Getting fat on fruits.

[Bozo Erectus]

Rabbits die if you feed them mostly lettuce. A warning to those who think theyre eating healthy by consuming salads which are mostly lettuce and tomatoes.

 

[The Last Conformist]

To be sure of the net effect you would have to look up the calories, but I think that if you exchange the x volume of sandwich for x volume of fruit you will slim down a little bit, because on average sandwiches (with cheese and/or mayo) have more calories

It probably depends on what I put on the sandwiches. Usually cheese, sometimes salad or jam, never butter or mayo.

Slimming down might be a concern, but that would surely be better combated by skipping lunch less frequently than by avoiding fruit.

 

[Double Barrel]

The question depends on the glycemic index of a given fruit. The glycemic index measures how fast a food is likely to raise your blood sugar. When you have a high glycemic index and low workout regiment, your body will turn the excess sugar into fat, which is stored into various parts of your body. The impact a food will have on the blood sugar depends on many other factors such as ripeness, cooking time, fiber and fat content, time of day, blood insulin levels, and recent activity.

For instance, dates have a very high glycemic index of 103 and should be avoided unless you are regulary exerting yourself (to burn off the excess sugars). Prunes have a very low index of 15, so not a bad snack if you are a couch potato.

As in most things in life, it is not a black-and-white matter, but rather the answer is in shades of grey.

 

[The Last Conformist]

@DB: I'll store that as "yes, you can get fat on fruits".

 

[Double Barrel]

@DB: I'll store that as "yes, you can get fat on fruits".

Great book, btw, for men that explains the whole concept (and easy to understand):

Lose Your Love Handles: A 3-Step Program to Streamline Your Waist in 30 Days by MacKie Shilstone

Silly title, but a really awesome book! It took all the information thrown at me my whole life and made it all make sense. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to lose weight and / or get in shape.

 

[Narz]

My current roommate eats basically nothing but fruit (occasionally some nuts and sprouted sunflower seeds) and he's gone from 205 to 150 pounds (he's about 5'6"), it took about a year to achieve, but he certainly didn't gain weight. I imagine if you ate like 20 bananas and 10 avacados and sat on your ass all day you might gain weight but in genral fruit and uncooked vegtables will clean you out more than anything.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

My current roommate eats basically nothing but fruit (occasionally some nuts and sprouted sunflower seeds)

I'd rather die.

 

[betazed]

I'd rather die.

I will die (even if I do not want to).

Many a times (I must not have been thinking clearly then) I have decided that I will become a veggie. The bouts lasted 3-10 days at most. It invariably ended up me making up for those days on a gluttony of meat. Must be my evolutionary programming.

as to the original thread topic, I am not sure but I doubt you can get fat on fruits. You may have to eat a lot of it daily, probably more than you can comfortably eat in a day.

 

[stormbind]

Different types of sugars are treated differently by the body, but I cannot give details. They can be converted from one form to another, but this requires energy. Thus I think you can get fat quicker by consuming certain sugars, but I'm not sure

It might be down to monosaccharides vs. disaccharides. Lipids is another key word that springs to mind. I cannot recall the details as it's been too long since I covered biology.

 

[MajII]

Rabbits die if you feed them mostly lettuce. A warning to those who think theyre eating healthy by consuming salads which are mostly lettuce and tomatoes.

Lettuce contains fibres that aid digestion. From my understanding, the fibres rub against the intestinal wall as they pass through the tubing. The friction generated by these passing strands of fibre triggers the secretion of a bodily fluid that helps the whole package of digesting food pass through your system.

Now, if I were to eat little else but lettuce and tomatoes, I'd soon end up like those rabbits. Like you said: moderation.

As for the sugars ... there are several different types: sucrose, maltose, lactose, etc. ... I don't know much about the nutrional content of fruit and junk food, but maybe they contain different proportions of these sugar types. Just a guess ... who's the resident biologist here?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I will die (even if I do not want to).

The vegetarian, nut and fruit eating joggers will be just as dead as the chain smoking, meat eating alcoholics, when their number is up

Many a times (I must not have been thinking clearly then) I have decided that I will become a veggie. The bouts lasted 3-10 days at most. It invariably ended up me making up for those days on a gluttony of meat. Must be my evolutionary programming.

I tried it seriously once. I think I lasted about 6 months without any meat at all, but I was feeling weak so I started eating fish once a week. That lasted another 6 months or so until finally I couldnt take it anymore and pigged out on beef just like you did. Ive never looked back once. Im a carnivore through and through. Give me a heat source and a dead animal and Ive got a party.

 

[MajII]

The vegetarian, nut and fruit eating joggers will be just as dead as the chain smoking, meat eating alcoholics, when their number is up

I tried it seriously once. I think I lasted about 6 months without any meat at all, but I was feeling weak so I started eating fish once a week. That lasted another 6 months or so until finally I couldnt take it anymore and pigged out on beef just like you did. Ive never looked back once. Im a carnivore through and through. Give me a heat source and a dead animal and Ive got a party.

