You will likely reduce your calories and drop pounds on a fruit-only diet, but such a diet is not sustainable and weight loss may not last once you go back to eating normally. In addition, you could end up with nutrient deficiencies. Diets that limit you to only one type of food do not provide the full range of nutrients your body needs.
Low-Density and High-Density Foods
An important factor in a diet is a food's ratio of calories to nutrients, based on weight. High-density foods contain 4 to 9 calories per gram and medium-density foods contain 1.5 to 4 calories per gram. Fruit, with 0 to 1.5 calories per gram, is low density. Fruit is high in fiber and water and low in fat. Both fruits and vegetables are nutrient-rich and are the mainstay of healthy diets that include whole grains, meat and dairy products in a balance that provides high, medium and low-density foods.
Fruit and Weight Loss
The only way to lose weight is to expend more calories than you consume. You can do this through a combination of diet and exercise or either one. To lose one pound in a week, you need to expend 3,500 calories beyond what you usually do. You can do that by reducing your calorie intake by 500 calories a day or by exercising to use up 500 more calories a day than usual. Eating fruit can help you reach your target weight. Because it has a lot of fiber, it will make you feel full with fewer calories. And you can eat plenty of fruit and stay within a reduced calorie allowance.
Calculating Weight Loss
To calculate the number of calories you need to lose weight, first find the number you need to maintain your current weight. Multiply your weight by 15 if you are moderately active and 10 if you are not. This will give you your weight maintenance calories. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories. Alternatively, multiply your target weight by 15 or 10 to determine the calories you would need to maintain that weight and reduce your calorie intake/expenditure to that amount. For every pound you lose each week you must subtract 500 calories from your intake or make up for what you don't subtract in equivalent exercise activity.
A Fruit-Only Diet
Because fruit is low-calorie, you could lose several pounds each week on a fruit-only diet. For example, you can eat a breakfast of 1 ½ c. of grapes for only 60 calories, or 1 c. of raspberries -- which also contains 9 g of fiber. Or you could have both -- 2 ½ c. of fruit for 120 calories and 10 g of fiber.
Downside of a Fruit-Only Diet
Despite the nutritive value of fruit, which provides plenty of vitamin C and beta carotene, fruit alone cannot provide all the nutrients your body needs to thrive, such as protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, potassium and folate. A healthy diet includes vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meat and fish, in addition to fruit. If you are a moderately active man or woman under age 50, your fruit intake should be about 2 c. in combination with the other food groups.
References
- American Dietetic Association: Staying Away From Fad Diets
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Can Eating Fruits and Vegetables Help People to Manage Weight?
- Harvard Health Publications -- Harvard Medical School: Calorie Counting Made Easy
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Fruits and Veggies Matter -- Fruit of the Month: Grapes
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Fruits and Veggies Matter -- Fruit of the Month: Berries
- Fruits and Veggies Matter: How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Need?
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