vegetables vs. fruits question...

[sadie147]

Been doing this long enough you'd think i'd know by now....

but when you are in maintenance, is having a good part of your carbs come from fruits, as good as having them come fromveggies? I realize there are different fruits and veggies with different nutrients etc..but lately i've really gone off alot of veggies, but am craving fruit. I'm having an apple every day, and blueberries, both of which are low glycemic and full of nutrients, i'm staying within my carb allowance as well.

i do still eat my veggies, jsut not as many as i did in the past..i'm just 'off' them at the moment. I've never been a huge veggie person anyway, and the ones I do eat have mostly been salad greens, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash etc.

any thoughts?

I've actually been trying to replace alot of my grain carbs with fruit carbs as well lately to keep my counts down...

[mitzimarie]

Hi, Jen

I am in Pre-Maintenance now, but will soon be in Maintenance. I've been re-reading parts of DANDR, and it says that in any phase of Atkins (including Maintenance), most of our net carbs should be net veggie carbs. To me, "most" means more than half... so I strive for a minimum of half my carbs plus one (half + one = most) to be net veggie carbs. I usually get way more than that. I was definitely NOT a veggie eater pre-Atkins.

I think that fruit affects each of us in different ways. I know that I will probably never have a lot of fruit in my menu. While going up the rungs, I found that even berries stalled me, and other fuits can make me hungry/have cravings. I will probably do berries and grapefuit in moderation, but I plan on keeping veggies as my main source of carbs.

If fruit doesn't cause this problem for you, go ahead and have it... but not at the expense of veggies. Fruit is good for you, but I think that it is probably a good idea to keep at least half of your carbs come from veggies.

What are your thoughts? How is it working for you? I'd be curious to hear from those who have foregone veggies to add more fruit while in maintenance. Not that I plan on ever doing that... it's just too dangerous for me.

[sadie147]

I don't actually have issues with fruit at all, in maintenanace anyway. didn't eat much of it durning my weight loss phase though, except berries. I now eat apples daily, as well as grapfruit, pears, berries, cantalope and oranges. So far no cravings or issues. Though i am able to take my carbs up to 100 net a day without any issues as well...as long as they are 'good' carbs.

One thing is i would never eat a fruit on it's own...berries/cantalope/grapefruit are with yogurt, apples with peanut butter, or i have my fruit right after a meal, never on an empty stomach...i also wouldn't have more than 2 servings a day..

Thanks for your input, i was curious to know what others thoughts were on veggies vs fruits as far as nutrients go, and how others handle it...i know in food pyramids etc (not that they're right by any means LOL) fruits and veggies are usually lumped together.

What i find most interesting is how i was NEVER a fruit person before..and now i love it! I find grapefruit now so sweet and i eat it on it's own, and in the past used to cover it with sugar to be able to get it down.

I did become a veggie person for a while..but I've gone off them again. i still do eat more veggies now than i did 4 yrs ago..

[sillygirl]

Jen - I'm into those small red delicious apples right now, but I never eat them daily, maybe 2x weekly. I am enjoying some higher starchy veggies these days and I even had a small yam last night (it was gooooooood!). My personal belief is not more than one serving of things like that per day!

My understanding is the same as Mitzi, that our carbs should mostly come from veggies.

[sallyseachange]

I wonder if it's the season!? I've got a sudden yen for more fruit at the moment... and I've never been a real "fruit" person. I find myself eating chopped apple and peach (last ones of the season now) in my homemade (LC) muesli. Also small portions of homemade fruit salad now and again. Usually add cream to these to help with blood sugar swings.

So far, I find I'm able to cope with the extra carbs... fingers crossed. Still eat lots and lots of veggies though.
I think you can get away with quite a few more carbs if they are from fruits and veggies (particularly veggies).

[sillygirl]

Sally, feel like sharing your homemade LC museli recipe????

[sallyseachange]

Sure Silly... it's more of a fake cold cereal really, than muesli, but it hits the spot when I don't want a very low carb breakfast of eggs etc.

1 tablespoon oats (uncooked)
2 tablespoons chopped mixed nuts
about a quarter of a fruit chopped. I use apple, peach, strawberries usually and sometimes mix them... depends on what I have and what's in season. I usually only peel the peach.
Tiny tiny pinch of salt... just a few grains, not to make it salty, simply to give a slight depth to the sweetness.

I add a couple of heaped teaspoons of thick cream which I water down with very cold water to make a sort of LC milk.
Splenda or saccharin to taste.

That's it. Carbs dependent on your quantities really.

That doesn't make very much... but I usually have a snack mid morning, later on. If your carb tolerance allows, you can up the quantities. I reckon it's a pretty healthy breakfast.

[sillygirl]

Gosh, how easy is that to make? Thanks, I'm going to try it. I try to eat yogurt daily and I bet this would be good mixed in with that.

[sallyseachange]

I agree Silly... I keep meaning to try it with Greek yogurt.

[Hudson]

It should be eat your Vegetables and Fruits, but for some reason we have "fruits and vegetables". Yea enjoy your fruit but remember the absolute best carbs are green and leafy aka spinach and broccolli.

I've been on an apple/PB kick for the last few weeks w/o any problems as well.