Fruit and fatloss
I’ve found most people who seek fat loss to be shocked by firstly, the negative impact simple sugar has upon fat release, and secondly by the amount of simple sugars they are ingesting. They’re amazed when they find that the fat free cookies are loaded with sugar, or that the fat free yogurt with flavoring has more sugar than some candy bars. I always get a bit of a knee jerk reaction when I bring up fruit.
I want to make this abundantly clear. Fruits are healthy! They’re very very healthy! They are rich in micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. They’re loaded with phytochemicals and antioxidants that ward off disease. They have important fiber and they’re water dense. Yes, from a health standpoint fruits are wonderful. They are also the natural foods that will give you the quickest energy boost. Why? Well, because they create a blood sugar spike.
While fruits are in fact nutritionally valuable, the simple sugars in fruit can interrupt fat release just as the simple sugars in ice cream, jello, or sweetened cola. Many people trying to lose weight seek to go “low calorie” and since fruits are water dense, their calorie content is relatively low. A fruit salad for lunch is standard fare for someone on a diet, and it’s a great way to lock in stored bodyfat.
I mentioned that there’s a knee jerk reaction when I suggest that people trying to lose fat minimize intake of fruit. “But fruit sugar (fructose) is natural sugar.” That is true. If you think about it though, the sugar that comes in those little packets that you put in your coffee come from sugar cane. Sugar cane, in its raw form, is a combination of vitamins, minerals, fiber, water, and sugar. Couldn’t we say the same thing about fruit?
I’m not saying never eat fruit, but I am asking you to develop an awareness and make better choices whenever possible. I’m encouraging people seeking fat loss to include a fibrous vegetable in every meal, along with a starchy carb and a lean source of protein. Veggies are, as fruit, extremely high in those health protecting micronutrients. It’s best to vary your vegetable intake including as many variations as possible in the course of a day.
If you are seeking fat loss, and you’re apprehensive about cutting back on fruit, you’d be better off consuming a piece of fruit with a protein. The protein slows the release of the sugars. In other words, while a handful of berries might result in a dramatic blood sugar spike, the spike can be lessened if the fruits are consumed mixed into some low fat cottage cheese or fat-free yogurt.
Personally, I love fruit. I eat lots of veggies and when I’m trying to get as lean as possible I limit my fruit intake to one meal a day, never consuming fruit by itself. Just don’t fall into the trap of believing that a glass of orange juice for breakfast, a fruit salad for lunch, an apple as a snack, and a banana before bed offers a strategy for fat loss.
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This is a good piece of information, especially for someone like me who eats fruit all day! I eat a lot of fruit because I am a sugar junkie and the fruit curbs the cravings. I have read about snacking on apples with peanut butter, now I know why! I have also heard not to eat fruit past 6PM. Any thoughts on that? I learned an interesting formula to calculate sugar amount in food, especially cereal and yogurt: take the grams and divide by 4, this is the number of spoons of sugar. I see people eating fat free flavored yogurt and always ( to their annoyance) point out the amount of sugar.
Now excuse me while I have my nonfat Greek yogurt with grapefruit!
With a super fast metabolism and my dissertation on fruit I’m Sure you’ve concluded “not eating fruit past 6pm” to border on myth.. In general, not eating after a certain time was popularized by Oprah Winfrey..She actually had the whole country starving with that false belief…LOL…Bone appetit
Liked your article. What about natural juice, like carrots, beets and orange or smoothies like Kale, apple, pineapple and berries, I usually have that every day!
Those are fine since they’re loaded with fiber. However, if you’re concern with “ultimate” leanness you’d be better off eating fruits post exercise to prevent blood sugar spike..This approach works because muscles are depleted and you have a 15-30 minute windo to ingest simple sugars (fruits) which DOESNT interrupt your body’s ability to burn fat
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Thanks for the kind words
But what about the fact that one should not it at least during an hour after exercises? Eating right after exercises will burn the calories you are in-taking, rather than those, which are in excess. Of course I understand that an orange is not a meat sandwich, but still. Is that right?
You’re right! Your body would substitute burning a post exercise meal rather than your excess calories.. The second best time to ingest the orange (fruit) is post exercise to keep hormones in balance, thus you can burn fat vs any other time (assuming glycogen stores are depleted).
Ok..NOW i see why theres no fruit in the jumpstart program i just started sunday. I am one to eat fruit instead of a candybar. I often thought this was better..not understanding the science can be very misleading. A group of my friends and i were just talking about this last night, so i will be sharing this with them! Thanks for sharing, very helpful.
Thank you so much for this video. I am currently trying to lose the last 10 stubborn pounds. I am on the weight watchers plan, which allows as many fruits for “free” as you want to eat. I knew about Glucgon from my A&P classes but didn’t make the connection in the weight loss & fruit combination. Thanks for making it so clear, I am going to try eating the fruits in the way you suggest starting today.
Definitely an interesting and highly-debatable topic. I don’t think fruits have that much of an effect on fat loss as people think. The things I’d be more worried about are the complex carbohydrates people assume are healthier and consume on a much greater level. They’re not healthier. When there is no more room for glucose to be stored in your body, they’re shoveled directly into your fat stores. Fruits are too valuable to give up in the pursuit of fat loss. But, like with everything else, moderation is key.