Question about carbs
 

Ok, here's the thing: I LOVE fruit! I've been reading a lot of posts on here about calorie counting vs. carb counting or at least trying to stay low carb while calorie counting and I'm pretty much failing miserably at keeping my carbs low. I have at least 3-5 servings of fruit a day and while it fits well into my calorie count and doesn't trigger any cravings or binges or anything like that, I'm afraid the carbs and sugar aren't really the best for weight loss. Using dailyplate, I find that my carbs usually make up about 55% (180g!) of my daily intake (protein 30%, fat 15%), almost exclusively from fruits, veggies and nonfat yogurt, which are all healthy, but should I try to cut down on the fruit? I know ultimately it's what works for me, but has anyone experienced slow weight loss due to too many healthy carbs? Thanks!!

If you know that it's what works for you, stop worrying about what works or doesn't work for any other person. No one's body is just exactly like yours, no one's plan should be exactly like yours.

I wouldn't worry, I think 3-5 fruits a day is Very healthy.
Percentage-wise, spark people gives exactly 55:30:15 as the proportions I should have, although the 30 is fat and 15 protein, but definitely 55% on the carbs.

I find almost any processed carbs affect my weightloss - I know it's fluid retention not fat retention but who needs to carry extra weight, whatever it is! - but have never had a problem with fruit carbs.

If you are losing weight and feel good, I see no reason why you should eat less fruit. A calorie is a calorie, it doesn't matter if you get it from protein, fat or carbs. I tried a low carb/low calorie diet before, and I was extremely tired and a little moody while following this diet. Currently, I am eating about 45-55% of my calories from carbs, 25-35% from protein, and 30% from fat and am losing weight and feel good, so it is working for me.

Also, eating something that you love that is good for you and lower calorie will make it easier for you to stick to your eating plan. Once you get to your weight goal, you need to continue to eat healthy to maintain your weight. If you have already incorporated healthy eating into your lifestyle, then it will be that much easier to maintain. Good luck!

There's a good bit of evidence that a calorie isn't always a calorie, at least for some folks (especially folks with insuliln resistance, diabetes, or other blood sugar issues). If the body burned fuel as consistently as furnace (and I'm not even sure furnaces burn all fuels at a consistent rate), then a calorie might be identical to any other. But, the problem is that the efficiency of our furnace (the rate we burn through activity and metabolism) is affected by the fuels we choose, and other factors too. The most obvious illustration of this, for me was seeing how much more energy I had for activity and exercise when I eliminated or limited some foods in my diets (and for me, that unfortunately does include fruit to some degree, though I do have to be eating quite a bit to tip the balance).

I had always thought that all calories were equal, until through my food diaries I learned that I lost a lot more weight on 1800 calories of low carb (and did so with a lot less hunger) than on 1800 calories of high carb foods. I can eat fruit and other "good carbs" to the point that my weight loss stalls, or cravings and hunger increase(but it's much less extreme than if I eat white bread or candy or other processed crappy carbs). However. I think there really is no way to know how you react to fruit, except by trial and error.

If you're not experiencing cravings or binges, you're staying within your calorie range, and you haven't noticed a significant stall in your weight loss, then you very well may be a person for whom a calorie is a calorie, and where the calories come from may be less important for you than for some of us. Because you're pretty close to goal weight and not experiencing obvious difficulty with carbohydrates, I think it's probably likely that you don't have any of the blood sugar issues that make a person carb-sensitive (which only medical tests can be used to diagnose, of course).

If you're worried or curious, do a few weeks of experimenting. Keeping your calories consistent, experiment with different quantities of fruit and see what happens. And on the other hand, if eating fruit keeps you happy and satisfied, does it really matter if you lose slightly more slowly than if you deprived yourself?

I dunno -- this is just my opinion -- but I think we have all become way too carb-phobic ever since Atkins reared its head several years ago. I had my best weight loss success when following a plan very similar to Dean Ornish/John MacDougall/Susan Powter's "Stop the Insanity." I was never hungry, and the pounds fell right off. High protein is very hard on your kidneys, and carbs are your body's preferred fuel. I know this is controversial, but I believe strongly that healthy carbs of all types are very important for health. I'm not talking about white rice and semolina pasta here; I'm talking about fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

I have at least 3-4 fruits or servings a day. I find it's more when I'm not eating my fruits that I don't do as well!

We now keep a few fruit baskets in our living room. I'm not kidding. Right now we have apples, oranges, bananas and grapefruit easily available. We have to have snacks or we really over eat at meals and usually we need stuff that is easy to grab with no prep. Sometimes I make other snacks but I'm often busy so my DH needs something he can manage himself quickly and fruit was the answer.

Neither of us like veggies, and though I try to put as much as I can in our meals, we are actually eating fresh produce as most of our diet. Yeah it's fruit, so what? If it works it works and our Dr. has heartily endorsed the practice.

Hi Takingcharge! You have already lost 9 pounds according to your ticker. You must be doing something right :)

From reading your post, you are not feeling bingey and you are feeling happy and satisfied on your plan. If that changes and or you want to experiment, nobody would say that it is wrong. Seems to me, you plan is a good one for you.

And after reading your post a second time I see you want to know if I have slowed my weightloss with too many healthy carbs as opposed to processed. I do try to avoid processed carbs and even whole grains. But not the fruit. Maybe I would have a lower gycemic fruit if given the choice but even so, I do eat plenty of grapes!!!

You will know with time and experimentation what works best for you.

Congrats on your hard work paying off!! :)

Thanks so much for the input! I'm pretty new to this, so I'm sure with time and practice, it'll all be more clear to me, but it's so great to hear from all of you and learn something from all of your success! Thanks again!

I agree. :)

Fruits have lots of FIBRE which keep you feeling full! If you aren't getting cravings after consuming carbs, don't worry about it. That being said, you should still watch your overall calorie consumption. Fruits are healthy but too much of ANYTHING will cause you to gain weight. Best of Luck!

TakingCharge, I eat at least 200g of carbs every day, and I'm still losing fat consistently. Unfortunately, the fat-phobic diet mentality of the 90's evolved into the carb-phobic diet mentality of today, driving people to do some unnecessary carb-slashing. If your current diet of 55% carbs fits into your calorie budget and leaves you feeling sated, there's no reason to change it.

That's really good to know, thanks! I'm not sure why I had an anti-carb freakout last night, but all of the advice here has helped a lot. I may try to lower my intake just a bit, but I'll never live without fruit and don't even plan on trying!