You know you’ve had a pretty easy day when the worst part about it was the fact that your bananas weren’t as ripe as you’d like them to be…
Don’t get me wrong – I know how important a good, ripe banana is – but all things taken into consideration, there are definitely worse things out there… like still having to go get your blood taken; not that I’ve been putting it off or anything 😯 😯
But I digress. Today’s post is not about needles. Thank God. Today’s post is about something far more pleasant:
Fruit
If I haven’t made it painfully obvious by now, or if you’re new around these parts (hi!!!!) I kind of love fruit – absolutely adore it – and I eat a lot of it. Let’s take yesterday for example. Over the course of one day, I managed to easily scarf down:
- 2 large bananas,
- ½ cantaloupe,
- 1 mini watermelon,
- around 3 apples worth of applesauce, and
- ½ lb. of blueberries
… and that’s a pretty typical day for me. Heck, I would probably eat more if I didn’t worry about having to save room for other foods. Should I be concerned?
I used to be. In the depths of my ED, fruit was definitely on my list of fear foods, and I would never allow myself to eat more than half a serving a day, if that. Fruit had too much sugar. Fruit would make me fat. Fruit was inferior to veggies. Does that kind of thinking sound familiar? My guess is that it probably does…
It makes me sad to see fruit get such a bad rap, especially when it comes to the ones with a higher sugar content like grapes, cherries, mangoes, and my personal favorite, bananas…
Almost every diet and weight-loss program I’ve ever come across advocates “avoiding or limiting” those fruits, claiming that their high sugar content can contribute to weight problems. Really?! I understand that there are people who have to watch their sugar intake as a result of legit medical conditions, but the idea that fruit makes people fat?
That’s just absurd.
Fruit is wonderful. Sure it has sugar, but our bodies need sugar to function, and what better place to get it than from fruit, where it comes with a host of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
I eat my weight in fruit on pretty much a daily basis, and I have yet to experience any sort of negative side effects. I haven’t blown up to epic proportions and I don’t struggle with my weight. I do wish that those ridiculous diet claims would die off, but I think that may be asking too much…
. – . – . – .
Fruit: friend or foe?
How much fruit do you eat in a day?
What’s your favorite fruit?
I LOVE fruits but because they are so high in sugar, I limit myself to 1 or 2 (tops) a day. I have 1/2 banana in my morning green smoothie and then an apple as part of a snack. The rest of my diet is mostly green veggies and chicken, with whole grains in small portions. Great post (and question)!
I only limit fruits because sometimes my stomach gets upset about them, especially apples. That’s why I just eat them as applesauce (YOUR recipe :-)) haha 🙂 Seriously, I can take about 1-2 fruits in the morning, but I hae the same with veggies. The later the day, the more sensitive my stomach. Sorts? Berries. I LOVE berries. All of them. And melon. Is melon a berry?
More kisses from Spain! 🙂
I could have written this post word for word. I eat SO much fruit a day I could not imagine only eating one or two servings these pesky diets give a person. I probably eat a pound of grapes every day without a doubt; otherwise, I eat at least one piece of fruit with every meal and before bed… And in the morning… And as a snack… And in desserts… And whenever I can get my little hands on a good piece of fruit 🙂
Favorite = Bananas or Grapes. I think. No wait, maybe strawberrys… Or oranges… Or….
<3 <3 soulmates :D
This post made me feel like I’m not a crazy person for eating lots of fruit! Yesterday I had two apples, an orange, and a bowl of cantaloupe and watermelon. Usually I’ll have a banana and another orange in there! Gotta love that fruit, especially when I’m trying to ward off disease! 🙂
Fruit has never been off limits to me. I’ma lot more picky when it comes to fruits than I used to be, but i think that’s because I ODed on it in the past. I definitely have bananas everyday though.
Those claims make me grimace a bit too, alongside the claims some people make that bananas contain too much fat (eh?!).
