We often hear about the importance of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables every day as part of a healthy and nutritious diet. Fresh fruits contain essential vitamins, minerals and fiber. Indeed, you definitely need these, whether you are trying to lose weight or not. It is important to note that although fruits are beneficial, you must choose them carefully when you are losing weight. You must also be wary of eating too much fruit or mistakenly having too many fruit "products," which many people think are okay to have since they are nutritious. Fruit "products" such as dried fruits, fruit juices and smoothies can especially sabotage your weight loss efforts with their added sugars and calories and you should avoid them.
So, why should you be concerned about how to fit fruit into your weight loss program? Fruits are natural sources of carbohydrates since they are made up of simple sugars and fructose. In fact, many fruits contain very high total carb counts, which makes it even more important to eat very few of them when you are trying to lose weight. This is especially true when you're following low-carb diet plans. When you can only eat a certain number of carbs a day, you want to make sure you're budgeting them wisely.
Please contact us if you have questions or want to learn more about our weight loss programs or Botox and Fillers:
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Aside from making sure the fruits you eat are low in carb counts, you will also want to be aware of how they rank on the Glycemic Index (GI), which is a measure of how rapidly carbohydrate foods change our blood glucose levels. GI counts which are 55 or less are "low," and the lower the count, the better.
The following chart shows a list of fruits which rank low in carbs and on the GI:
| FOOD |
GI |
GI RATING |
| Blueberries |
53 |
Low |
| Mango |
51 |
Low |
| Strawberries |
40 |
Low |
| Apples & Pears |
38 |
Low |
| Apricots & Peaches |
30's |
Low |
| Grapefruit |
25 |
Low |
| Cherries |
22 |
Low |
| Raspberries |
* |
*Little or no carbohydrates |
| Rhubarb |
* |
*Little or no carbohydrates |
| |
|
|
| |
In summary, when you calculate the carbs from fruits into your overall carb intake, this helps you make the right decisions about fitting fruit into your weight loss program. As well, always choose raw, unprocessed fruits for their nutritional - and tasty - benefits. Doing so will help you stay in line with your healthy weight loss goals and allow you to occasionally enjoy a naturally sweet "treat."
Resources:
Authority Nutrition Can You Eat Fruit on a Low-Carb Diet? It Depends
Creative Gourmet What is the Glycemic Index of fruit?
Mark's Daily Apple The Best Low-Carb Fruits (and the Worst)
Please contact us if you have questions or want to learn more about our weight loss programs or Botox and Fillers: