Fruits and Veggies and Weight Loss

[Maggie]

A research team from the University of Alabama have just published the results of a study that has shown that fruits and vegetables may not be the miracle solution for weight loss that we have been lead to believe.

While it still shows that fruits and veggies are hugely important for health, it found that among people who were already eating a healthy amount of daily veggies and fruits, if they boosted their veggie and fruit intake it didn’t increase their rate of weight loss.

Although a healthy number of veggies and fruits is still important every day, it showed that focusing too greatly on them can cause a dieter to forget about other important foods and food groups.

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Fruits and veggies contribute to good health, but may not aid weight loss: study | CTV News

[suzie]

That's a very important point. It's not just about eating fruits and vegetables. It's about eating the RIGHT amount of fruits and vegetables. There is no miracle food or miracle food group. So when you want to diet, you have to concentrate on a very good and healthy balance of all of the types of foods that you need to be healthy. weight loss will follow as your body receives what it should be getting.

[Tiff]

I think that a diet that tells you to eat mostly fruits and vegetables is just as bad as the type that tells you not to eat carbs (or to eat very few of them). The whole focus of a healthy diet is balance.

I think that the majority of a dinner plate should be made up of vegetables, but you should still get your lean protein in there as well as something else like some rice or potatoes to help to fill you up. Make half the plate veggies, a quarter protein and a quarter starch. That way you get balance and still get all of the benefits of lots of veggies.

[Maggie]

I think that a diet that tells you to eat mostly fruits and vegetables is just as bad as the type that tells you not to eat carbs (or to eat very few of them). The whole focus of a healthy diet is balance.

I think that the majority of a dinner plate should be made up of vegetables, but you should still get your lean protein in there as well as something else like some rice or potatoes to help to fill you up. Make half the plate veggies, a quarter protein and a quarter starch. That way you get balance and still get all of the benefits of lots of veggies.

That’s a really good point, Tiff. It’s funny how we pretty much know, deep down, what the healthy balance of foods really is. But for some reason we don’t seem to think that the direct route that makes sense with common sense could possibly be the best way to approach health and weight loss. So we believe all of these extreme strategies that actually make things a lot harder on ourselves. The funny thing is, even though I’m consciously saying this now, soon enough, I’ll hear about a new “best strategy” for weight loss that involves some weird technique, and I’ll believe that, too. At least for a while! What is it with people like me that makes us such suckers?

[Gina]

I have been eating a ton of fruits and veggies in my diet but I still am able to eat lean proteins and whole grains and I am able to get a really balanced diet out of it. I have a very big appetite so i just make sure that I eat what I need of proteins, fats, and other nutrients that I need from non-veggies, and then once I've hit the amounts I need, I just fill up the rest of the way on a tremendous mountain of vegetables each day. I'm losing weight pretty fast!

[Maggie]

I have been eating a ton of fruits and veggies in my diet but I still am able to eat lean proteins and whole grains and I am able to get a really balanced diet out of it. I have a very big appetite so i just make sure that I eat what I need of proteins, fats, and other nutrients that I need from non-veggies, and then once I've hit the amounts I need, I just fill up the rest of the way on a tremendous mountain of vegetables each day. I'm losing weight pretty fast!

You must be really good at it. I guess the key is in knowing what you're doing and getting variety - which most of us don't do.

[1000kw]

I just don’t think that you can go wrong with eating lots of fruits and veggies. The key is just to remember that they’re not the only foods that are important to your diet. So just make sure that there are other foods on your plate all the time, even if you do make the majority of them vegetables and even if you have fruit for your breakfast and dessert.

This is still the best way to be able to get lots of nutrition and to still lose weight at the same time.