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I used to compete in fitness, and would have an apple every day, and maybe some other fruit if I was training twice daily. When I stopped competing, I stopped eating fruit out of fear of weight gain, and I figured I didn't need the carbs without the 1+ hours of daily training.

Now, I am struggling with severe fatigue. My work schedule is hectic and I am lucky to get in 6 30 minute workouts a week. Should I consider re-introducing fruit as a pre-workout snack to give me the get up and go I used to have?

Or should I focus on treating my apparent issues with stress and cortisol? If so, what are some of the best ways to do that?

Note* I work for a plant-based supplement company, to access to these types of things is usually quite easy.

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How much carbohydrate are you eating? Are you eating tubers, just not fruit? If you are eating tubers then I doubt there is anything fruit is going to do for you, but if you are VLC then I suspect that it might help you out. Are you fat and diabetic? If not then there is no reason to think that fruit is going to be problematic. – Stabby Dec 19 2011 at 6:29
Yes, have some fruit. You must do your own experiments and see what works for you. Our experience is just that. our experience, not yours. Only you can figure this out for you. Don't fear the fruit - people have been eating it for millions of years (it's very paleo). Just don't go bonkers crazy nutso on it. – Dave S. Dec 19 2011 at 14:21
Just saw this article, which I thought was on point: whole9life.com/2011/11/fructose-foolishness – Tom R. Dec 20 2011 at 18:55
Lol, no I am not fat or diabetic. I do have some insulin issues, but moreso with crashing than high blood sugars. That is why I had been increasing my fats. The fructose is needed when training that hard, but I would rather not have those fluctuations now, as they will only contribute to my stress. – Ashley Dec 22 2011 at 5:44

6 Answers

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I think I developed a fear of fruit because of many posts on paleo hacks bashing fructose. I had cut out fruit from my diet for a few months while ramping up my intake of sweet potatoes as my primary source of carbs but I felt lethargic and exhausted. I realized that I feel much better with fruit and am once again feeling better and loosing weight. I exercise 4 times a week and typically consume a banana or two with some berries first thing in the morning as my pre-workout snack. Experiment and see how you feel.

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Thanks for this. I'm starting what you tried: getting off fruit and moving to tubers. – Wisper Dec 19 2011 at 13:18
I agree we need to be careful of developing a fruit phobia. Unless you are diabetic or overweight and going VLC, a couple of pieces of fruit a day is certainly nothing to worry over. It's an apple. – Tom R. Dec 19 2011 at 16:48
Glad you got over your fear. I am sad that you developed it reading this site. Lots of excess fructose in processed food maybe bad but a couple of bananas is really not a lot of fructose for most people. – Matt Dec 19 2011 at 18:20
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While I have read in sources ranging from Dr. Mercola to Tim Ferriss that fructose inhibits weight loss, my personal experience says otherwise.

When I first went "paleo" (Dr. Cordain/Robb Wolf version) I lost a significant amount of weight and my bodyfat % went into the single digits for the first time in many years. At this point, I was probably eating upwards of 5 servings of fruit per day (bananas, berries, tropical fruits, apples, etc.)

Subsequently, I discovered Mark Sisson's "Primal" approach and begin incorporating higher fat meats, dairy, and other such foods into my diet while restricting fruit and other carbohydrate sources.

My weight rapidly climbed (which I wasn't opposed to as I was also doing a lot of olympic/powerlifting and was getting much stronger), but I found that it kept increasing in spite of stricter and stricter carbohydrate control.

I finally cut out much of the extra fat, primarily butter and dairy, that I had been using liberally and started consuming more starch (potatoes primarily) and fruit (bananas, oranges, apples). The result has been in the past month or so, and even thought it has been the holidays, I have dropped about 5lbs.

I think that the bottom line is that we can't take the advice of this or that expert as dogma. Regardless of what we buy into or think, our body is going to respond in its own particular way, so self-experiment, self-experiment, self-experiment!

