Hahaha yeah it's pretty much that, but I used to eat it when little (my mother is diabetic and she had Jicama around for snacks), so I kinda like/am used to the taste.
I'm not big on veggies so I eat a lot of fruit. I have banana and watermelon every day (love this time of year for the watermelon!). During the winter, I swap over and have a banana and an orange every day. I also eat those little snack cups that have peaches, pineapple, pear, etc. Also, right now my Mom's raspberry bushes are producing like crazy so I'm eating a 1/2 cup or so of those a day when I've got them. Mmmmmm. Fresh pears and apples will be harvested soon, so that will bring a whole new set of yummy things to eat!
I *did* get fat (in part) by eating fruit, because I lurve it and can eat tons of the stuff. When I was a vegetarian I put on a lot of weight because I was rationalizing that I could eat all the grains, fruit and veggies I wanted since they were "healthy." Big mistake.
What I do now is have 3 servings of mixed fruit (no more than 200 calories) first thing in the morning before I exercise. I see it as ready sugar energy that I can burn up, because I burn enough calories exercising to "work off" the fruit. Then I focus on non-starchy veg for the rest of the day - I shoot for roughly 7 servings.
I've tried eating a variety of ways, and I have to say that I feel better when I limit my fruit to first thing in the morning.
I eat a lot of fruit most days as well - a fruit smoothie every morning for breakfast, fruit in yogurt most days, berries, apple or banana most days as a snack. I eat a large salad most days for lunch. I track the calories of the fruit, eat it anytime during the day. I actually asked this same question a few weeks ago and got the answer Colleen gave. If you are doing well on the diet and have no illeffects from the fruit late in the day (binges, upset stomach, etc) then I wouldn't worry about chaning anything. If you have the calories a piece of fruit is definitely better than the cookie or junk food you mentioned.
I wish I could get into the habit of eating more fruits... I eat mostly vegetables, the calorie count for fruits just seemed to high for the ones that I actually liked (pineapple and bananas mostly). I do have a Pomegranate & Acai Smoothie sometimes, but that's about it as far as fruits.
If given the choice between a vegetable and fruit (the sweet kind) I will take the veg. As far as a fruit. It is the ovary of a plant, and can be high or low sugar. Tomatoes are fruits and so are squash. A Pumpkin is a fruit.
I prefer the non-sweet type of fruit-- those fruits called vegetables.
I probably have 2-3 servings of fruit most days. (1 for/with breakfast. 1 in between lunch and dinner. 1 as an evening snack.) I find it has helped me a ton with cravings and appetite!
Don't forget the natural sugars in fruit is NOT bad for you like the sugar in, say, a doughnut. Fruit has "good" sugar (natural fructose*) which your body can make use of, unlike refined sugar. All sugar is not created equal. Fructose (the sugar in fruit) = good. Refined sugar (sugar added to food) = very bad.
Fruit is most surely a great choice, don't be afraid to choose the ones you like and stock up! I personally love apples, mandarin oranges, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, and cherries the most!
* "Fructose is a monosaccharide, or single sugar, that has the same chemical formula as glucose but a different molecular structure. Sometimes called fruit sugar, fructose is found in fruit, some vegetables, honey, and other plants. Fructose and other sugars are carbohydrates, an important source of energy for the body."
Last edited by EarthyWitch13; 09-21-2009 at 07:30 PM.