Did you feel ill after eating the beef? I ask since I've often heard that consuming red meat after a long duration (over several months) of abstinence can send your body reeling in agony. Maybe it's just Fruitopian propaganda

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

The way I see it, you would normally eat fruits as a snack, so by replacing lets say a bag of chips with grapes or other fruit you are cutting calories and fat. Now if you ate nothing but fruit in excessive quanities then yeah yo would gain weight, but still not as bad as eatting nothing but junk. I think sugar from fruits is processed easier than processed sugar.

 

[Yom]

Even if fruits don't have fat (save avocado), the carbohydrates and sugars still get turned into fat eventually, don't they?

 

[stormbind]

Even if fruits don't have fat (save avocado), the carbohydrates and sugars still get turned into fat eventually, don't they?

I think fruits have little or no triglycerides, and if that is correct, then they should not cause much fat to be stored. That doesn't mean the sugars in fruit won't contribute if you absorb triglycerides from another source.

I think they also lack essential fatty acids, found in nuts and vegetables, so you shouldn't be able to survive on just fruits. Although, they might be present in seeds...

I'm not a doctor, so best to check this with a reputable source of information

 

[Gainy]

My father follows almost a pure fruit/vegetable diet (after being told he was going to die from a heart attack :\). This has been going on for a few months now, and he has lost weight. Not gained...

 

[Narz]

The vegetarian, nut and fruit eating joggers will be just as dead as the chain smoking, meat eating alcoholics, when their number is up

The question is, when do you want your number to be? Many people accept ageing, slow decline and death as inevitable. Along with heart problems, weak joints, foggy memory, limited mobility, impotence and a plethera of other ailments. These do not appeal to me. I plan to be a virile old 120 year old, frolicking with women 4 times younger than me.

By the way, if someone would've tried to sell me the whole raw food thing to me three or four years ago I would've thought they were daft too. From childhood to age 23 my diet was pretty much refined grains (bread, cerial, etc.), dairy (milk, cheese - lots of cheese) and meat plus the usual cookies, crackers, sauses and sweets with the only fruit I'd think to touch being the tomato in my tomato sause (yes I know it's called a vegtable by the USDA but actually it's a fruit).

I don't tell anyone how to live though. I don't deny pizza, cheeseburgers and homemade chocolate chip cookies taste good but they just weren't taking me where I wanted to go. I didn't just jump into this overnight, it takes a long time for lifestyles, habits and desires to change. I find forcing myself to do something never works. So whatever you do, accpet it and enjoy it, that's my philosophy. But when the cons outweigh the pros, it's time to look for a new path.

By the way, Conformist, one tip about fruit, if you are going to eat it, do it on an empty stomache. Many people make the mistake of eating fruit for dessert. The problem with that is that most meals (especially meat/startch combinations) take about 4-8 hours to fully digest whereas fruit takes about 1 hour, so if you put fruit on top of a meal it will ferment in your gut and you won't feel so hot. Best to eat it for breakfast and maybe lunch and then eat whatever you want for dinner. You will probably lose weight this way for sure (if that's what you want).

One more tip actually having nothing to do with fruit. Proteins and startches don't mix well together (they require different stomache environments) so eat them seperately. For example if you want a burger, eat it without a bun or fries and just sause and maybe a salad. If you want a potato or rice or pasta eat it with just sause and salad. I found that system really helped me alot in the past.

Just my suggestions, not telling anyone what to do, just trying to be helpful.

Peace,
Narz

 

[Knowze Gungk]

There is no food that makes people fat. People make themselves fat.

Anyway, if you pig out on fruit, I reckon it's laxitive effect will kick in, thus helping you lose mass, so to speak.

 

[ManOfMiracles]

Some types of sugars: sucrose, fructose, galactose, glucose (dextrose), lactose, and maltose. Each has a different molecular structure and some are easier for the body to digest. Lactose is fairly difficult to digest which is why so many people are lactose-intolerant.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/index.html
This searchable database is a handy reference. A diabetes counselor directed me to this site and it really helped. BTW, diabetics are normally told NO fruit or milk for the first meal of the day. Blood sugar levels drop so low overnight that those items cause a really sharp spike if consumed early in the morning. Yogurt (no sugar added) or cheese are ok for breakfast. Also, when eating fruit choose whole fruit over juice since juice doesn't have the fiber.

Narz suggested eating proteins and starches separately. This can also cause a blood sugar spike. Protein and fat take longer to digest than sugars and starches so they help keep blood sugar levels steady if you mix them at a meal. It is also worthy to note every single person will react differently. My father had to quit eating pasta with his diabetes but could still eat rice and pizza. I had to quit pizza and rice but could handle pasta. Of course the donuts dragged us both down!

 

[Ramius75]

You guys should try to eat Durian , Yummy.

Many people regard the durian to be a very tasty fruit; it is often called the "king of fruits" by locals. Some Westerners have described the fruit as "like eating custard in a public lavatory."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian