Fruit and Weight Loss - Do They Mix?

This is somewhat of a contentious subject. No one would argue that fruits contain a wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals for your body making them a vital part of a ‘healthy diet.’ But if this is the case, why do so many ‘diets’ recommend limiting or even cutting out altogether fruit from your diet?

I always try to get my clients to have a varied, nutrient packed diet. This means not cutting out fruit which plays a major role in this. That being said due to the sugar content they cannot be eaten in the same way as vegetables. The majority of vegetables have little or no sugar,making them a healthy, low sugar and low calorie food choice. However all fruits contain natural sugars, some more than others, meaning you can’t just eat as much as you want and expect to to lose weight.

To give you an idea a medium banana is about 100 calories and contains about 5 teaspoons of sugar and an apple is about 60 calories and contains about 2.5 teaspoons of sugar. This is natural sugar so it is good for you, but it’s important to recognise it’s still sugar, and if you take in more energy in the form of sugar than you need, then your body will store it as fat.

So I would suggest loading up on vegetables as much as you like and limit fruit to 2 pieces a day. No need to cut it out totally, but just don’t overdo it. Also mix fruit with someone else, such as natural yogurt or mixed nuts to reduce the sugar rush the fruit will give you.