The Sweet Truth about Fruits

Even after having weight loss surgery, to successfully lose weight and keep it off you need to make permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle. This means starting to incorporate healthier foods into your dietary plan, such as lean proteins, leafy greens and hearty vegetables, and of course, fruits.

Chances are that when it comes to the idea of eating for weight loss, fruits and vegetables are the first thing to come to mind. After all, they are the go-to health foods. But there are some fruits and vegetables that are healthier than others.

The Benefits of Produce

Fruits and vegetables pack a substantial benefit for any healthy diet. They are typically low in calorie and are nutrient dense, meaning that you get a lot of nutritional bang for every bite. This is great for helping with your weight loss program, as you want to minimize your caloric intake without cutting down too much on your nutrient intake. The vitamins, antioxidants and fiber boost that you can get through eating healthy produce can help strengthen your immune system, improve your energy levels and even help you to sleep better at night.

With benefits like this, you may be tempted to drop whatever you are doing and charge the fruit aisle of your local grocery store. But before you do that, you will want to check with your weight loss doctor about what fruits are ideal after weight loss surgery, and which may be better left out of your diet altogether. This is because in addition to all of those healthy nutrients, fruits are also rich in sugar and carbohydrates, and some are way higher in calories than you may originally guess.

Fruits like berries and melons pack a huge nutritional boost, but many weight loss experts recommend researching portion size and eating any of these go-to fruits in moderation so that you don’t accidently overdo it. Managing your sugar consumption is especially important after weight loss surgery, when you have to pay extra close attention to where your limited caloric intake is coming from daily.

Before you make any changes to your eating habits, start by having a conversation with your weight loss surgeon. If you are really excited to have fruit every day, chances are you can incorporate that into a balanced diet—but just like with anything else, it is all in moderation.