I’m quite thankful fruit was never a problem for me. Other things, yes, but not fruit. Like you, I can understand monitoring your intake for medical reasons, and that different bodies may react in different ways and require certain combinations, but mine seems to do just fine with an abundance of fruit so no complaints here. I’m one of those people who can quite happily eat a few bananas a day along with other fruits (frozen banana smothered in cashew butter mixed with coconut cream. Do it…if you can, that is. Is it just peanuts you’re allergic to?).
The way I see it, is that the whole purpose of fruit is to be eaten, and there are so many animals which do live predominantly off fruit who get by perfectly fine. So long as you aren’t snorting kilos of sugar on the side while drinking pints of syrup (and you’re also eating other things), then where’s the harm?
Ohhh bananas with coconut cream sounds amazing. It is just peanuts I’m allergic to, but I tend to shy away from most of the other nuts besides almond because they can sometimes give me a bit of a reaction. And bananas having too much fat? 😆 That’s a new one to me.
Couldn’t agree with you more 😀 I just yelled at my cousin recently because she’s trying to lose weight and said how she can’t eat bananas. So when I asked her if she’s allergic like me, she said no that they have sugar. I scolded her 😉
I think I eat a loooot more in the summer months. But lately I’ve been eating lots of oranges 🙂 Grapes are definitely my favorite though.. I can polish off an entire bag by myself in no time :p
Ohhh a bag of grapes is my kryptonite. I can’t stop until all of the grapes are gone, and I don’t even notice!
Fruit is the most perfect food. It is all natural and tastes like dessert! What can be better than that? Luckily I am one of the few people who never limited their fruit intake. Even during my worst unhealthiest periods of restriction I still had fruit with buttermilk for breakfast. I just cannot go without. A breakfast without fruit seams somehow wrong to me – that was the first thing my boyfriend had to learn. I need my fruit – just as he needs his meat 😀
I’m definitely with you that stating the day without fruit feels completely wrong. I’m never really one to eat savory breakfasts, but even on the rare occasion that I do, fruit always manages to make an appearance.
I remember at the middle stage of recovery (where I was already close to my restored/normal weight but still had somewhat insatiable hunger) I would try to scarf down fruit before meals as a way to fill myself up and curb cravings or hunger…. it sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t. But because I did it with the intention of slowing down or even halting my weight gain progress (really, I was only like 5 pounds away and for whatever reason after getting that far, I just felt super anxious to keep going and wanted to “normalize” already!), eating a lot of fruit in between meals actually became sort of routine for me… up until a few months ago. I actually am really bored with apples (which I ate religiously), bananas (which I still eat at night typically with Greek yogurt and honey), and watermelon got old fast after I ate it so much over the summer! (It grosses me out because sometimes it can taste like a cucumber…. haha)
So to be honest, I eat maybe mandarin oranges on my salad that’s paired with dinner, and a banana at night. No more 3-4 servings of fruit for me! I just don’t crave them anymore! But they are definitely good for you and sometimes I try to remind myself to eat more of them instead of reaching for the graham crackers or something 😉
Totally agree! I just polished off a huge bowl of fruit! Sadly it wasn’t as beautiful as the photos you take but it was still tasty! Pineapple is my current favorite!
I wish I could eat pineapple! I used to love the stuff and then I randomly developed an allergy to it one day 😯 Out of nowhere it just made my stomach start hurting and gave me a nasty rash. Miss it.
Friend friend friennnddd! I LOVe fruit. I freaking HATE those diets..sure sugar can be sketch..but that’s eating sugar in things like cookies. I would eat raw sugar over ARTIFICIAL sugar any day!! My favorite fruits are apples, berries (blueberries in particular) and ORANGES!!
Mmmm!! Those are some of my favorite fruits. You’re pictures are making me hungry! (p.s. I love being able to say that about fruit! ;)).
