We often talk about eating WHOLE FOODS as a method of becoming healthier and losing weight. This, of course, includes Fruits, Vegetables, Lean Proteins, Nuts, Seeds, and small quantities of Whole Grains -preferably sprouted, or gluten free.

We have emphasized how much we like smoothies for breakfast, etc. This, of course, remains our philosophy and our lifestyle. But I often talk to people who tell me that they eat healthy and still can’t lose weight, and they just don’t understand why. Upon asking some more questions on their food choices and lifestyle, I have seen in various instances, that people who are trying to lose weight attach themselves to the Fruits much more than the Vegetables.

Why do we do this, and What’s wrong with it? 

My theory is that when we start cutting out processed foods, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and processed carbs…we initiate a process of detoxification. This process sucks. It can cause sugar cravings, headaches, irritability, etc. Fruits have sugar and therefore help us satisfy these cravings and reduce the symptoms. Plus, they are delicious. The argument of course is that they are whole foods and therefore are perfectly acceptable to eat. But my theory is that if you’re trying to lose weight (and this really only applies to those who are battling with their weight) then it would be wise to increase your greens and reduce your fruit intake.

Case in point – my research has revealed that smoothies are actually healthier for you than juicing. Why? because the process of juicing strains out the insoluble fiber. We definitely need fiber so when we blend our fruits and veggies into a smoothie we retain the fiber plus the vitamins and the nutrients. However, in an article I recently read on the benefits of juicing versus smoothies – I was intrigued by some of the arguments promoting Juicing instead of making smoothies.

The Pros to Juicing included:

• People often use vegetables, including some they might not normally consume, not just the fruits typically used in smoothies.

The Drawbacks to Smoothies included:

• Not usually made with veggies, only with high-sugar fruit.

The Drawbacks to Juicing included:

• If made only with fruit, juices can be loaded with sugars.

This confirmed my suspicions. People naturally tend to have an aversion to vegetables, so when making things such as smoothies – they throw in the fruits and feel good that they are eating healthy, but tend to skimp on the vegetables.

Fruits also make for delicious snacks so its easy to pack some melon, bananas, apples, etc in your lunchbox and snack on that whenever you are hungry or craving sugar. And its definitely better than snacking on junk food or a sweet treat. So if you fall into this category, you are making progress, but may become frustrated when you don’t see the results you were expecting. Especially since replacing the bad stuff with fruits is already a large sacrifice.

My suggestion to those who are really trying to lose weight, is to reevaluate their fruit consumption. Here are some tips to maximize results when trying to eat healthy.

• Eat fruits in the morning – I’ve read a lot on the process of food digestion and food combinations and something I have found interesting is that fruits are better digested in the morning. So I enjoy my fruits in my smoothies and also I like to chop up some apples or pears in my salads, which I usually eat before 1pm.
• Focus on low-sugar fruits at first – When I first starting my NO-SUGAR journey, I was shocked to find that fruits had so much sugar. Even though they are whole foods, fruits still can spike your glycemic levels. The only way to know for sure what kind of spike you get from eating a fruit would be to test your sugar levels an hour after eating the fruit. Most people don’t want to do that…so as a general rule, focus on the fruits that are lower in the glycemic index – Berries, Grapes, Watermelon, sliced apples.  Mangoes, for example, are very high in sugar. In fact, I was getting so skinny at one point that I started using mangoes in my smoothies to aid me in gaining weight healthily instead of with bad foods. Bananas are also very high in sugar. I will confess that 1 banana in a smoothie goes a LONG way. It really makes the smoothie delicious and it is important to enjoy what you eat. So live in moderation, if you enjoy putting a banana in your smoothie, by all means, do it. But don’t eat bananas throughout the day as well.
• Increase your vegetable intake –  Think Green and Pile on the Greens!!!! I increased my vegetable intake by trying to put something green in every meal. Example – add romaine lettuce, kale, watercress, or collard greens (to name a few) in your smoothie in the morning. Eat a salad for lunch and toss the iceberg lettuce; replace it with some dark leafy greens like arugula, spinach, etc. Then add some raw broccoli to your salad and anything else you can think of. Making an omelette? toss some spinach into it. Try some roasted vegetables for dinner. Intimidated by vegetables? Hide them in soups but get your fill.
• Use seeds/raw almonds for snacks – we need good, healthy fats. A great way to incorporate them in our diets is to snack on raw almonds and seeds, instead of snacking on a banana or melon.

So I guess really the point I’m trying to make is that if you’re trying to lose weight and change your eating habits, you have to break away from your comfort zone. Its easy to pick up one healthy habit such as eating fruits instead of a Twix bar – but it is not as easy to really make the changes you need to lose weight.  It can be difficult to work through sugar cravings and the discomforts that come with them, but you need to go through that to move forward. The results are well worth it.

Good luck and well wishes to all!