Fruit Nutrition:
These Calories Are Worth It!

Most Common Weight Loss Mistakes
Misunderstanding Fruit Nutrition: Fear of the Dreaded Banana

Fruit Nutrition The following servings provide approximately 60 calories, no fat, and 1-4 grams of fiber. 1 serving is: Grapefruit, banana, cantaloupe, mango 1/2 large fruit Apple, orange, pear, peach (or similar sized fruit) 1 medium whole fruit Apricot, plum (or similar sized fruit) 2 small whole fruit Berries, grapes, cherries, melon pieces 1 cup fruit Unsweetened 100% fruit juice 1/2 cup Dried Fruits 2 tbsp.

Name one person you know who is overweight as a result of eating too much fruit.

Nutrition experts (like me!) have a full time job dispelling myths about fruit, such as:

• "Bananas are fattening."
• "You should avoid fruit because it has too much sugar."
• "The carb content in fruit will destroy your diet."

Almost every day I work with someone who avoids bananas or other fruits like the plague due to the sugar or carb content, and then "cheats" by eating some sugary, processed junk food. Why don't we avoid sugary, processed junk food like the plague and "cheat" by eating fruit? What's up with the disconnect?

If you're trying to lose weight, eating fruit is one of the best choices you could make! Next to vegetables, they are the lowest calorie food group and are high water content foods so they make you feel full.

Fruit nutrition is good nutrition! Unprocessed, wholesome, and yummy too!

You can see from the chart above that if you eat an entire banana, it's only ~120 calories.

Chances are you have one banana and you're done. When's the last time you went back for a second or third banana? Can you honestly say it's as easy to stop at one portion of chips or nuts?

The banana is perfectly portioned by mother nature...so don't be fooled by all of the myths surrounding bananas. I'm waiting to meet the person who has a banana-caused weight problem!!

Fruit Nutrition

While it is true that fruit has sugar, it's also true that the sugar is tightly packaged along with the fiber in the fruit.

In order for your body to get to the sugar, it has to "unwind" the fiber.

What that really means is that it takes your body a while to break down the sugar in fruit...it's not like injecting a sugar cube into your veins!

And the little bit of sugar in fruit is the perfect way to satisfy a sweet tooth when you're trying to lose weight. Some of my favorite fruit desserts:

Are you making any more of the most common weight loss mistakes? Avoid Getting TOO Hungry Consider Alcohol Calories Eat Sloooooowly Eat Plenty of Fruits Eat Enough Vegetables Exercise FOR REAL Get Enough Water Kick "Quick" Weight Loss Know What's On Your Plate Quit Eating Haphazardly Practice Portion Control

• Baked apples
• Baked pears
• Sauteed bananas (in nonstick spray) sprinkled with cinnamon
• Fruit smoothies frozen in popsicle molds
• Yogurt and fruit parfaits sprinkled with lowfat granola
• frozen banana chunks
• frozen grapes
• frozen pineapple
• 100% fruit juice (such as blueberry or pomegranate) stirred into unsweetened applesauce (optional: freeze in popsicle molds)
• "ice cream": frozen banana blended with 2 tbsp. vanilla yogurt
• "ice cream": 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries blended with 1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
• 100% fruit juice frozen in popsicle molds

My professional advice? Focus on what you should eat rather than what you shouldn't. With fruit...the more, the better. Aim for at least 3-4 portions of fruit/day.

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