Too much fruit??

LaurieAnne78
LaurieAnne78 Posts: 15 Member
edited December 18 in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys... I am pretty new to this, and was just wondering if there is such a thing as eating too much fruit through out the day? It seems like I keep going wayyy over my sugar goal every day, and I am not eating any junk food, just mostly fruit.... Anyone have any advice? Should I cut out some of the fruit I eat and substitue with veggies???


Thanks


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Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Replies

  • bytemeeeeee
    bytemeeeeee Posts: 173 Member
    Hey guys... I am pretty new to this, and was just wondering if there is such a thing as eating too much fruit through out the day? It seems like I keep going wayyy over my sugar goal every day, and I am not eating any junk food, just mostly fruit.... Anyone have any advice? Should I cut out some of the fruit I eat and substitue with veggies???


    Thanks
    Read this..I found it helpful~
    Debbie~~


    Lots of foods and ingredients have been at the center of controversy, but fruit? It turns out, even good old-fashioned fruit isn't immune. Our Diet Doctor, Mike Roussell, PhD, weighs in on how too much fruit could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. Here's what he had to say:
    Fresh fruit is a healthy choice and loaded with vitamins and antioxidants; however fruit still contains calories and carbohydrates. These are two things that can stop your weight-loss progress in its tracks if left unchecked.



    Whether or not you should eat fruit while dieting has always been a controversial topic. The Internet is cluttered with articles claiming that eating fruit will make you fat, while more recently Weight Watchers has deemed fruit a 'zero points food' as part of the Points Plus system, allowing dieters to eat all the fruit they want without it impacting their daily points total.



    RELATED: The Top 50 Winter Foods for Weight Loss

    Which is correct? Is your daily cup of blueberries to blame for that extra layer of belly fat you can't seem to burn off? Or is it an innocent bystander in your quest for your ideal body? One of the reasons that fruit is so controversial is because it can be a double-edged sword. While fruit is a very nutritious food that should be included in a weight loss diet, there may come a time when you will need to reduce or temporarily remove fruit from your diet to reach your goals. Let's take a closer look at both sides of this controversy.

    

Why Fruit is a Good Food for Weight Loss
    
The carbohydrates in fruit do not have a huge impact on your blood sugar levels, as most fruits have a low glycemic load. Fruits can also supply a significant dose of fiber to your diet, which will slow digestion and make you feel fuller. For example, just one cup of raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber.



    Fruits like blueberries are also a good source of antioxidants, which can help lower your blood pressure, fight off oxidative stress, and in some cases work at the DNA level to aid in weight loss.



    Fruit has multiple benefits that warrant it being a staple in your diet; but what about its supposed dark side?

    Why Fruit Might Hinder Weight Loss

    Fruit is high in the simple sugar fructose, which is the main reason why many people trying to lose weight remove it from their diet. Unlike glucose, the most common simple sugar that's sent to your muscles, brain, and other organs for them to use as energy, fructose is only processed by your liver.
    Why is that bad? If your liver already has ample energy, there is a higher likelihood that your liver will repackage the excess fructose as fat, saving it for use at a later time. While this is a biochemical truth, its impact on your waistline is blown out of proportion, especially when you consider that fruit isn't even one of the top five sources of fructose in the American diet.



    More relevant reasons why fruit should not be given the 'eat as much as you want' label: When you're trying to lose weight, calories and carbohydrates matter. One banana contains 100 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates. One apple can contain as much as 115 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates.

    

Limiting carbohydrate intake to 100 grams per day is a common target for people using a moderately carbohydrate-restricted approach to weight loss. If that is the case, eating two bananas and one apple will take up 84 percent of your carbohydrate intake for the entire day. Even if you are eating 1800 calories per day and 40 percent of those calories from carbohydrates (a 'zone' type approach), two bananas and one apple will take up 46 percent of your carbohydrates for that day.

    

The main point that I'm trying to illustrate is that fruits are not 'free' foods, and that treating them that way could quickly derail your weight-loss efforts. It's easy to eat 100 grams worth of carbohydrates in one day from fruit alone, and if you're treating them as if they have no caloric value, you will unknowingly be eating 400 extra calories per day.

    Simple Tips to Enjoy Fruit and Still Lose Weight

    
1. Focus on berries, fibrous, and small fruits. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, clementines, plums, peaches, and small apples are the kinds of fruits you should reach for first.



    2. Enjoy fruits in moderation but focus on eating more vegetables. Fruits are good, but vegetables, especially green leafy or fibrous vegetables, should be a focus on your plan.

