Fruits Are Not ALL Created Equal

As with any new diet everything always takes some tweaking!  This is week 3 in my New Year New You challenge group and my challengers are asking some totally amazing questions!  I LOVE that I get to use my knowledge and help them make better food choices on a daily basis!  I am seeing some amazing transformations in the works each and every day.  I mean, these ladies and gentleman truly want to change their bodies!  They are getting up before work, school or the rest of their families to push play, plan out their meals and drink their Shakeology!  So naturally they are seeing the fruits of their labors!  But, at the same time we are also reaching a point where we need to fine tune a few things!  One of those things being their diets!  Losing weight is not an easy thing.  At the beginning the weight just comes off but then it gets tough and we have to strip it down and really watch what we are eating and how much of each food group!  Everyone says eat your fruits and veggies each day but they never tell you how many fruits and how many veggies to eat each day.  Oh and they certainly don't tell you that some fruits are better than others! 

So that's where I come into play!  Today I am going to tell you what fruits are the best ones to eat and why!!  Sugar plays a big part in our weight loss.  Certain fruits contain more sugar than others and when trying to lose weight your daily sugar intake counts.  I use my fitness pal to track what I eat each day to make sure that I am getting my daily recommended dose of vitamins, proteins, carbs and healthy sugars.  I noticed that I was consistently going over in sugar and it was because I was eating a lot of fruit and not enough veggies.  So I made some changes and added in a veggie for my afternoon snack, usually 1 cup of baby carrots and 1 tbsp skinny hummus! 

If you are trying to cut back and watch your sugar here are the best and worst fruits to eat!

Fruits with least sugar:
Berries are the lowest in sugar and the highest in antioxidants and other nutrients. 
For breakfast each morning I have 1/2 cup oatmeal, 2 cupped handfuls of blueberries, 1 tbsp flaxseed and wheat germ, 1/2 cup almond milk mixed with 1/2 scoop protein powder! 

The lowest fruits are:

• Lemons and limes
• Rhubarb
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Cranberries

Low to medium sugar:

• Strawberries
• Melon
• Papaya
• Watermelon
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Blueberries
• Cantaloupe
• Honeydew
• apples
• Apricots
• Grapefruit

Fruits high in sugar:

• Plums
• Oranges
• Kiwi
• Pears
• Pineapple

Fruits very high in sugar:

• Tangerines
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Pomegranates
• Mango's
• Figs
• Bananas
• all dried fruits!

And lastly dried fruit is by far the absolute highest in sugar!  Cranberries and blueberries would be lower but they add a lot of sugar to combat the tartness!  I do keep dried fruit in my house but I only use it in emergencies, for instance when I'm all out of fruit and I need something to put in my oatmeal! 

Knowing what to eat and when can be very difficult but know that you don't have to go at it alone!  Join my team and let me coach you through this process!  I know that together we can sort through the millions of diets and do's and don'ts and come up with a strategy that is unique to you.  A strategy that will work each and every day and that won't feel like work.  It's important that you do not feel like you are starving or denying yourself of a little treat every now and then!  Most importantly you need to wake up each and every day feeling refreshed and energized!  To do that you need to take care of the body that God gave you! 

Today is your day!  Take that leap of faith and let me coach you to the NEW YOU!!!