Can I eat as much fruit as I want?

[tboman]

Hi Cathe and Fans,
Can I eat as many fruits as I want a day? Cathe - I know you do not claim to be a nutritionist but thought you may have an idea. I have read not to have more than 2 peices because of sugar content. If I stay within my calorie guideline couldn't I have a banana, apple, grapes, a pear and an orange if I wanted and still lose weight?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone,
Tracy

 

[kimroberts]

I was at a seminar in September where a nutrionist spoke about a similar subject. Her topic was -- of course -- weight loss and she made her case for it doesn't matter what your calories come from, as long as you burn more than you eat, you'll lose weight.

Her goal was to debunk the very high protein diets. She did a good job, but in the process we learned what we would be missing if we only ate high protein. So I guess this would hold true for fruit. Sure, you could eat all the fruit you want, even nothing but fruit, and provided you ate fewer calories than you burn, you'd lose weight. But what other nutrients would you be depriving yourself?

Plus, you'll generally hit your total number of calories quicker with fruit than with veggies, especially green veggies,

 

[Marnie]

Hi Tracy, I agree with Kim. As long as you burn more calories than you eat, than eat as much as you want. But there's another reason to eat lots of fruit (and veggies) - they are very important to your health! Fruits and veggies contain fiber, nutrients & phytochemicals that are believed to fight cancers, heart disease, diabetes... they also contain vitamin C and antioxidants that fight off "free radicals" - waste producs in the blood that are thought to contribute to cancer risk.

Eat lots of fruits & veggies and give up the empty calories, and you'll be fine!

marnie

 

[susieq]

Tracy, you received some VERY sound advice! It's so nice to see some common sense in the nutrition department.

Marnie, I agree with you about the empty calories. But they are my downfall! I eat lots of nutrious food, then empty calories. Oh well, we can't all be perfect!

 

[Faythe]

Hi,
I am not Cathe or a nutritionist, but I am eatting a balanced diet given to me by a nutrtionist. There are limited things I can eat as much as I want. They are lettuce, cucumber, radish, things that are mostly water. Fruits contain a lot of sugar, and so this should be moterated. I am allowed:
7 breads (whole grain is best)
5 meats (lean meats,turkey/chicken/fish is best)
2 milks (skim milk/yogurt)
3 Fats (ie olives, oil, mayo)
3 veg's (not inc. the free veg's)
4 fruits (a whole grapefruit,a whole banana=2 fruit)
I eat 1400 cal's of this food a day.

Things like nuts, fruit and granola are healthy but high in fat. so if I eat them it's in moderation. (nuts is a meat and granola is a bread)
Hope that helps, Faythe