Fruit and fat

nobodythere

I'm trying to burn some fat, and instead of snacking on chocolate and other crap I've started eating fruit. I never liked fruit but I'm developing a taste for it slowly, so far it's only grapes and mandarins.

I see from nutritional information though that grapes and mandarins are high in sugar. Will this affect my attempts to lose weight? Or is this not the same kind of sugar that is included in chocolatey crap? What else can I snack on?

Can anyone tell me if it's true that the reason sugar carbs tend to be converted to fat is because complex carbohydates are more difficult for your body to break down and therefore are less likely to be used as energy? My confusion about nutrition tends to come down to my lack of understanding of biology at this stage


I'm beginning to think that sugar is a drug. I get really depressed for no reason after eating chocolate (not just out of guilt of eating it) and can't stop going on periodic binges.

But oh well, what can I do. If junkies had a drug shop on every corner I'm sure they'd find it as hard to quit as I do :rolleyes:

amazingemmet

the sugar you gain in fruit is notihng compares to a chocolate bar as one it'll contian no hydorgenated oils good thing, but fruit also contains a decent amount of vitamins,minerals and fibre. Plus i've never heard of anyone getting fat from eating too much fruit.

yomchi

grasshopa wrote:

I'm trying to burn some fat, and instead of snacking on chocolate and other crap I've started eating fruit. I never liked fruit but I'm developing a taste for it slowly, so far it's only grapes and mandarins.

I see from nutritional information though that grapes and mandarins are high in sugar. Will this affect my attempts to lose weight? Or is this not the same kind of sugar that is included in chocolatey crap? What else can I snack on?

Can anyone tell me if it's true that the reason sugar carbs tend to be converted to fat is because complex carbohydates are more difficult for your body to break down and therefore are less likely to be used as energy? My confusion about nutrition tends to come down to my lack of understanding of biology at this stage


I'm beginning to think that sugar is a drug. I get really depressed for no reason after eating chocolate (not just out of guilt of eating it) and can't stop going on periodic binges.

But oh well, what can I do. If junkies had a drug shop on every corner I'm sure they'd find it as hard to quit as I do :rolleyes:

Simple sugars like fructose which exists in fruit are rapidly digested. When this happens you get that small boost of energy from the sugar as your blood sugars rise, then insulin is secreted to balance out the sugar in your blood. Strict dieters and crash diet fad heads will say this is a bad thing when you are trying to loose weight, as insulin is technically an anobolic hormone, but IMO this outlook is taking it to the extreme!
Bear in mind everything should be taken in moderation and fruit should be part of a clean balanced diet.
The slower digested carbs or complex carbs come from the likes of pastas, bread, rice, potatoes and starchy type foods.
The thing with chocolate is that it some times contains trans fats - to be avoided at all costs! and other nasty ingredients.

Hope this helps

nobodythere

Aye but I did read somewhere that hibernating animals eat lots of sugary fruits so that they can retain fat to use for hibernation.

Jon, I don't understand this whole anabolic hormone stuff. Where did you learn about this out of curiousity?

Faith

Chocolate and sweets contain "empty calories"- they're high in sugar and fat, but have little to no nutritional value. When you eat them, you get a temporary sugar high and then a major crash. Often, you're hungry again very quickly. They're very difficult for your body to break down, so this leaves you tired.

Fruit is much better for you as it provides nutritional value. However, certain fruits are higher in calorie content than others, which may slow down your weight loss. Fruit contains a natural sugar called fructose which is much better than the sugar in chocolate.

It's been a while since I studied food biology but I *think* complex carbohydrates are good because they take longer to break down and therefore provide slow releasing energy, like with porridge.

As for what you can snack on, stay away from anything with a high sugar content, obviously. Nuts are good to keep energy levels up, but only in very small amounts because they're very fattening.

You get depressed after eating food with a high sugar content because it leaves you with a brief sugar rush and a bad comedown. Your body literally does become depressed.

yomchi

grasshopa wrote:

Aye but I did read somewhere that hibernating animals eat lots of sugary fruits so that they can retain fat to use for hibernation.

Jon, I don't understand this whole anabolic hormone stuff. Where did you learn about this out of curiousity?

Insulin is a hormone, it akso has anabolic characteristics, it also induces fat cells from the liver into the system.
Anabolic can be defined as the phase of metabolism in which simple substances are synthesized into the complex materials of living tissue. In terms of bodybuilding, something that is "anabolic" in nature said to promote the growth of muscle tissue

I learned about it because I was interested in it.

nobodythere

Jon wrote:

I learned about it because I was interested in it.

I meant where, not how I'm one of those naturally curious people who will study something I'm interested in, and would say that I have a basic grasp of nutrition, but I've found that studying nutrition can be frustrating because every second website has conflicting information with the first, some websites telling you things that are the exact opposite of others, words and terms popping up that have never been mentioned on other sites etc.

yomchi

grasshopa wrote:

I meant where, not how I'm one of those naturally curious people who will study something I'm interested in, and would say that I have a basic grasp of nutrition, but I've found that studying nutrition can be frustrating because every second website has conflicting information with the first, some websites telling you things that are the exact opposite of others, words and terms popping up that have never been mentioned on other sites etc.

I learned it through books, magazines, web sites, and nutrition courses. I know a good few body builders who know thier stuff also.
The problem with web sites is that they can't be factually proofed. I could start a web site and say this and that about how good certain cars are and how bad certain cars are... truth is I know Jack about any car