ExRx.net

Sooo.... I decided to cut in january, but I'm not really cutting in the traditional sense.

I've just given up certain carbs (wheat, potato and processed stuff, etc) but I'm not a full-on Paleo 'cos I still eat dairy.
Still, most of the sugar I get is from fruit.

I weigh about 74.5kg and am 5'10'' 36 yrs so, not particularly over weight, but want to cut BF to see abbs. My BMI is about 23.57, so okay but getting closer to overweight...but then...muscle weighs more than fat

I need to know:

How much fruit is too much if I want to avoid too much sugar? (Which is really the whole point of my diet. I think I've been getting too much sugar, 'cos I'm thin but have a gut )

What should I eat before a workout? Is a banana okay?




I'm guessing just protein after, 'cos I've already got a store of fat 'round me middle.

You're never going to get too much sugar from fruit, except maybe from dates. You should have two bananas.

Wow! Easy as that! Thanks, man. I guess I should still limit it to two a day though. I get confused about what fruit has loads of sugar 'cos of all the info and opinion out there.

So two before. Cool. What sort of thing should I shoot for after my workout? Or should I just stick to protein?

Just real meat, fruit, and veggies every meal. I'm sure someone else will be along to more exactly answer your question, but nobody ever failed at anything because they ate too many bananas. I try to get three or five in a day, a pound of strawberries, lots of apples, pears, and nectarines, and fresh berries in my yogurt. If you can succeed at staying away from processed and restaurant food you shouldn't need to worry about the real food you're eating.

wow. Okay, cool.

High intake of fructose is a somewhat consern when cutting down bodyfat. Fructose is known to be turning into fat faster than glucose for example. I'm little on the middle on fruit intake. I like to limit fruit intake to 2 whole fruits when I'm lower on carbs, but still I think fruit intake isn't the first thing to keep an eye on when dieting. More like one of the last ways to lower carb intake. And then there are fruits higher in carbs than others. Like bananas. Fruits are still important for vitamin C, some minerals/acids and fiber. So don't cut them out. Then again, most fruits give all that you need in two or less whole fruits, so there's not much reason to consume more than that.

If you want only to lose fat and not gain strength or anything, just protein before a workout is good. A banana won't destroy the results of the workout or anything like that, but when no carbs are eaten pre-workout, will body burn mostly fat and glucose storages. Still, there are benefits from eating carbs pre-workout, even when talking about fat loss. So my advice is to test it yourself. Which method produces more results that you want?

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Prove the impossible!

eat as much fruit as you want. Obviously if you're eating well into the double figures of bits of fruit and trying to lose weight you should tone it down a bit, but generally speaking you can eat as much of it as you like. You'd have to have a serious fruit addiction to get fat from fruit.

Remember there's more to food than just carbs, protein and fats. Fruits have loads of nutrients which will keep you fit and healthy.

I always gag when I see recommendations to limit fruit. The problem isn't fruit, it's fructose. Fruit actually contains very little fructose. The problem comes from processed crap with a ton of added fructose which you should definitely avoid, but somewhere down the line the advice to avoid large quantities of fructose turned into "avoid fruit" which is just terrible.

It's one of my biggest nutritional pet hates; people saying you should limit fruit. Fools.

and it begins! I very much appreciate all the advice, but we've already seen a difference of opinion!

Oh well. I'll go with 2 bananas half hour before my workout ('cos I did lack energy in my last one when I only had about 1).

After my workout I'll have my whey isolate. Grab meat and veg a bit after. I'm basically looking to cut but keep muscle mass which is quite difficult, I think.

Cheers guys.

BTW, I don't drink fruit juice or squash or anything. Just water, tea and semi-skim milk.

Love it!

Of course, PNG bananas are way better for you than Latin American, but you may not be fortunate enough to have them. I rarely eat bananas any more when I'm in the US--they taste like styrofoam to me now. Maybe the real difference is freshness, not country of origin.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

damn banana snob

That is beautifully stated



why can't we leave good enough alone!
I appreciate what Dub adds here, but jimminy xmas, it doesn't always have to be a freakin universtiy course.

Simple works.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

funny story about too much bananas:

i heard a story of a weight watchers member. in the weight watchers program bananas have zero points. so, theoretically you could eat infinite bananas and still lose weight with the WW system. so there was a girl who did everything right with counting the points, but she couldn't lose weight until the mentors find out that SHE EATS TEN BANANAS A DAY.

so, don't eat too much bananas.

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

Hey guys. Quick update:

I now weigh 70.6 kg and have a BMI of 22.33. Paleo is hard, but seems to be working. The difficulty is having to constantly come up with new food ideas which is quite tough. Oh, that and feeling like you're missing out when people around are eating cakes etc

Still can't really see my abs, though. That's probably way off yet.

I'm sticking to 2 bananas a day, btw

Good job! It's often tough to stick with a plan, but it'll be worth it when you reach your goal.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan