Just a random carb question as I'm still learning about carbs. Of course its a given that fruits are almost always healthy and you should eat them as much as possible. But I also know that fruits are pretty high carbs so I'm wondering if this will cause problems on a diet. I love eating lots of fruit as I just love the taste and I tend to eat more of it to make up for my lack of veggies. I guess I just want to know if this is a good or a bad thing? I eat fruit with every meal so its quite a bit. Lots of apples, bananas, and watermelon. Also, if it turns out fruit can have a negative impact. Are some fruits worse than others? Is there a good list anywhere perhaps?
Yes, but for some people, four servings may be too many, and for someone else 15 servings may be just fine. Even which fruits are "better" than others often depends on you - which fruit you find easy to overeat, whether or not you have ibs or blood sugar issues such as Insulin Resistance or diabetes, what other carby foods you're eating, how much variety you're getting in your freggies...
I have IBS and type ll diabetes and can easily eat too much fruit. It can aggravate my IBS, mess with my blood sugar, and stall my weight loss, but I have to eat a LOT of fruit to experience problems.
In my case, it takes at least 5 or 6 servings to cause even mildly annoying symptoms (unless I'm also eating other high carb foods as well).
Dried fruits are the "worst" for weight loss and blood sugar management, because they're so easy to overeat.
For me, watermelon, grapes, lychees, rambutan and cherries are very easy to overeat to the point of symptoms and stalls. For most of these, the season is so short that I don't worry too much about occasionally overeating my favorites, I just temporarily give up other carby foods so I can eat more fruit without ill effects.
I rarely buy grapes or watermelon, because I can too easily binge on them, especially watermelon. However, I can "get away" with gorging myself on watermelon (at least for a day or two) by eating only watermelon and lean protein. I don't try this more than once or twice a year though.
You're going to have to experiment, because there is a lot of individual variability.
I love fruit and have definitely eaten lots of it during my weightloss. Kaplods brought up some excellent points to consider. I'm a calorie counter so that's the perspective I come from. Don't forget that fruit has calories too and it all adds up. As foods go, though, I think it's a great nutritional bargain for the calories.
I limit myself to one fruit serving (and often don't eat it) per day. I try to stay away from even natural sugars unless I really have a craving.
I don't limit my non-starchy vegetable servings, though. I will find a way to put vegetables into nearly every single food I make. My daughter can attest to that one I find that I'm still usually under my calorie limit eating this way, so it hasn't posed a problem.
I agree with everything posted here. I also try and limit my fruit into to 1 or 2 servings a day, and on days that I over indulge, I make a point to try not to eat as many other carbs for the day.
Berries tend to be the best low carb fruit, though I also eat small portions of apples, oranges, nectarines, etc. (generally a quarter of an apple or orange, or a half a nectarine, makes for a good snack-sized serving.). There are a number of websites that list carb amounts or GI information for various fruits.
I honestly just eat any amount I want as long as its within my calorie range. I do watch my fat/carb/protein ratio, but my main thing is calories. I can not imagine eating only 1 serving a day.
Alright, so sounds like I'm not as bad as I thought I was. But i'll be sure to keep an eye on the calorie totals. From what I've seen and considering its healthy, many of the fruits aren't too bad. Especially those like watermelon that contain all the water so I'll do my best to stick with stuff like that. Also, though not the best, fruit like bananas would have fiber so that's good too. Anyone know any good fruit lists that are the best for a diet, possibly a link? Could maybe help a bit. Either way, thanks guys!
The article doesn't make it clear enough (though it is implied) that 15g of carbs (60-70 calories) is the standard being used for fruit serving size, not 1/2 cup.
For watermelon this means the serving size would be about 1.25 - 1.5 cups.
Most fruits do average at about 15g carb and 60-70 calories for 1/2 cup, but melons, berries, and citrus fruits are good choices because you get a whole lot more than a half cup (which is the main point of the article, being able to eat more for your cal/carb count).
Is it possible to eat TOO much fruit?
I find that I'm still usually under my calorie limit eating this way, so it hasn't posed a problem.
