Too much berries? page

[drnemer]

As a college student who works out a lot I am very reliant on my protein smoothies. I mix whey protein scoops in various smoothie recipes to substitute for a quick meal. I been reading up on the fructose and how it should be more or less regulated. normally I have about 2 shakes a day. One for breakfast and one in the later afternoon after I work out.

My typical ingredients involve:

- 2 scoops of whey
- ice
- water

Either a half of a avocado or a table spoon of spirulina and a table spoon of maca powder

for fruit, which I need for sweetness because my powder is flavorless I pick between these combinations:

- 3-4 strawberries + 1/4 cup of blueberries
- 3-4 strawberries + 1/4 cup of raspberries
- 1/4 cup of blueberries | 1/4 cup strawberries


On my calorie counter it does not say that I am getting much sugar. I don't drink juices and I am generally low carb around 80-100 carbs per day on average. But I been reading that fructose, is converted to glycerol phosphate more efficiently than almost all other carbohydrates. This leads to fat storage. If I am trying to cut in order to get as lean as possible. Should i avoid fruit more?

I understand the importance of nutrients in fruit. But, according to my diet it looks like I am eating a cup of berries a day or nearly 5-6 cups of berries a week. I think that I must either cut down on the fruit.

What do you all think? Fruit and fructose is sort of a hot button topic for low carb primal eaters. On one hand I understand that the nutrients are important and no one could say that my current diet is unhealthy. I know that I am much more healthy than the average college student. I know that. But my goal is to achieve deep six pack abs. So far I have got the six pack abs but they are not very visible or ripped yet.

So should I cut down on fruit? how much fruit should i have per day? How much fructose should one have per day?

[Damiana]

Berries are among the lowest fruits in terms of sugar, so I'd say you're fine if you are only eating 1/4 cup a day. The fructose and carbs are so minimal that I doubt you're hurting your fat loss goals much. To get 6-packs and to have them be defined enough to show means your body fat needs to be extremely low, as such, you might want to go even lower carb still and stay below 50g/day.

[snoops]

I eat 1 - 1 1/4 cups of mixed berries every morning in my smoothy. They are full of antioxidants and fibre.

[AlanC]

But Snoops, are you getting the results that the OP wants?

[magnolia1973]

I think YOU need to experiment on you. I thought fruit was stalling my weight loss, nope. Other people find it does. Dairy and less processed sugar stalled me. I sat around and blamed fruit and bananas.... I can eat all thr fruit and bananas I want as long as chocolate, cheese and cream are not in my diet.

There are a lot of roads to get to the end you want. IMO, you aren't going "overboard" on fruit. But some people have bodies that react to a small amount of something. I think you need to look at more than your two shakes and look at everything you eat (I assume you eat more than that). I've never been looking at having a six pack, but know people that have them that range from eating very strict to being beer drinkers. And people range from low carbers to extremely low fat and still have those 6 packs.

Not for nothing, but I think the best way to burn fat is to eat really, really clean and avoid any and all processed foods. Including stuff like whey, sugar in coffee, sugar anywhere, cheese, bacon etc. From there, I'm not so sure the mix of foods matters beyond keeping your satiation and energy in check. I probably eat 3 servings of fruit a day, and one starchy carb and am dropping fat at a higher than normal calorie count for me.

[teach2183]

You'll have to experiment to find out. I eat fruit every day, probably around 1/2cup and have lost 20lbs while getting more toned since January. I am not seriously lifting though or worried about getting to a very low body fat %. If you're still making progress, keep doing what you're doing. If you stall for a month or longer, start making some changes.