Reducing your consumption of sugar and processed foods is a strategy to help you lose weight. Not only are sugar-rich foods highly processed, like candies, cookies, pies, pastries, chocolate bars and ice creams, but they can be addictive and easy to overeat. Moreover, they contain few nutrients and do not nourish your body. Swapping these processed sugars for natural sugars, like those found in fruits, can help you lose weight more easily.
Energy Density
The sugars found in fruits are not really different from table sugar or other sweeteners. Fruits contain a mixture of fructose, glucose and sucrose, which are also present in most sweeteners and sugar-containing foods. However, fruits could help you lose weight by allowing you to satisfy your sweet tooth for fewer calories and more fiber. A serving of fruit contains between 50 and 100 calories, while other sweets and desserts usually contain at least 200 to 300 calories per serving. The high water and fiber content of fruits also make them more satiating by making them occupy a lot of room in your stomach.
Choose Whole Fruits
All fruits constitute healthier options when compared to processed foods, with the exception of fruit juices, dried fruits and canned fruits. Not only are these more likely to contain added sugars, they also lose most of their fiber during their processing, which makes them less satiating and easy to overeat. Stick to whole fruits, free of added sugars, whether fresh or frozen. Pick small fruits, because large fruits can pack more calories and sugar compared to smaller ones. Choose the smallest apples, bananas or pears, or go for plums, clementines, kiwifruits and berries.
Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
If you eliminate all sugars from your diet to lose weight, having a few servings of fruits in your diet will help you satisfy your sweet tooth and prevent you from feeling deprived. Avoid eating large amounts of fruits at once, and limit yourself to one to two servings a day to avoid going overboard. For example, you could have one or two plums for your snack, add a small handful of berries to your yogurt or enjoy a small cup of melon balls for dessert.
Combine Fruits With Protein
To keep your cravings away and maintain high energy levels while trying to lose weight, keep your blood sugar level as stable as possible. Eating fruit on its own can spike your blood sugar level, especially if you eat a large amount. To prevent destabilizing your blood sugar level and to avoid cravings a few hours after you eat fruit, accompany your serving of fruits with a small amount of protein. Protein will help you feel fuller and will stabilize your blood sugars. For example, you can combine protein from a small serving of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheese, nuts or nut butter with your controlled serving of fruit.
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