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So you switched carbs for fat and gained lean mass? – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 14:54
Yes, but I also gained fat mass as well. – FED at LiveCaveman.com Dec 19 2011 at 16:30
And now you've dropped both? From eating the same number of calories? One might almost suggest that matching calories is largely meaningless and you were overeating the fat :) – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 17:58
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 I don't understand...I thought humans can only create body fat from glucose and pixie dust...? Hand the body some palmitate and surely it won't store it as such. That'd be too...efficient. – Travis Culp♦ Dec 19 2011 at 18:36
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 I have been having the same inclinations as well. I am gaining on high fat despite lower calories. It has always been this way and during the times I "cheat" my metabolism goes into high gear and I shed fat like mad. I think it's very individual and the body will want different things depending on the situation. There is no one answer for everyone. We may all be the same disease, but we are different strains. – Ashley Dec 22 2011 at 5:51
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How could a piece of fruit that is maybe 50 calories make you gain weight?

Your stress and cortisol issues are because you don't eat enough fruit imo

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 It's hard to know if that's a serious answer coming from you cliff. Of course there's no need for fruit at all, but I'd agree if your point is that his stress is related to his concerns about not eating fruit. – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 12:27
no my point is that shes overly stressed because she doesn't eat enough sugar. – cliff Dec 19 2011 at 13:02
If that apple a day was the only carbs then that would likely seem an issue. – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 13:06
Peat and Ray Peat are in a boat. Peat falls out. Who's left?... Okay, Peat and Ray Peat are in a boat... – Dave S. Dec 19 2011 at 14:18
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 That's not true Ashley. Eating sugars is what keeps cortisol in check, sugar=anti-cortisol. If you don't eat sugar your body will release cortisol to stimulate adrenalin to metabolize protein into sugar. – cliff Dec 22 2011 at 12:09
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Fruit may inhibit weight loss, but similarly may inhibit weight gain as well. That's not the issue right now though. Trying to maintain daily workouts with a hectic work schedule is going to be tiring. I'm pretty sure you're going to need to take a week off every so often, in general make sure you're not undereating and try and spend time asleep.

Cordain would sanction fruit a couple of hours before the workout, or any natural sugar source immediately before the activity. It will almost certainly help. And if the concern is weight gain then just keep an eye on it, but the solution is most likely to eat less and exercise less so you can keep up.

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whats the mechanism behind fruit inhibiting weight loss? – cliff Dec 19 2011 at 13:02
All foods inhibit weight loss cliff, you should know that. – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 13:05
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 But you specifically said fruits, why didn't you mention the other foods she eats? I have to disagree as well, plenty of foods that don't inhibit weight loss(greens anyone?). – cliff Dec 19 2011 at 13:18
Well the question was about fruit, and specifically the relationship between fruit and weight loss. And sure, try eating greens, then try not eating, and see if there's any difference in your weight. – AndyM Dec 19 2011 at 13:21
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I am no expert.................but I think that the question of fruit inhibiting weight loss is about the metabolic reaction of sugars (of which many fruits are high in)- namely insulin response.

Insulin, in a very oversimplified explanation, sends the signal for the body to store fat. If you reduce your blood sugar fluctuations and eat fewer things which set it off- then your body will become a more productive at burning fat for energy.

This is why fasting helps with fat loss. If you aren't giving the body any quick burn fuel like carbs then it needs to dip into its fat storage for energy. It doesn't do this unless it is sort of forced to..........like by restricting carbs so that that the only fuel around is well, FAT

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I'm not a scientist so I won't make any bold statements that fruit does/doesn't inhibit weight loss.

As an older person, I will say that I need more recovery time to repair the effects of exercise and build stronger muscle tone. Without fruit, recovery is even slower and more difficult at least for me. I've tried it both ways and I do MUCH better with about 1.5 cups of fruit--such as a whole grapefruit or banana plus a fig or date--per day. Even at 2 cups per day, I still lose weight at a steady, sensible rate.

If I happen to go 2 or more days without fruit, I feel OLD again and instead of stalking around stores fast enough to have people give me surprised looks I'm shuffling around slowly and wishing I'd parked closer.

I'd put fruit second; meat is the main energizer, fruit is the repair/builder and vegetables are a nice complement to meat and fruit. I know the tuber crowd disagrees with that hierarchy but I wonder what they'll say when they get old.

:-))

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