When I was growing up, if I whined to my mother about being hungry, she’d tell me to eat fruit. Typically, that meant that I should have an apple. Apples were a staple in my house. Even if we were out of just about everything, we always had milk, bread, potatoes and apples in the house.
I heard the words “have an apple” so much that I loathed them by the time I was a teenager. Yet, somehow since then, those words have become appealing to me again. In fact, I love fruit. Yes, that includes apples. As I get older, it’s harder to lose weight and even harder to keep it off, which led me to ask, “Can you eat fruit and still lose weight?”
Over the last while I’ve been reading an increasing amount about how fruit intake should be limited. I’d grown up thinking that the more fruits and veggies I ate in a day, the better. Suddenly, the ultimate rule of healthy eating is in question!
I decided not to take it at face value and to conduct my own investigation to find out the truth. True, my investigation was made up nearly wholly of google searching. At the same time, I headed only to trusted sites with great reputations in the medical community to find out if you really can eat fruit and still lose weight.
Here’s what I found out:
• Fruit is great for you, but there is a limit to the amount you can eat. If you truly want to be healthy, then you’ll need to stop after a few servings to eat fruit and lose weight. It’s a fantastic part of a balanced diet. When it comes to antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber, fruit kicks butt. Still, the fact that it contains sugar can’t be ignored. It’s far better for you than candy or other sweet treats containing added sugar, but you still don’t want to overdo it.
• Despite the sugar content, people who eat fruit regularly have lower blood pressure and may reduce their risk of some cancers and other diseases.
• Fruit helps weight loss to a certain extent but can also hinder it. Eating two or three servings of fruit per day can be great for weight loss, so you really can eat fruit and still lose weight. A half banana in your breakfast smoothie, some blueberries in your dessert and, yes, an apple for a snack are great, healthful choices.
However, much more than that will throw off your ideal glycemic balance. This could potentially make it harder for you to lose weight. Make sure the rest of your servings from that food group come from veggies each day!
• Some fruits are better for health and weight loss than others. Berries are top performers. If you want to enjoy something sweet and delicious, go for it with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Other top choices to eat fruit and still lose weight include small apples, peaches, plums, kiwis, and Clementines or mandarin oranges.
