Eating only or primarily fruit is known as a fruitarian diet. Because fruit tends to be much lower in calories than other main food groups -- grains, dairy and proteins -- following such a diet can help you lose weight. However, there are significant risks involved with limiting your eating plan to a single food group, even in the short term.
Nutrition Facts
Fruits are ideal foods for weight loss because they have a low energy density. That means their fiber and water contents are high, enabling them to fill you up with very few fat grams and calories. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that a cup of diced watermelon has only about 45 calories and 0.5 g fiber. A medium banana has about 105 calories and 3 g fiber, and a medium apple has 95 calories and 4.5 g fiber. A cup of raspberries has just 65 calories and a whopping 8 g fiber.
Health Benefits
Eating more fruit can boost your health in addition to helping you lose weight. According to MyPyramid.gov, having at least a few servings of fruit per day can help cut your risks of kidney stones, stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and bone loss. Additionally, fruits are better sources of vitamins and minerals including potassium, folate and vitamin C than foods in other main groups.
Weight Loss
To lose 1 lb., you must burn or save 3,500 calories. Thus, if you normally eat about 2,000 calories daily but switch to just eating fruit and drop down to 1,000 calories daily, you'll lose about 2 lbs. per week independent of physical activity. If you increase your fruit consumption but eat a balance of other foods as well, you may lose weight more gradually, but you'll be following a more sustainable diet, which could increase your odds of keeping the weight off as time goes on. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that people who lose more than 2 lbs. per week are more likely to regain the weight later.
Risks
Eating so much fruit at the expense of other healthy food groups can be detrimental to your health and result in nutrient deficiencies. Although fruit is rich in a variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals, it contains little protein and fat, both of which are essential components of a balanced diet. Many fruits are also high in sugar and can consequently raise blood sugar levels. CNN.com's physician nutrition specialist, Dr. Melina Jampolis, notes that eating more than three servings of fruit per day may actually be more likely to encourage weight gain than weight loss. Instead of trying to slim down by focusing on fruit, registered dietitian Terese Scollard recommends eating more vegetables, adding healthy fats to your diet, picking foods from every group and exercising regularly.
References
- USDA: Nutrient Data Laboratory
- MayoClinic.com; Energy Density and Weight Loss -- Feel Full on Fewer Calories; January 2011
- MyPyramid.gov: Why Is It Important to Eat Fruit?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Healthy Weight -- Losing Weight; February 2011
- Providence Health & Services; Can a Person Eat Too Much Fruit?; Teresa Scollard; January 2004
- CNN.com; Can Eating Too Much Fruit Keep Me from Losing Weight?; Melina Jampolis; August 2009
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