I eat quite a bit of fruit every day too: I always eat one banana (unless they are not ripe enough..I totally feel your pain there), almost always an apple, some sort of berries (I love blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries), and generally a serving of whatever fruit is in season (I am loving clementines right now). I really do not think that my body can get enough fruit!
Not having ripe bananas IS a rough day…trust me, Im (sadly) going through it right now.
Freckly bananas just make life better!
I’m not actually a huge fruit lover, asides from perfect nanners and pink ladies, of course. I think I’m in the minority, but I prefer vegetables:/. Funnily enough ,it is pretty much just your blog that makes me ever crave fruit. Because you’re always biggin it up, & posting pictures of luscious looking, fruity snacks. Case in point : I specifically bought strawberries, to replicate your bowl of yogurt, banana , strawberries & cocoa powder from the other day. I couldn’t get that picture out of my head!
Xxx
I’ll gladly be a bad influence, in that case
Did you end up having it? How as it?!
YES! I had it like 3X already :). That combo of fruit, with the creamy yog, & hefty sprinkle of cocoa is… sorta SENSATIONAL<3<3<3.
Ugh I hate how fruit has such a bad reputation. Fruit will make you gain weight? Like really?!? Excess calories will make you gain weight, regardless of what you’re eating. Don’t put the blame on poor fruit!
I usually eat at least 4-5 servings of fruit in a day – and one of those is always a banana. It’s hands down my favourite. 😀
fruit is hands down one of my favorite snacks – seriously if i’m not going to have fruit i’m probably not going to reach for a veggie either, i’m probably going to try to not have a snack at all and then end up eating more of some crap i find later because i’m so hungry. bring on the fruit. i think i probably eat almost as much fruit daily as you do, though i can’t eat that many bananas because they make my tummy hurt 🙁
Phew, thanks for making me feel better about my fruit consumption – I really mean it! Other people think it’s crazy I’m eating at least 4 medium apples every day when they happen to eat no fruit at all some days.
Actually, fruit became a huge part of my diet when ED hit. It was the only truly “safe” food besides vegetables that I allowed myself endless quantities off. Ever since noticing its high carb – not particularly judging the sugar – content I’ve become rather unhappy about my consumption. Lately it has gotten so far that I’m not allowing myself to eat all the fruit I want and – this one’s something I’m really sad about – has kept me from trying many lunch dishes. There’s that voice in my head saying “your choice: grains/(sweet) potatoes/… at lunch OR fruit carbs”. I SO wish I cared less about it because it’s far from pleasant to deny myself to try those delicious looking recipes because that’d mean I’d “have to” cut out the fruit in exchange. Aaah, my head is so messed up :(.
My favourite would be hard to pick though apples make the most frequent appearance because they’re delicious and cheap ;). Pears are a current favourite, too, though, aaaand I snagged some totally non-seasonal blueberries because they were on offer and who am I to say no to that?!
Don’t be afraid of carbs, hun! They’re wonderful energy and mood-bosting gems 😀 I used to do the same thing with forcing myself to choose between two carb sources, but after getting really tired of making myself miserable with all the deprivation, I just went for it and I can promise you that nothing bad happens as a result. It’ll just put a satisfied smile on your face 🙂
I’m obsessed with fruit too! I am now craving watermelon, peaches, and blueberries after looking at your beautiful pics!
I love fruit and hate those claims that generalize fruit = fattening. So obtuse!
However, I don’t frown upon HEALTHY diet plans advising one to be conscientious of high-sugar bearing fruit (dates, dried fruits..etc) because blood sugar (especially rapid fluctuations) can indeed impact appetite and weight loss. They explain the reason WHY and encourage ways to eat them such as balance them with protein … not avoid them entirely and “villify” them..
But the important thing is for peeps to be educated and not just jumping to conclusions and onto bandwagons based on something they read in “Health” magazine or because US Weekly reports that Kate Middleton or Jen Aniston said they avoid them.
Sorry. TL: DNr.
