Will Eating Fruit Cause You to Gain Weight?

We all know fruit is healthy, but the question is – can eating fruit lead to weight gain? After all, Weight Watchers allows UNLIMITED fruit in their weight loss plans. So do the calories in fruit count the same as calories in other foods – or are they “free”?

“Fruit confusion”
I decided to write this post today because I’ve been seeing a lot of “fruit confusion” in my practice. Many of my clients don’t eat enough fruit partly in fear of the sugar causing weight gain (or raising blood sugar in the case of diabetics). On the other hand, some people MAY be eating too much fruit when it comes to weight control. The mentality here is that fruit is healthy – so how many calories can it really have?

Let me start by saying that I doubt that eating too much fresh fruit is the cause of weight gain for 90% of the population! If we do have blame “fruit”, fruit juice or dried fruit would be more of a culprit. Pretty easy to chug down a 16 oz carton of orange juice. This is the equivalent to eating 4 oranges! Compare what 15 grapes and 15 raisins look like. They contain the same amount of calories. That being said, if you are having trouble losing weight despite eating a very healthy diet (and exercising of course!), it may be time to take a look at your fruit consumption.

Fruit serving    Calories/carb grams

Apple, medium — 90/18

Apple, dried, 10 rings — 155/42

Apricots, dried, 10 halves — 83/22

Banana, medium — 110/27

Prunes, dried, 5 — 100/26

Dates, dried, 5 —  114/30

Raisins, 1 1/2 oz box —  130/33

Orange, medium  — 60/15

Grapes, 1 cup — 65/16

Cherries, 15  — 75/17

Grapefruit, 1/2 medium — 41/10

Cantaloupe, 1 cup cubed — 55/13

Honeydew, 1 cup cubed — 64/16

Peach, large —  60/15

Clementines, 2 — 70/18

Pear, medium — 95/25

Blueberries, 1 cup — 85/21

Strawberries, 1 cup — 45/11

My thoughts on fruit:

1. Fruit is a healthy food and should be part of your diet. The general recommendation is for us to consume  at least  1 ½ – 2 cups of fruit a day. However the exact amount will depend upon your caloric needs,  medical issues and what the rest of your diet is like. See ChooseMyPlate.gov

2. Fruit is a preferred snack to processed snacks for several reasons: 1. it contains more nutrients 2. the water and fiber in fruit can fill you up more 3. it is more difficult to store natural foods into fat as compared to processed foods.  Read my previous post that explains how processed foods are stored more easily as fat.   (pic credit: www.bidorbuy.co.za )

3. When it comes to weight loss, some people CAN eat unlimited fruit and still lose weight (probably because they are substituting fruit for the junk food they used to eat!). However the majority of people will have to account for the calories. They are not “free” like many vegetables.

4. If you are having difficulty losing weight and are a big fruit eater, you may want to take a more detailed look at how much fruit you are eating. It’s possible you’re eating more calories than you think from fruit. You may also want to focus more on the fruits where you get “the biggest bang for your buck”. One half a banana is the caloric equivalent to 1  1/2 cups of strawberries.

5 .If you are watching your weight or need to watch carb intake for diabetes or pre-diabetes,  be careful with your intake of juice and dried fruit. The calories and carbs add up quickly!

6. If you have trouble controlling your intake of fruits such as grapes and cherries, try putting a large handful into a bowl and put the bag away. Or try freezing grapes – a refreshing treat for hot summer days … it will also slow down your rate of eating!  You do freeze other fruits such as sliced mango or peaches – great for smoothies too.

7. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, this does NOT mean you have to avoid fruit. However you just need to pay attention to the amount of fruit you are eating as well as the portion sizes. I would recommend that you meet with a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator to discuss your intake of fruit.

*To take the fruit issue a step further, we could talk about the glycemic index and glycemic load – however since I am trying to shorten my posts, I will discuss this in an upcoming post!

Lastly, if any of you have medical issues that may warrant a limitation on fruit (such as diabetes or prediabetes) and are still confused, you are welcome to contact me to set up a nutrition consultation session. I am a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator and can educate you on carb counting and help you plan sample meals. My website is www.marthamckittricknutrition.com and phone number is (212) 879-5167