit a day. That is a lot of sugar. Even though it's good sugar still a lot.
  • freckledrats
    freckledrats Posts: 251 Member
    Fruit is good for you, but as far as good food goes, it's the least good. Cut it back to 1-2 servings a day while you're trying to lose weight. Also, don't worry as much. If you go over 1200 and it's on fruit, that's not the worst sin to sin.

    Half a banana is probably better.
  • JoannaLouden
    JoannaLouden Posts: 70 Member
    Maybe trade one of them out for a vegetable? Cucumbers are one of my faves raw and they have high water content (not a lot of calories or sugar). Or maybe trade one of them for watermelon and see if that lowers it....watermelon is starting to come in season and I know it has a lot of water in it...so it may be lower cal.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
    Your fruit choices are mostly high glycemic index fruits, containing a lot of sugar. You should research and diversify with some low index fruits.
  • prism6
    prism6 Posts: 484 Member
    I eat fruit,I didn't eat fruit. I ate junk,now I don't eat junk..I'm OK with that
  • tnorth82
    tnorth82 Posts: 186
    thanks for the tips:flowerforyou:

    I will start going for more water based fruits and substituting for veggies too
  • katesmithy
    katesmithy Posts: 25 Member
    I also have changed my work snacks for fruit and encountered the same problem as you, I'm also trying to eat 1200 a day and a lot of people have said this is too low. Because I hate going above it, I've deicded not to up my calories but just to stop counting fruit or veg calories on MFP. This way you're eating more than 1200 but not excessively and don't have to feel guilty about a healthy snack!

    Also remember before you started MFP what you were eating, if you're anything like me then not counting fruit isn't a loss as I'm switching to them from fatty horrible foods that I ate! Its win win as long as you count everything else, in my head anyway!
  • katesmithy
    katesmithy Posts: 25 Member
    I eat fruit,I didn't eat fruit. I ate junk,now I don't eat junk..I'm OK with that
    Exaaactly!
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