I recently discovered how much I love avacados. I don't know much about them though. How much is too much? I always want at least half of a small or medium one a day. So does anyone know if that's the kind if vegetable you should limit to a diet?
If it fits into the plan you are doing, go for it.
Avocados do contain a lot of fat (for a fruit), but it's all good healthy fat. That said, fat has more calories than carbs and protein do, so don't go too crazy.
Avocados also contain a good amount of potassium and calcium, which most people don't get enough of.
1/2 of a medium avocado looks like this nutritionally:
Calories 144
Total Fat 13.3g
Sat. Fat 1.8g
Sodium 7mg
Total Carbs. 7.4g
Dietary Fiber 5.9g
Sugars 0.3g
Protein 1.7g
Calcium 11.2mg
Potassium 438.6mg
This is for a California avocado (Haas) off of the calorie king website.
oh it's a fruit, lol, I used to never think I would like them so I thought it was a veggie. lol. Well I could definetley put an avocado into my meal plans.
A six ounce avocado has about 300 calories, so it's one of the most caloricly dense fruits/vegetables, so it's definitely possible to overeat them to the point it could stall weight loss, but there's no magic answer as to how much is too much.
I use an exchange system, and just count avocado as my healthy fat servings.
For lunch I usually bring a big tupperware full of lettuce with 6 oz chopped turkey, shredded carrots, and lite dressing. Do you think it would be unwise to replace the 6 oz of turkey with 3 oz or so of avocado? Or better to perhaps use 3 oz of turkey and 3 oz of avocado and just count the extra calories? I'm thinking protein swapping here... Can I use avocado as a protein?
Turkey and avocado are not similar exchange-wise...turkey is a protein food; avocado is a fatty fruit. Use the avocado in place of an oil-laden salad dressing, and keep your turkey, especially if it's lean turkey breast.
And avocados are full of fiber! I'd check the cals based on 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup etc. since "half a medium" is open to wide interpretation.
I count calories so avocados fit easily into my days. I eat about 4 small organic ones from trader joe's per week. I use them on toast instead of butter in the mornings, and then to dip carrot sticks into at lunch.
I think 1/2 a medium per day sounds very sensible. It is a fat, but a healthy one! Just ease back on oils and use lean meats and you should be just fine. I eat at least a couple per week and they cost me some points (I'm on ww), but they are soooo worth it!
Avocados
