Monday, March 23, 2009

Something I Never Thought I Would Worry About...

But I think I'm eating too much fruit. I know, what a dumb thing to worry about! A year ago I might have worried about eating too much Taco Bell, but fruit?!? Hah! That was not a problem. I probably ate fruit once a month. Seriously. But lately, I've been on a huge fresh fruit kick, and I do worry that I'm getting too much sugar, which converts to extra carbs and therefore fat, in my body.

Before you think I'm crazy (crazier is probably closer to the truth), here's where I'm coming from: Last summer, while I was doing the NutriMed 420 protein shakes, I started eating a bit of fruit (specifically pineapple and grapes) that we had at work, and mentioned it to my doctor, who advised me to NOT eat "any fruit that you can squeeze and get juice running down your arm" because of the above mentioned sugar/carb/fat dealie. So I didn't have any fruit until maybe December (?) and that was just an apple (because god knows *I* certainly can't squeeze any juice out of one). And then I got hooked on apples and started having one every evening. Well, we all know that apples are the gateway fruit, which led me to blueberries, and then Cuties (clementines), and then strawberries...and last week I had the mother of all juicy fruits, cantaloupe! And damned if it wasn't good!

But now I'm wondering if I might be pressing my luck with all of this fruit. For example, today I had half of an apple before I worked out, then my faux McMuffin afterward, then three Cuties around 1:30 pm, and then a late lunch (around 3:30 pm) of three cups of fresh strawberries with Fage 0% yogurt and Kashi Golean Crunch cereal (fork a strawberry, dip into the yogurt, then dip into the cereal - YUM!). My (late) dinner was a Gardenburger on a 100 calorie English muffin w/some lettuce, tomato and mustard. I actually wasn't very hungry for dinner - I had planned on roasting some asparagus, but decided to hold off.

So what do you think, dear readers? Too much fruit? I have another cantaloupe sitting on my kitchen counter and a huge container of strawberries in the fridge. Dare I press my luck by continuing to eat several servings of this fruity goodness each day? Or should I rein it in - and if so, by how much?

8 comments:

  1. Fruit is good, but I agree if you have too much and aren't exercising like crazy, you could gain weight.
    I would prefer that problem though, than many others.

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  2. it depends on where you are IMO.

    I lost the weight I wanted to shed and started regaining it from fruit (! I know. I hate to even say this as it can get misconstrued but...)

    lottsa grapes and berries and apples eaten mindlessly and bingbangboom I started to regrow my saddlebags.

    for me it's all in moderation with 'sugars'

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  3. They say fruit is ok b/c it is a natural sugar. But again, like Mizfit said everything in moderation. My dad eats fruit all the time and not onlt is he skinny but he is a diabetic and it doesn't effect his sugar levels at all, but everyone is different. There are worse things you can eat too much of. 3-4 servings a day should be ok. Try to eat lower glycemic fruits like apples, berrier, grapefruit, cherries and plums.

    www.summerfitness.net

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  4. Limit yourself to no more than 3 servings per day of low glycemic fruits. All berries are low glycemic - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. Despite the juicy factor, cantaloupe and watermelon are also low glycemic, as long as you don't eat a huge serving. Apples and grapefruit are fine as well. The glycemic index is your most accurate assessment of sugar intake from fruit and other carbohydrates. Keep this low and odds are you won't hit a carb overlead and turn that excess sugar into fat. Also, it's very important to have a little protein and fat with your carbs. Helps slow digestion and sugar impact. So keep dipping your strawberries in yogurt, or try cheese or almond butter with a small apple.

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  5. I love fruit also! I've never had a problem with it slowing my weightloss, but I'm not watching carbs in particular - I just try to avoid refined carbs.

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  6. what are YOUR thoughts now?

    Id love you to chime in next week when we talk fooood plans!

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  7. I remember my Weight Watcher Leader saying that fruits are fine as long as it is done in moderation. I was still able to lose my first 20 lbs by eating fruits, about 2 servings a day.

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  8. Thank you all for your comments! One thing I kept hearing over and over was moderation...what's that?!? Obviously, I got fat because I didn't practice moderation, and apparently it's still a challenge today.

    I think for the time being I will concentrate on no more than 3 servings of fruit a day...and the cantaloupe will have to stay at the store.

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