To eat only fruit for lunch?

[auroraboringalice]

Trying to shift the last couple of stone and thinking about Christmas. Don't eat enough fruit 'n' veg. Thought about swapping out my usual lunch for fruit only to keep calories and fat down and get my bowel moving (TMI, sorry!).

I keep reading hysteria over sugar content in fruit though? Old gimmer here - fruit used to be seen as a harmless healthy snack.

Should I worry about this? I am cutting right back on chocolate and biscuits and other rubbishy forms of sugar, so surely some fructose is okay?

I am eating less all round. I am the top end of a normal BMI. I want to lose another two stones and thought it was time to get rid of the last of the rubbish I still eat (biscuits, etc).

Plenty of people have smoothies which are mostly fruit and it fills them up so why not give it a go for while and see what works for you ?

Personally Im not a fruit person and much prefer veg, most days my lunch is just vegetables, in winter i love a ratatouille (i make a big batch at the weekends) or green veg salads with squeeze of fresh lemon is another favourite

I'm a firm believer in small changes or something better then you do now, stick to what is suitable for you and your circumstances

I hate cheese with a passion, so no worries there.

Huomus and carrots is a healthy lunch with lots of fibre.

You will get the serious shits

I dream of that when constipated

It is hard isn't it. I went from eating anything I liked and staying 8 stone to nearly 11 during the menopause. I am petite so I just looked fat.

I have lost nearly 2.5 stone and I think its down to portion control. Eating fruit is fine but it will make you feel hungry after a while although bananas seem more filling. Then the biscuits start calling and before you know it...

You need to keep the weight off - not just lose it in the first place. I think you really have to be aware of what you are putting in your mouth. Paul McKenna said when you are having a treat to actually make a big thing of it and SIT down and it when watching say a favourite TV programme. Chew 20 times (that one is a bit tricky). Or make a list over a few weeks of what exactly you have eaten. Include any drinks as well. I have a friend who drinks pints but complains she cannot lose weight. You don't have to show to anyone but don't miss anything out.

Oh and no takeaways. Spawn of the devil and all that over-ordering..

Then the biscuits start calling and before you know it...

My biscuits call to me as well!

Do you realise that 1 banana, 2 clementines and 2 apples is about 350 calories - pretty much all of which are carbs? 90g of carbs in 1 sitting, that is probably more than half your daily allowance. Aside from the obvious massive sugar hit as well.

You could have a nice well balanced lunch for 350 calories that isn't so bloomin carb heavy!

There is a lot of sugar in fruit. Eat more veg.

I didn't know non-refined carbs should be restricted!

I am well out-of-touch it seems.

God cheese is my nemesis
It's an often repeated exaggeration that low fat is ovah, and fruit will give you a fat belly (!)
Basically, while lots of high fat foods are good for you, they still have lots of calories.
And eating fruit is good-although maybe not tons in one go.
Agree with less of everything, including cheese, bread, cake and meat, and walk lots. When I walk more I drop pounds, which is good because I'm shit at dieting.
Maybe alternate; vegetables one lunch, fruit the next?

Cheese is also nutritious. A 100kcal piece of cheese would tide me over for longer than either the biscuit or the apple, if I could still eat it.

A pp has it right with the way of life idea. Eat sensible portions of good, nutritious food. If you need to shave off 100 kcal here and there to get your weight under control then shave a bit off the stodgy filler stuff rather than the stuff packed full of vitamins, minerals, protein and fatty acids.

And if you're going to have 250 kcal worth of fruit, mid afternoon, you might as well have some chicken or ham and a lightly dressed salad, or a big bowl of hearty soup. More filling and better for you.

I have a teenage family so cannot get away with no biscuits but buy they ones you really don't like. I hate jammy dodgers and custard creams. Love biscuits with whole nuts and maybe a small coating of chocolate.

Ice cream ditto. Fabs are low in calories as are those frozen OJ stick ones (cannot remember their name). Stay away from Ben and Jerry etc although if you really really have to pick it for special occasion and have a few spoons. Friday is a special occasion btw!

I go to the cinema regularly. I never buy anything. Cannot stand all that russling of paper and slurping but I am the only one who doesn't seem to have a bucket of coke and popcorn.

I was thinking fruit for all the cancer-fighting phytonutrients.

You need to watch vegetables too - carrots for example are high in sugar (at least for small animals they are!) whereas some fruits are low.

Now you're making excuses, broccoli and carrot better for that.
3 portions of fruit and 3 veg, a baked potato or rice, quinoa. Some protein at every meal, including yoghurt, pulses. Ok to be dairy free but watch you get enough calcium (& vit d, magnesium or you cannot absorb it)

I love broccoli and carrot, but carrots are high in sugar?

I eat lots of veg at dinner, but thought fruit for lunch might be okay.

I don't like to eat a lot at lunchtime.

I think the target is 10 fruit 'n' veg a day now?

So 3 fruits and 7 veggies?

I love fruit, take some of the claims with a pinch of salt and eat a lot of it. But not 6 pieces for lunch and nothing else! That's a lot of sugar in one go and won't fill you up long. I'd look at options with some veg, fibre and protein. So veg sticks and hummus, though that's never enough for me, or soup, or a salad with protein. Then a piece of fruit after and maybe one as a snack later on if you like.

If you do want a meal with a lot of fruit, try it with Greek yoghurt or oats. Should fill you up longer.

I have no issue with fruit or the natural sugars in fruit and often have fruit for breakfast which I consider healthy

I've also been reading that fruit should always be eaten alone to aid digestion!

The internet has too many conflicting ideas about.

health.spectator.co.uk/the-bbc-is-promoting-carbohydrate-hysteria/

The BBC is promoting carbohydrate hysteria

I think you would be fine and if you are happy to eat just fruit and have two other 'sensible' meals then so long as you enjoy eating fruit you will probably lose weight.

The key to any weight loss programme is finding something that you enjoy and can stick to. I had a lot of success with low cab - but it fitted in with my lifestyle and the sort of food I like to eat, I appreciate it doesn't suit everyone. Find something that works for you - not everyone else on Mumsnet .

Fruit sugar does not stick to your belly.
WTAF?
Orthorexia strikes again

Long ago when I could eat a lot more than now, if I needed to lose a few pounds I'd restrict myself in the long gap between 7am breakfast and 8pm dinner to a croissant and a pound of fresh apricots.