Daily fruit quota and CCLL

[julirama723]

I have a question, and I hope I'm not being ignorant. I do own DANDR, but did not find the answer I was seeking...

Is there a limit to how much fruit we should be eating per day?

I am on rung 7, Other Fruits, and I am trying to find my CCLL. Is it acceptable to use fruits AND veggies to help find my CCLL? Mostly I eat berries (raspberries and strawberries, sometimes blueberries) and so far have introduced tangerines with no problems. I have been eating fruit 2x a day, for breakfast, and with dinner. I have had no issues with cravings/allergies/reactions.

The fruit is not causing me problems, but I'm just wondering if there's a limit to how many servings per day are allowed. I am keeping my fat/carb/protein ratios balanced (protein at 30%, steadily increasing carbs and decreasing fat with fat remaining as the majority of my daily calories), and I always make sure to eat fat with my carbohydrates to prevent blood sugar spikes.

Now that I type all of this sound, I sound like a ninny. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything properly.

Thanks!

[sadie147]

Re: Daily fruit quota and CCLL

Good question actually, and I have no idea either! LOL.

But I would imagine if it's not causing you issues, and your' still losing I wouldn't think there would be?

[julirama723]

Re: Daily fruit quota and CCLL

Sounds good to me, Sadie. Thanks!

[not2late]

Re: Daily fruit quota and CCLL

The limit is 5 net carbs of whatever fruit of veggie and your CCLL. Our foundation menu is the Induction menu. So we eat 3 cups of those Induction veggies, protein and fat. The OWL carbs or Pre-Maintenance carbs are spend on the remainder of your CCLL carbs.

For example, your CCLL is 40. You’ve gone up the ladder and are on the grains rung (rung 9). Your foundation menu (the 3 cups of Induction veggies, protein/fat) totals 15 net carbs. So you have 25 OWL carbs to use. You can divide those 25 carbs like this: 5 net carbs asparagus (rung 1), 5 net carbs yogurt (rung 2), 5 net carbs raspberries (rung 4), 5 net carbs apple (rung 7), 5 net carbs acorn squash (rung —total 25 net carbs. Or like this: 5 net carbs broccoli (rung 1), 5 net carbs honeydew melon (rung 4), 5 net carbs green peas (rung 6), 5 net carbs pears (rung 7), 5 net carbs popcorn---total 25 net carbs.

So it's totally 'normal' to eat 1 or 2 servings of fruits or more than 2 servings of a vegetable during OWL.
I wouldn’t recommend doubling up on the higher rung foods, that is eat 10 net carbs of popcorn or 10 net carbs of pineapple, because the higher the rung, the higher the glycemic index and you might run into problems with 10 net carbs worth of these foods. The lower rungs, generally, have a lower glycemic index, so eating 10 net carbs of broccoli might not affect you as much as 10 net carbs of banana. But this is a your mileage may vary thing, so see what's best for your body <----that's the beauty of OWL, you get to tailor the diet to your needs.

[julirama723]

Re: Daily fruit quota and CCLL

Thanks!

You've explained what I could not. I have been adding a serving of berries plus another "wild card" of fruit (either another berries serving or an "other" fruit serving) per day. My other carbs (other than the "induction menu" carbs) come from an extra serving of veggies, a serving of fresh cheese, and a serving of nuts typically. Some days, I might "double up" on a lower rung serving (like veggies) and skip a higher rung.

My main concern was that I was eating TOO much fruit somehow...it's just that I hardly have eaten anything on Rung 6, and obviously, don't want to use Rung 5 to up my carb counts regularly. I figured using an extra serving of fruit would be a good (and tasty) way to keep my daily carb counts higher and to find my CCLL.

Thanks so much for your reply!

[not2late]

Re: Daily fruit quota and CCLL

Don't be afraid of fruit or other higher carb foods. Just see how your body reacts to them and take it from there. I had less problems with the higher rungs than I did with the Dairy Rung---particularly ricotta cheese (I found that I can only eat 1 brand.)

The only problem I encountered on Rungs 6-9 was wheat and it wasn't because the wheat affected my weight loss, it was because wheat would worsen by asthma and allergies. But on the lower rungs....I can't eat any dish that uses eggplant and tomatoes because I get bad cravings, can't eat cantaloupe again cravings, can't eat salted nuts because my weight loss slows to a crawl and of course the ricotta cheese problem.