all right, we can't be in denial about it -- there is no sense in never eating another piece of fruit. dr. atkins and any other low-carb advocate would never recommend that. i see that many of you stick to berries, but what about the phrase, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? there are reasons for such expressions...we need the vitamins/minerals in fruits!

so, what do you all do for fruit? i certainly avoid fruit juices, but i love tangerines, apples, peaches, grapes, plums, and, of course, all types of berries. i eat them with no regret, BUT, i always eat them alone. generally speaking, i eat them in the morning between breakfast and lunch, to maximize their benefits and to keep from overdoing the carbs all at once...which is basically how i stick to the WOL.

I eat fruit as a snack between meals or for some extra carbs before a workout.

>>...we need the vitamins/minerals in fruits!

Exactly, which is why even in the early stages of weight loss, you can have tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, avocados and olives. These are fruit, both botanically and nutritionally. They're only considered veggies because they're not blatantly sweet. There's no vitamin or mineral in sweet fruit that can't be had elsewhere. In fact, IMHO, sweet fruit isn't impressive at all for nutrition. A medium apple contains 13% RDA of vitamin C and less than 4% of the other "nutrition facts" nutrients. Almost any vegetable has a far more impressive nutrition profile. Even the almighty orange isn't much of a superstar: one red bell pepper has four times the vitamin C as an orange.

However, you're correct that sweet fruit can be added back into your eating gradually, as tolerable to you. I can handle half an apple or pear, a little wee box of raisins, an apricot, or a plum here and there. Berries, of course, are a staple.

I can't speak for maintenance levels but I know fruits spike my appetite(from Insulin surge I expect more then sugars)

I was on less strict Curves 6week diet. They had a lot of fruit -grapes, apples grapefruit. I could only eat at night-If I ate it in am I binged all day.

Well I'm a 14 month low carb'r 7 of them maintainance

I introduced fruits according to the book, berries first early on OWL, then over time I added in others, melons, pears, apples, oranges, gratefruit,even bananas.

However, I never eat the whole thing at one go, I have 1/2 of each, that is considered a serving Banana I eat only 1/3 of.

Since about 1/2 way through OWL I have eaten 3 servings a day with no effects at all
Fruit is the first thing in my mouth every morning
and I would'nt trade it for nothing

YES we need fruit!!!

As with anything, it has to be controlled, thats all
Kathy

I love fruit! Every morning with my breakfast yogurt I either have some strawberries, or if I'm feeling ambitious I cook strawberries and rhubarb with Splenda ahead of time and have a couple of spoonfuls on my yogurt.

For snacks or dessert I like cantaloupe, an apricot, half a peach, or some pineapple. I know pineapple is one of the fruits we're supposed to avoid but I love it so much. Besides if I'm going to have some sugar, better pineapple than cake or pie!

On occasion I'll have a few slices of apple or half an orange but I was never that into apple or orange so I don't miss it that much. Still haven't had any banana for the same reason. I never ate bananas even before lc.

I indulge way more in sweet vegetables, mainly onion, red bell pepper, and tomato. I cook a lot and it was a thrill when I could stop being so parsimonious with the onion in my cooking.

Hi

I just can't wait for the seasonal fruit to come back in, and that wonderful couple of weeks of fresh peaches! I have to be careful, though-- I could definitely OD on peaches!

M

I can't wait for maintenance to add some fruit back in. I'm not doing it now though because it really causes cravings for me. Once in maintenance I think I'll be fine with the occasional clementine, fresh pineapple, melon or berries though.

One thing that helps is to have some protien with the fruit, I eat cheese with an apple most times, Berries I have in yogurt/cottage cheese/ or porridge.

If it's a craving thing, I don't think the different stages make much difference, put try the protien with it.

Cheers Kathy

Hm. Cheese and apples sounds pretty good, Kathy! I'll try it!

M

I occasionally will have a slice of fried plantain. I mean really, how can anybody have black beans without a side of plantains.

Jenn

I love fruit, too, but I don't understand why you would "eat them alone to maximize the benefits." What benefits? I'm on CALP, and I only eat my fruit with a meal that includes protein and vegies. I always wondered why I was hungry an hour after eating an apple, and the answer is that insulin surge after eating fruit. As my goal is to control insulin resistance and insulin release, I agree with combining fruit and protein.
Happy spring!
E

I had troubles with non-berry fruit causing cravings during OWL- so I gave it a miss as a regular part of my weight loss diet.

Since going up to maintence level carbs (from 50g CCL to 100g ACE) I have been able to start eating fruit again which is GREAT. I eat rockmelon (my favourite), honeydew, peaches, apricots (incl tinned). I avoid apples, bananas, oranges etc becuase I am not very good at eating half of thiings, or end up with a fridge full of half eaten glad wraped apples which is just annoying.

I do need to take it easy on fruit becuase I find it easy to passively overconsume - although I eat grains etc I find them much more self-limiting.

I think it is true that sweet fruit isn't neccessary for vitamins etc. However it is true that nutritional research shows that the number one thing you can do to improve your health is EAT MORE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES - and although most low-carber eat a lot of vegies anway, I think it is easier to ditch the multivitamin if you eat lots of vegies and some fruit!