    

3. If you need to cut carbs/calories from your diet, start with grains and starchy carbs and then move onto fruits. There comes a time in everyone's diet when they need to eat less. Always remove the most carbohydrate-dense foods first (as they will be the most calorie-dense of your carbohydrates as well). You'll find that as the carbohydrates and calories in your diet get lower, when you're really starting to hone in on losing the stubborn fat, your fruit intake will be decreased as a function of how you have progressively removed foods from your diet.



    RELATED: 10 Guiltless Gluten-Free Snacks

    A final note: While fruit is not a free food for weight loss, it's also not going to make you fat.

    More on SHAPE:
    15 Healthy Ingredients to Add to Your Breakfast
    50 Foods that Have More Calories Than You Think!
    6 "Healthy" Ingredients to Avoid
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Hey guys... I am pretty new to this, and was just wondering if there is such a thing as eating too much fruit through out the day? It seems like I keep going wayyy over my sugar goal every day, and I am not eating any junk food, just mostly fruit.... Anyone have any advice? Should I cut out some of the fruit I eat and substitue with veggies???


    Thanks


    11112299.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
    Too much of anything can be bad. That said, unless you're diabetic, sugar is irrelevant.
  • LiddyBit
    LiddyBit Posts: 447 Member
    I go by the "fruit is a zero 'point' food" philosophy, and in my diary notes I total up carbs and sugar that come from fruit and veg and subtract them from my totals to see the net grams coming from other less nutritious sources.

    But I definitely eat just around or (unfortunately) under the recommended servings so, your mileage may vary.
  • Hi what fruits are you eating? if you eat only fruits with blueberries blackberries strawberries this will cut down your sugar intake

    good luck
  • Dayquasar
    Dayquasar Posts: 182 Member
    I have 2-3 servings of fruit a day, make sure you have your veggies too, I never count fruit sugars as bad, also berries are higher in antioxidants.
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    Too much of anything can be bad. That said, unless you're diabetic, sugar is irrelevant.

    This is my opinion as well. Sugar from FRUIT is irrelevant.
  • LaurieAnne78
    LaurieAnne78 Posts: 15 Member
    Hey guys... I am pretty new to this, and was just wondering if there is such a thing as eating too much fruit through out the day? It seems like I keep going wayyy over my sugar goal every day, and I am not eating any junk food, just mostly fruit.... Anyone have any advice? Should I cut out some of the fruit I eat and substitue with veggies???


    Thanks
    Read this..I found it helpful~
    Debbie~~


    Lots of foods and ingredients have been at the center of controversy, but fruit? It turns out, even good old-fashioned fruit isn't immune. Our Diet Doctor, Mike Roussell, PhD, weighs in on how too much fruit could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. Here's what he had to say:
    Fresh fruit is a healthy choice and loaded with vitamins and antioxidants; however fruit still contains calories and carbohydrates. These are two things that can stop your weight-loss progress in its tracks if left unchecked.



    Whether or not you should eat fruit while dieting has always been a controversial topic. The Internet is cluttered with articles claiming that eating fruit will make you fat, while more recently Weight Watchers has deemed fruit a 'zero points food' as part of the Points Plus system, allowing dieters to eat all the fruit they want without it impacting their daily points total.



    RELATED: The Top 50 Winter Foods for Weight Loss

    Which is correct? Is your daily cup of blueberries to blame for that extra layer of belly fat you can't seem to burn off? Or is it an innocent bystander in your quest for your ideal body? One of the reasons that fruit is so controversial is because it can be a double-edged sword. While fruit is a very nutritious food that should be included in a weight loss diet, there may come a time when you will need to reduce or temporarily remove fruit from your diet to reach your goals. Let's take a closer look at both sides of this controversy.

    

Why Fruit is a Good Food for Weight Loss
    
The carbohydrates in fruit do not have a huge impact on your blood sugar levels, as most fruits have a low glycemic load. Fruits can also supply a significant dose of fiber to your diet, which will slow digestion and make you feel fuller. For example, just one cup of raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber.



    Fruits like blueberries are also a good source of antioxidants, which can help lower your blood pressure, fight off oxidative stress, and in some cases work at the DNA level to aid in weight loss.



    Fruit has multiple benefits that warrant it being a staple in your diet; but what about its supposed dark side?

    Why Fruit Might Hinder Weight Loss

    Fruit is high in the simple sugar fructose, which is the main reason why many people trying to lose weight remove it from their diet. Unlike glucose, the most common simple sugar that's sent to your muscles, brain, and other organs for them to use as energy, fructose is only processed by your liver.
    Why is that bad? If your liver already has ample energy, there is a higher likelihood that your liver will repackage the excess fructose as fat, saving it for use at a later time. While this is a biochemical truth, its impact on your waistline is blown out of proportion, especially when you consider that fruit isn't even one of the top five sources of fructose in the American diet.