I’ve heard about those smart ways of eating fruit as well, but more often than not I don’t bother taking the advice 😕 Sometimes all I want is a huge bowl of watermelon without having to worry about balancing it out with the proper things. Too many rules make my brain hurt.
Exactly! And that works for you and you’re not on a “lose weight” diet..etc…which is what I was specifying. But yes, all too often ALL too often people just read some random thing and incorporate it into their otherwise healthy eating habits and lifestyle and it stinks!
I love how you spread the news of JUST DO YOU.
I love love love fruit!
Fruit is my favorite! I prefer it so much more to vegetables. Love it!
I love fruit too! Bananas are definitely my favorite. I hate when diets say to avoid fruit. So pre-packed “sugar-free” chemical laden “desserts” are supposed to be healthier than fruit that was grown in nature!?! I just don’t get it. Guess that’s why I’ll now skip a magazine or article about avoiding fruit or any diet in general.
I don’t even know what to say to people who advocate eating those 100 calorie snack packs over something like a banana. Like… yeah… I find myself at a loss for words.
I love fruit – but I am not the best with always remembering to eat some fruit. If it is prepared and ready, I will munch on fruit all day long. Yummy yum!
I did remember to pack a banana in my lunch bag today!
Love this post Amanda! I remember during darker days trying to “fit in” a banana was a challenge for me. Too many calories, better eat berries instead. Oh how glad I am to be completely away from that mindset now. Bananas and apples are pretty much daily occurrences for me, and I can’t wait for fresh fruit like berries and watermelon to be back in season! They can be so expensive where I am at this time of year. For now I’m sticking with the frozen variety in smoothies.
Love love love fruit. I like to eat at least one banana a day, we try to keep in season fruits (right now it’s citrus) on hand, and I’ve been on a smoothie kick all week. It’s too bad people worry about the sugar in fruit, cause it’s one of the healthiest things you can eat.
It’s funny because even in the height of my ED, I never feared how much fruit I ate. I never really bought into the whole natural sugars making you fat because I just saw them as a low calorie ‘safe’ food so fruit was pretty much the only thing I ate and it never caused me to gain weight at the time, even though I obviously needed to! It’s always remained with me that natural sugars won’t make you fat. I mean, why should they? They are natural and people have been eating them since..well probably since men were on the earth!
I’d say I eat maybeee 6/7 different types of fruit a day. Some people see it as excessive maybe but I have a sweet tooth and they’re just yum! I’m on a bit of a berry kick at the moment but I go through phases. I love canteloupe, apples and persimmons <3
I get some pretty strange looks when people see how much fruit I can put away, too… especially when it comes to things like grapes and watermelon. My self-control is seriously lacking in those instances…
Ahhh couldn’t agree more! Fruit is def a friend and actually became one because of my ed…wasn’t a huge fan of it before but my meal plan required a bunch of servings so i branched out after becoming sick of grapes and apples…i love blueberries and cherries best 🙂 eat them just about everyday and shake my head at ppl who make the sugar comment (i do that with anything containing sugar though so not that surprising 😉 )
I loove fruits! I eat at least a few per day 🙂 My favourite ones are tangerines, oranges and peaches 🙂
Fruit = Friend Fo’ Sho’! I’ve heard people say they “limit fruit” because they want to loose weight, ummm, no, fruit is a natural, good for you food. I usually eat about 4-5 servings a day worth. Yum!
I am a fruit o holic but it makes me sad because I really rarely buy it anymore. it is so expensive so i tend to shy away from it. that makes me sad like whoa
What a great post (do I say that often? LOL). I like cherries and grapes the best…I’ve seriously eaten 5 pound containers of grapes in one sitting. Embarassing. I normally have them for snacks or in salads. Bananas and apples are my least favorite fruit (oddly enough) but pears are closely related to apples sometime LOL.
I’ve done that with grapes. I’ll never understand how people can just eat a small handful and stop… I’ll basically keep eating them until they’re all gone.
