Bad Foods

Is FRESH fruit really all that bad for you? Bc I see women on Atkins, and are not allowed it. I just spent 30 bucks on all kinds of fruit. Somebody please enlighten me. Thanks

Depends on the fruit. Grapes are probably the worst...berries are good for you, as well as apples..the fiber in the fruit allows it to be digested much slower than fruit juice, so it is much better for you. Also, there are alot of antioxidants in berries...try to stay away from bananas too.

No way, fruit is GREAT for you SO many vitamins and so much fiber. The only thing to watch out for is that fruit does contain a good amount of sugar. Since you're calorie counting, just count the calories and you're good. I eat 3-4 servings of fruit a day.

There's a diet out there for EVERY type of food claiming it's terrible for you, from fats to sugars to proteins. Personally, I pay very little attention to this because it's all just contradictory, confusing noise. Unless you have a medical issue, you will lose weight if you eat less than you burn, no matter what you eat.

Fruit is a good choice, in moderation just like everything else.

How in the world can fresh fruit be bad? Any "diet" that would not allow fresh fruit is absurd.

Don't stay away from grapes and bananas--they're delicious and full of wonderful vitamins! That's one of the silliest things I've ever heard. Eat your fruit.

Yeah, unless you're on a low carb diet, fruit is great. It's just just about the most delicious thing out there (obviously that's the most important thing). Fruit has a lot of suger (it's sweet, remember?), so people on the atkins diet that are trying to lower their carb intake can't consume a lot of fruit or maybe even any (depending on which phase they're in).

rjenkins27, it's not absurd, it's just different. Sugar isn't good for you. Fruit still has a lot of vitamins and the sugar in fruit is certainly better than the carbs found in chocolate, but in the end, it's still sugar. Our bodies can live without it, unlike fat and protien.

You know, I'm really just bothered by this whole idea of "bad foods". It's always something isn't it? 10 years ago it was fat. Remember when a Bagel was the Ultimate Diet Food? Remember the Year of Oat Bran?

Now it's carbs- so you'll find people avoiding VEGETABLES because they are afraid of the carbohydrates. And you'll find people eating products made of pure refined carbohydrates because they are afraid of fat.

We just have to demonize something, don't we? To break it down into a very simple term. But it is not simple. I'm not sure why we expect it to be. What is more complex than the human body?

Fruit isn't "bad" and neither is chocolate, or butter, by the way, in moderation. This whole idea of forbidden evil foods makes eating so miserable, doesn't it? I mean, unless you have a medical issue with certain foods, which I'm not denying some people do, there's no reason for this type of thinking.

Absolutely nothing wrong with fresh fruit or the sugar that's in fresh fruit.

As has been mentioned, fresh fruit is very good for you. Bananas are a great source of potassium and grapes a good for your heart (like drinking a glass of wine but without the alcohol). The fiber in fruit will help with your digestion as well. Ever heard the saying "an apple a day will keep the doctor away"?

Even frozen fruit is good for you.

I would stay away from canned fruit but only because it's usually packed in a heavy syrup (sugar reduced in water). That syrup will add "empty" calories to your diet (by "empty calories, I mean you won't get anything beneficial from the extra calories).

Enjoy your fruit!

You always have such good insight k8yk!

I agree with k8, and the people who are on these so called diets can not make this into a lifestyle. You should be able to eat anything (in moderation) to keep yourself on track for the long run and not just for a short burst of weight lose. It will come back when you start adding these "bad foods" back into your life. Can you stay away from fruit for the rest of your life??? Not me.

Yummm that orange sure did taste yummy going down.
Thank you everyone for your imput!

I never said chocolate was bad, I just said the types of carbs found in chocolate are not on par with the carbs found in fruit. Same with carbs found in brown rice as opposed to carbs found in processed angelfood cake. There is a difference, that's all i said.

No, our bodies are not simple.


k8yk, ok, so what's more simple than the one thing you always mention? "Eat in moderation" If something as simple as denying your body a macronutrient won't work because our bodies are complex, why will something simple like "eat less" work? I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying that your argument doesn't makes sense. By no means was I instigating that atkins or low carbing is in any way superior or better, but I also don't think it's any "worse" of a choice than calorie counting or WW. I, for one, would never go on an atkins diet. I love fruit too much. I love carbs. Sugar is delicious and anybody that says otherwise, is a liar.

Oooooh. Oranges. I have a fruit bin full of Clemintines at the moment. As far as chocolate goes, I have an ounce of dark chocolate most days and savor every last bit. I also have Double Dark Chocolate Mate tea which has cocoa powder in it. Yummm. Fruit and chocolate are mainstays of my eating plan and I'm losing weight. How can they possibly be bad? LOL. Enjoy NewM3!!!

The nice thing about the sugar in fruit is that it's conveniently packaged with fiber. Fiber is good for you, and it's undervalued nutritionally.

People doing low carb are still allowed to eat fruit. They absolutely have to eat their veggies as well. It's just a matter of sticking to the lower sugar and lower glycemic choices. When I followed Atkins 10 years ago I always ate berries and melons. That's also when I learned to like my veggies since it was a requirement.

I have found that anything called a diet didn't work for me. I eat a balance of everything and try and keep my fats to a minimum. That means carbs are in, as well as protein. On my "diet" fruit is awesome and a great food to eat right after a workout. Fruit also has lots of fiber which keeps you full for a long time and most doesn't get absorbed by your body.

I did a ton of research on all of the nutrition and weight loss info I could get my hands on when I started back in July. Today I went from a size 38, 205 to a size 32 175. I've been plateaued for a while and that weight loss occurred really over a 3-4 month period combined with an intense exercise routine.

My best suggestion is to do as much reading as you can about the Glycemic Index and exercise. What foods to eat before and after your workouts are critical. You actually want to eat sugar after a workout. Strange I know. I've seen the results first hand. I'm training for a half ironman now.

Fruit is limited in the beginning stages of Atkins, and is added slowly back into your diet. I eat what fruit I want in moderation now that I'm farther along, which is what I do with everything else that I eat. I don't over-indulge on fruit, but I don't consider it to be a forbidden food. Atkins isn't for everyone, but I've found it to be an easily sustainable way of eating. I don't consider it to be a "diet."

I've enjoyed your comments today. I'm still motivated to keep this up.
Thanks

Its these kinds of things that make you feel like you cannot eat ANYTHING. one article will praise fruits and veg. and the next will tell you the complete opposite.

Whenever I think twice about eating an apple or grapefruit because "I've had too many carbs today already," - and, sadly, this does happen now and then, even though I'm not even close to a low-carb diet - I hafta kick myself.

Having to think twice about eating a simple apple (unless it's #28 for the day), means something is wrong.