Can Too Much Fruit Make You Fat?

All the colorful, fragrant fruit at the produce stand is a seductive feast for the senses, right?

The idea of taking in so many vitamins in such a healthy and delicious way is enticing.

But if you're finding your waist size hasn’t changed despite eating clean, you may want to take a look at how much fruit you’re taking in.

When we're looking to slim down it's normal to turn to fruit to replace high-fat, high carb treats sweet treats.

After all, if we can’t have ice cream for dinner, then surely a bowl of berries is okay. Turns out, that may not always be a great idea.

Here's why.

As delicious as fruit is, it's high in a specific type of sugar called fructose.

We tend to think of fructose as bad when it’s in manufactured foods, but don’t think about it in fruit.

The truth is, it can make you bloated. That’s because fructose can be hard to digest and absorb. It can sit in our stomach, where bacteria works on it and creates gas.

Though the glucose in our food helps, it doesn’t help enough – especially when you’re eating multiple portions of fruit a day.

We tend to think of fruit as some kind of freebie – as though it doesn’t count. But fruit is loaded with carbs, and when we eat it our blood sugar increases.

Our bodies respond with insulin to lower the blood sugar levels, and that means that the sugar converts to fat.

That’s exactly what we don’t want to happen.

It’s important to remember that the carbs and sugars in our fruit can add up quickly.

So, What’s the answer?

Look to low carb fruits like citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, berries such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Want a banana? Most of the bananas sold in the U.S. equal 2 portions of fruit.

Bananas are a high in carb fruit, so either eat half or buy baby bananas, which are much smaller.

What goes up must come down, and that’s especially true of our blood sugar levels. Once they drop our bodies start to feel hungry again.

That means that the fruit that we’ve eaten to keep ourselves slim may actually make us eat more.

Part of the problem is that fruit doesn’t contain the things that we need to keep us feeling full. No fat, and no protein.

A Few Tips For Enjoying Fruit Mindfully

We need to remember that when it comes to eating healthy, vegetables are going to give us even more nutrients than fruit, without all that sugar.

When you try to take in your 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, there are a few things you need to do.

  • Learn what a portion size of fruit is – you may be surprised at how many servings you're eating with that giant apple or bowl of strawberries.
  • Try to go easy on the fruit and heavy on the vegetables. Strive for 2 servings of fruit.
  • When you’re eating fruit, combine it with some kind of protein or fat to keep you from getting hungry right away.
  • Choose fruit for your dessert, but be smart about it.

? Eat your (small) banana with a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter.

? Combine your half cup of blueberries with some plain Greek yogurt.

? Eat almonds with raisins or a peach.

You’ll find that you feel full longer, and have better results.

It should go without saying that if you're opting for fresh fruit over ice cream and cookies that you're still coming out way ahead health wise. My message today is NOT that fruit is bad for you. By all means, choose the fruit filled mango nice cream over the fat filled ice cream. 🙂

More importantly, don't use this as an excuse to choose junk foods and say, “Well, if I won't lose weight by eating fruit, I may as well eat some cheesecake.”

That my friends, is self sabotage and it holds us back time and time again. Learn to recognize it and you'll be on the fast track to a healthier, more shapely waistline.

Yours in Health,

Danette

P.S. Please share this with your fruit loving friends and I always enjoy reading your comments below.