To wonder is fruit good or bad?

[Fanfeck]

I know it sounds like a stupid question but after years of low carb attempts (which in my case resulted in weight loss then binging and repeat- but I know it works for some)
I have come to see fruit as a bit of an enemy.

In order to get out of this cycle, I've joined Slimming World and so far am liking it and no binging so far. I'm struggling with the fruit thing though (I'm not a big pasta or bread eater anyway)

Berries etc are apparently "speed" foods which help weight loss, can this really be? Considering they are sugar?

Fruit is great. But Veg is better.

I lose most weight on SS by eating loads of berries and tomatoes.

Fruit, like everything, is good in moderation, bad in excess.
The sugars and such in fruit are fine in lower amounts but if you have too much they'll rot your teeth andweaken enamel etc.

This is something I'm not sure about, I love fruit and see it as eating healthily but each time I eat it I do wonder

Eat 5 portions of different fruit or veg a day
Actually it's more like 7 or 9 but we will stick with 5
Oh but fruit is bad, so eat most of your portions as veg
Fruit is actually the work of Satan so 5/7/9 portions of veg a day and don't even look at a fruit*

• last one may be slightly exaggerated

I enjoy it, I'm not swapping a portion of veg for it so it's better than the alternative which would be biscuit/Crisps type food. I try to eat as much veg as possible but if I eat fruit then at least I have enjoyed something that is partly good for me

I think fruit is far better than a chocolate bar or crisps but I think fruit smoothies are works of the devil!!

Fruit is good. Fad diets are bad.

I think berries of any kind and cherries are good like you say. It is confusing though. I've just shed about a stone and cut out satsumas as they made me bloat. I eat lots of blueberries, raspberries and cherries though.

I think a lot of the thinking behind slim world plan ensures you don't go hungry. If you restrict yourself too much you will just end up craving foods. Fruit as said above is absolutely a good alternative to other snacks whilst you are losing weight. Once you have reached your goal you naturally will not eat as much anyway as your hunger will be reduced.

Yes fruit is reasonably high in sugar, but the sugar is locked in the cells with fibre which helps you feel fuller and makes you eat less than other high sugar foods which contain little/ no fibre. When fruit is cooked, juiced, pureed or even over ripe the fibre to sugar ratio is affected making it less good for you.

Thanks everyone!

It is confusing with all the different information out there but I'm really enjoying no food being restricted, mentally it really helps!

I would have thought berries were worse than something like an apple, because they are higher in calories and a lot of the calories come from sugar. I always thought of the boring fruit (apple, banana etc) as being better than sweet berries. Plus you have your portion already measured out in an apple whereas most people would over estimate a portion of berries

Not saying that is right by the way, just my thoughts on it as I've been surprised by the comments about berries

When we were in Australia the message was 5 veg and 2 fruit. I think that is a better target to aim for as plenty of people in the UK go crazy on the smoothies, dried fruit and fruit and barely touch vegetables.

I expect it puts people off the whole message as it seems to unattainable to people who don't really eat vegetables.

Berries have a lot of fibre and nutrients. Strawberries are actually surprisingly low in calories (obi no sugar and cream!), rasps and blackberries high in fibre. Berries with natural/Greek you are excellent.

No food helps weight loss. Eating good portions and healthy food will prevent weight gain and help you maintain a good weight. Not all sugar is the same or has the same affect on your body. Fructose naturally from raw fruit is the best source if sugar, which your body needs. Too much fruit though will more likely put strain on your organs more than cause serious weight grain and it will increase the risk of tooth decay if you don't have good dental hygiene.

Feelingsmurfy actually berries are lower in calories and sugar than fruit like apples and bananas - hence why it is "allowed" on the I quit sugar plan. Your comment about portion size though are spot on - it's so easy to overdo it on smaller fruits

Aren't berries at the lower end of the sugar scale for fruit, and things like pineapple, mango and bananas having more? Hence a few berries being acceptable on low carb diets, but you couldn't have higher sugar fruit.

But yes, people should eat more veg and less fruit - some people seem weirdly obsessed with it. I hardly eat any fruit but quite a lot of veg.

No food is bad.
No food helps with weight loss - if a slimming club is peddling that shout 'bollocks' and walk out.

Berries to promote weight loss sounds like total crap to me, maybe I need to read up on it, but sounds like simplistic stupid pseudo-science at best.

Also Sounds like low carb doesn't work for you, OP.
Fruit has fibre and lots of flavinoids, which are super chemicals that do promote health (reduce cancer risk for instance).
Vegetables have similar properties but usually not as tasty as fruit.
All things in moderation :).

The idea of Slimming World Speed Foods is that they are the lowest calorie density foods.

SW is based on the premise that we all eat a fairly consistent volume of food each day and if as much as possible of that is low calorie density (most vegetables except potatoes, corn or similar are also speed foods) you eat fewer calories and lose weight faster - the fact that you can also eat eggs, meat, fish, pasta, pulses etc means that a reasonable number of calories are consumed, it is not a VLCD. It could be that if you eat a lot of speed foods your daily calorie consumption is 1300, but if you eat mostly meat and potatoes, it is 1800. In both cases, you would lose weight, but you would lose more in the former example.

There is no suggestion that they have any magic 'weight loss promoting powers'. There is a lot of crap assumed about Slimming World, mostly by people who have no idea how it is supposed to work (low fat unprocessed healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg and limited amounts of treats).

It is not food combining or any sort of magic spell - they just encourage a balanced diet of healthy basic foods and allow a very limited amount of crap (approx 200 calories per day) so that people don't feel deprived and eat the entire contents of the biscuit tin. If some people interpret it as wall to wall mug shots and muller lights, then that isn't the intention at all.