I’m with you girls… especially frozen grapes. Even though I’ve never done crack, I’m just going to say they are equally as addicting! 🙂
Wow, you eat more fruit than I do! Even in my ED days, fruit was something that was pretty safe, so I never ditched it completely. I hate the articles that tell you to limit fruit. Really?? It’s fruit!! You know a diet is bullshit when they tell you that something whole, healthy and delicious is going to go straight to your ass…
I think my fruit consumption would rival most people’s
Oh my god I love fruit. I don’t eat as much as I was eating but strawberries, blueberries, GRAPES, apples… all my jam. I eat them like candy but since they’re healthier, I can! That’s the best part if you ask me 😉
I love fruit, I think I almost eat some for every meal 🙂
I definitely used to see fruit as a “limited food” – definitely not the case anymore. Although, I don’t crave it nearly as much in the winter as I do in the Spring/Summer. Once we get to berry season, strawberries and blueberries will be appearing in pretty much everything I eat! Right now though, I still eat a banana almost daily – always has and always will be my favourite fruit!
Fruit is freaking delicious! I ALWAYS have to have bananas. No matter what. I have also been loving blueberries lately!! Sooo good in yogurt with lemon stevia… mmm 🙂
I LOVE fruit too – not as much in the winter, but in the summer it’s basically all I eat. I spent a month in Hawaii last year and we lived on pineapple & bananas. I love all fruits, except papaya, and I’m not a huge melon fan (except watermelon). My top favs are pineapple, strawberries & peaches. BC PEACHES!! Excited for summer yet? 😉
I’ve been excited for summer since about a month after summer ended. Oh how I miss fresh ripe fruit…
I think if I eat fruit on its own I just end up extremely hungry 30 seconds later, but paired with some protein it’s fine.
My fruit intake varies – some days I’ll just have an apple and a pear or a few berries, but yesterday I got through a banana, 200g of cherries, 100g of raspberries, three apples and a pear! I think most of my intake was fruit or coffee yesterday now that I think about it 😛
No single food makes anyone fat. Some foods might not be filling enough, or they might have that ‘easy to overeat’ quality, so they can cause issues with weight management…in which case yes, avoid those foods, but no, I seriously doubt anyone gets fat from eating fruit unless they’re going through a bunch of bananas, kilos of grapes, three watermelons and a box of mangoes every single day. I did once read a post by a woman about how she did manage to become overweight as a fruitarian (!) but frankly she obviously had so many issues that I took everything she wrote with a pinch of salt.
I guess I’d say veggies ARE better than fruit for those trying to lose or manage their weight simply by virtue of being lower in calories and sugar…but that doesn’t mean fruit is ‘bad’ at all. It’s still better than eating a giant chocolate bar if you’re after something sweet!
My favourite fruit would definitely be apples – I don’t think unless I’m sick I ever go a day without eating one.
xxx
“No single food makes anyone fat.” Amen to that, and I think it’s something that a lot of people lose sight of. I think the reason that a lot of those fad diets fail is because the amount of deprivation associated with them isn’t maintainable in the long run. Cutting out our favorite foods completely will never get us far.
omg, I need to go get fruit now 😀 we have some lovely bananas, hopefully they’re ripe!
I’m partial to apples. I can easily eat 3 a day. I also love perfectly ripe mangoes, grapefruits and blueberries… yummm!
i <3 bananas
Very good choice 😉
I’m the same as you! I loooove my fruit! It’s funny because I totally used to think the exact same thing about fruit. It was an off limit food for me, you know because obviously sugar = makes you fat right away 😉 I’m glad I’ve moved away from those thoughts. I mean, hello fruits contain fiber, vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants! All those amazing things for our bodies. It seems like its a trend to shy away from fruit, let’s just say I don’t want to be part of this trend. Favorite fruit would have to be either banana or strawberries!