    More relevant reasons why fruit should not be given the 'eat as much as you want' label: When you're trying to lose weight, calories and carbohydrates matter. One banana contains 100 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates. One apple can contain as much as 115 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates.

    

Limiting carbohydrate intake to 100 grams per day is a common target for people using a moderately carbohydrate-restricted approach to weight loss. If that is the case, eating two bananas and one apple will take up 84 percent of your carbohydrate intake for the entire day. Even if you are eating 1800 calories per day and 40 percent of those calories from carbohydrates (a 'zone' type approach), two bananas and one apple will take up 46 percent of your carbohydrates for that day.

    

The main point that I'm trying to illustrate is that fruits are not 'free' foods, and that treating them that way could quickly derail your weight-loss efforts. It's easy to eat 100 grams worth of carbohydrates in one day from fruit alone, and if you're treating them as if they have no caloric value, you will unknowingly be eating 400 extra calories per day.

    Simple Tips to Enjoy Fruit and Still Lose Weight

    
1. Focus on berries, fibrous, and small fruits. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, clementines, plums, peaches, and small apples are the kinds of fruits you should reach for first.



    2. Enjoy fruits in moderation but focus on eating more vegetables. Fruits are good, but vegetables, especially green leafy or fibrous vegetables, should be a focus on your plan.

    

3. If you need to cut carbs/calories from your diet, start with grains and starchy carbs and then move onto fruits. There comes a time in everyone's diet when they need to eat less. Always remove the most carbohydrate-dense foods first (as they will be the most calorie-dense of your carbohydrates as well). You'll find that as the carbohydrates and calories in your diet get lower, when you're really starting to hone in on losing the stubborn fat, your fruit intake will be decreased as a function of how you have progressively removed foods from your diet.



    RELATED: 10 Guiltless Gluten-Free Snacks

    A final note: While fruit is not a free food for weight loss, it's also not going to make you fat.

    More on SHAPE:
    15 Healthy Ingredients to Add to Your Breakfast
    50 Foods that Have More Calories Than You Think!
    6 "Healthy" Ingredients to Avoid



    Thanks! That helps a ton! :)
  • LaurieAnne78
    LaurieAnne78 Posts: 15 Member
    Hi what fruits are you eating? if you eat only fruits with blueberries blackberries strawberries this will cut down your sugar intake

    good luck

    Thanks, I have been eating banannas, apples and strawberries.. I will definitely try other berries and see if that helps! :)
  • sherronh
    sherronh Posts: 119 Member
    I eat it, but make sure you log it. Fruit can be high in calories so log log log
  • LaurieAnne78
    LaurieAnne78 Posts: 15 Member
    I eat it, but make sure you log it. Fruit can be high in calories so log log log


    I have been logging it.. not only high in calories but high in sugar!!! That was my worry. That I was eating too much sugar from fruit...
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Too much of anything can be bad. That said, unless you're diabetic, sugar is irrelevant.

    This is my opinion as well. Sugar from FRUIT is irrelevant.
    All sugar is irrelevant. Sugar from fruit is chemically identical to the human body to sugar in soda (or cookies, or candy, or plain old table sugar, etc.) The body can't tell the difference and treats it exactly the same. Unless you have a medical issue preventing sugar from being processed properly, sugar, from ANY source is totally irrelevant to health and weight loss.
  • kgarnier
    kgarnier Posts: 1
    Although fruit does contain natural sugar, I don't think most people are overweight from eating too much fruit. I think we think about the 'weight loss formula' too much and forget that eating 8-10 servings of fruit and veg daily is healthy for you.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I eat it, but make sure you log it. Fruit can be high in calories so log log log


    I have been logging it.. not only high in calories but high in sugar!!! That was my worry. That I was eating too much sugar from fruit...

    Fruit has so many other healthy nutrients ... if you're eating whole fruit, I wouldn't worry about it. Fruit juices aren't so good because often the fiber is reduced.

    ADDED sugars, those are the sugars to avoid.
  • LaurieAnne78
    LaurieAnne78 Posts: 15 Member
    I eat it, but make sure you log it. Fruit can be high in calories so log log log


    I have been logging it.. not only high in calories but high in sugar!!! That was my worry. That I was eating too much sugar from fruit...

    Fruit has so many other healthy nutrients ... if you're eating whole fruit, I wouldn't worry about it. Fruit juices aren't so good because often the fiber is reduced.

    ADDED sugars, those are the sugars to avoid.

    I have just been eating whole fruits.. nothing canned or packaged, just fresh... I have just started this process to becoming healthy. So I did substitute fruit for the candy bars I used to eat.. I think I am going to now try and substitute most of this fruit with veggies! Thanks for all the tips guys :)
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