Does only eating fruit make you lose weight

In this article I will explain everything you need to know about eating only fruits and vegetables and clarify can you only eat fruits to lose weight?

You can only eat fruits to lose weight because fruits are relatively low energy density foods, with a high fiber and water content which limit energy intake. Weight loss is triggered by a caloric deficit, therefore eating only fruits can lead to a negative energy balance in the short term.

However, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. And if something works for 4 weeks, it doesn’t mean it will work for the long-term.

How Much Weight Can You Lose Eating Fruits And Vegetables Only?

You can lose 1-3 pounds per week by eating fruits and vegetables only because they contribute to a reduced total energy intake, which is triggering weight loss. Fruits and vegetables provide prolong satiety, modulation in gut ecology, and essential micronutrients.

But fruits have a lot of sugar. Isn’t sugar bad for you?

It is well known that high sugar diets are one of the leading causes of obesity.

And, paradoxically, fruits have a high amount of simple sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.) but have been proven to attenuate obesity and obesity-related diseases (source). Which is contradictory.

So why eating fruits and veg, despite having a high amount of sugar, leads to weight loss? It’s simply because of the fiber, water, and mineral content.

High water and fiber content in fruits and veggies give several benefits:

The decrease in total energy intake. Fruits and veggies are considered low-energy-dense foods.

This means they provide a lower amount of energy per gram of food, compared with other, regular staple foods.

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Provide prolonged satiety. In other words, you can only eat so many fruits, until you’re full. Satiety is a process that regulates the appetite and hunger signals.

And food that is high on fiber leads to an extended satiety state. You are fuller for longer, so to speak.

High micronutrient content. Micronutrients are essential for the human body to function properly. And some minerals like zinc, iron, and calcium play a role in adipogenesis. Also, the lack of vitamins A, E, and C are negatively associated with fat storage.

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Gut Microbial Ecology. It’s not a secret that the gut is the second brain of the body. It has approximately 100 million neurons, it secretes most of the neurotransmitters (95% of serotonin, 50% of dopamine, and a big part of melatonin). The enteric nervous system also is affected by our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and vice versa (source).

So diet rich in fruits and veggies that are enriched in dietary fiber, polyphenols, phyla Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria rapidly influence the gut ecosystem with significant benefits on the whole body. It’s a “full-contact experience”.

So does it means we should all eat just fruits and expect to get jaw-dropping results? No really. Eating only fruits for a week or month is totally different than just eating fruits for a year.

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What Will Happen If I Eat Only Fruits For A Week?

If you only eat fruits for a week it can significantly improve your energy levels, digestion, and bowel movements. Whole, fresh fruits, depending on their type, has anti-obesity effects, therefore high consumption for 7 days is unlikely to contribute to weight gain.

So eating fruits for a week or month can not only improve your body composition and burn fat but also help you with a better mood and motivation.

Fruits and veggies positively change the gut ecosystem which makes changes in emotional and mental health.

But what if we gonna eat only fruits for longer than a month?

Apart from essential nutrients, fruits fail to deliver the critical proteins that our body needs. Apart from fiber, water, and all the good stuff, we also need proteins on a daily basis for almost all biological processes, including protein synthesis, neurotransmitter synthesis, and hormonal synthesis (source).

In other words, they are critical. And with a minimum amount of proteins in the fruits, it makes it impossible to eat just fruits and be healthy.

That’s why one week or one month experiment of just eating fruits can be beneficial, but any longer period of time can have more adverse reactions.

It’s like taking antibiotics for a week to treat acne or skin infection. You won’t see any major side effects from one week of treatment.

But if you take antibiotics for a year, it can have a devastating effect.

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Can You Lose Weight By Only Eating Fruit And Veg?

You can lose weight by eating only fruits and veg because they are a rich source of fiber and water, therefore leads to decreased total calorie intake. Fruits and veg stimulate intestinal satiety hormones, delay gastric emptying, and with high mineral content, they lower adipogenesis.

But any weight loss is driven by caloric deficit. This means you can still eat whole foods and meats, together with fruits and veggies, and still lose weight.

If we gonna go a step further, a plant-based diet tells you to just eat plants, fruits, and veggies. Carnivore’s diet tells you to just eat meat and animal products. The Paleo diet tells you just to eat whole foods. A ketogenic diet tells you to only eat high-fat foods (source).

Seemingly so different. However, all of those diets are associated with weight loss, low rates of obesity, metabolic problems, and CVD problems.

So it’s not the lack of specific food items that makes them work. It’s the low food intake in general.

As long as you eat less food, your weight will do down.

Regardless if you eat bananas, eggs, or almonds. A caloric deficit is what triggers weight loss. So your goal should to on how to eat less food in total, rather than can I only eat fruits and veg to lose weight.

One trick that you can start doing today to give you huge results is slowing down with your meals.

Eating slowly helps with increasing the satiety of foods, by stretching the time of consumption.

And, because it takes around 20 minutes for satiety signals to register that you eat, by eating slowly you will end up being full with less food.

Consciously waiting (even timing yourself) will make you feel fuller, with eating less food.

Which is a good place to start eating less. So this way you don’t need to abandon all your favorite foods in favor of fat loss.

To find out more about eating slowly, check out my article where I teach step-by-step how you can start intermittent fasting without feeling hungry.

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In Conclusion

• Eating only fruits and vegetables for a week or months to lose weight is not a bad idea.

• It will help you kick start some positive changes, make you feel better, improve digestion, and lower stress levels.

• It will also improve the immune system by flooding you will all the essential vitamins and minerals.

However, in the long term, just eating fruits and veggies is not the best move. People who forget to implement other critical nutrients in their diet, like proteins, quickly notice that the energy can go down, muscle mass decreases, and overall wellbeing goes from feeling fine to feeling progressively worse.

Related Questions

If I Eat Only Fruits For A Week How Much Weight Will I Lose?

If you only eat fruits for a week, you can lose 1-3 pounds because fruits have high satiety properties, therefore can limit the total calorie intake. Fruits contain a large amount of water and a relatively high amount of fiber which lowers the amount of energy per unit.

Will You Lose Weight If You Only Eat Fruit For A Week?

You will lose weight if you only eat fruits for a week because fruits have a high amount of water and fiber content which helps with satiety. Foods that have high satiety contain low calories per gram of food, therefore lead to lower total caloric intake.