Somewhat of a fruit-only diet?

I was wondering if a diet that basically consists only of fruits, except for breakfast, would be effective/safe? I heard that fruits-only wasn't safe because there was a lack of fiber/protein/something of that nature, but my plan is to incoporate one meal a day with protein.

Most likely I will do something like a 400-500 cal breakfast [two eggs, toast with butter, and four-five pieces of bacon]. I will drink 4-8 bottles of water (16.9 fl oz each) and my goal is 1200-1300 cal a day by eating only fruits after breakfast.

Something I'm also wondering is if I can do this on an on-off basis, meaning I'll do the diet every other day, but keep it fruit-only otherwise. (AKA: Monday: fruits-only, Tuesday: hearty breakfast, Wednesday: fruits-only, etc.) My plan is to do this for only one or two weeks (if I don't end up wanting to stuff my face with steaks after a few days of trying it out). If I feel totally fine with this I'll try to keep it up for a couple of months.

If I can do this diet with only fruits safely/effectively, that'd be great (maybe only keep it up for a week or two?) but I'm cautioning myself in case there's this protein/fiber problem. If I can do fruits-only, please tell me how and why (thank you!).

Or, perhaps I don't have to do the hearty breakfast, rather just sneak in a bagel or toast every morning then fruits-only otherwise?

Will any of these ideas be effective/safe?

Thanks, and congratulations if you didn't fall asleep reading all of that!

Hi there!

My two cents: how about if, instead of a week of just fruit, you tried a lifetime of just fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds lean meats, low fat dairy, and healthy fats?

Your meal plan sounds like a sure way to yo-yo dieting, binge eating, as you will seriously deprive your body of fats & protein and just end up being hungry and miserable all the time. Don`t just caution yourself because of the lack of certain nutrients, but also look at the big picture: any diet that is severely restricting or completely cutting out certain foods is unsustainable in the long run, and potentially harmful to your health. I`m guessing you wouldn`t be happy gaining back all the weight you lost and then some, would you?

Thank you for the reply!, and I do agree that I will probably be miserable with this diet if I did it for a long time, which is why my realistic plan is to do it for one-two weeks. I'm simply asking if that diet would be okay for a short period of time (right now I'm guessing it's out of the question for a long-term plan).

Eh, you *can* do it if you have the determination, of course, but the scales will bounce right back shortly after, so what`s the use then?

Can I ask what you are trying to accomplish with this diet? Since you asked if it would be safe and effective, it is most likely safe in the short term (as in you won't die) but it is not a good strategy for health or weight loss, if that is what you are shooting for.

Any diet that can't be sustained for long term isn't a diet that will work.  This diet is severely lacking in protein and fats, you need protein so that your body won't eat it's own muscles as you lose weight and you need fats to metoblise all these great nutrients that you are getting from the fruit.  So any benefits from eating lots of fruit will be lost.

Living on sugar is NOT safe, even for the short term.

You sound like how I used to think, I'll do some extreme type of dieting to lose 5 lbs but when you go back to eating regularly again you haven't learned anything, therefore you will gain your weight back. To lose weight you must make a lifestyle change. Its hard so I've made a few changes over time. For example: I only buy brown rice and wheat spaghetti now, I only use 1% milk, I'm slowly switching to wheat and whole grain bread products only, I eat more oatmeal, and I eat way less pork and beef. My next steps are to eat more beans for fiber and a healthier source of protein and fruits. I think planning out your meals and eating fruit for your snacks and side would help you to lose weight. But yo-yo dieting is a never ending cycle.

I think you will be starving and have major cravings on a fruit only diet. Fruit contains fructose. You are going to be constantly spiking your blood sugar with no protein or carbs to stabilize it.

Fructose: Helps the body store calories, found in fruits and honey and other natural sweeteners and unrefined cane sugar. Too much fructose or refined sugar can lead to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or even cancer.

Recent studies have found that fructose very quickly turns into body fat, in some cases never even yielding energy for the body to use.

Natural Health (March 2009)

Depending on what you wish to accomplish, whether it be weight loss a rest for you digestive system, improved complexion, etc I don't think your plan is necessarily detrimental. 

You would certainly be better served in terms of fiber, protein, and heathly fats to eliminate the empty processed carbs in the bagels and add some green vegetables, seeds, and nuts to balance you plan.  Depending on what you wish to accomplish, I would google "raw food diet."  I've heard people have very successful and liberating experiences eating this way in the short term.  Don't discount healthy fats from sources like avocado.  I've heard tell that people react with very dry skin that cracks around the fingers and mouth when they fail to incorporate enough fat into a largely fruit and veggie diet.

However you do it, consider replacing some of the fruit in your plan with vegetable...  not only will your nutrient profile be more balanced, but the regulation of your bloodsugar and added protein and fiber will keep you feeling full much longer.  If you don't care for the taste of veggies, mixed fruit and veg smoothies (think spinach mango and banana) will camouflage the flavor and texture and give you  the satisfying sweetness...

There are a lot of great sources for raw food diets in print and on the web that give a lot of insight into the way your body will react to such a diet.  I will warn you as someone that has done the occasional fruit and veggie fast, if your diet now consists of a lot of refined sugar, red meat, sodium, and processed food, for the fist several days of a fruit and veggie fast, you will go through withdrawal and likely feel pretty rotten, rather like getting a bad flu.  Headache, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue are common as are brief outbreaks of acne...  I always start a program like this when I am in a low stress environment for the first two days or all that ickiness is likely to bring on a defiant splurge in all the food you're trying to avoid, just because you feel so lousy.

Good luck and be safe and informed if you do go on with it!!

Sara

Thank you everyone for the help!, I'll definitely not do the fruit-only thing (you guys are... very persuasive, haha). I'll definitely look into the vegetable/raw food diet. Thank you :).

As a general rule if your diet is called "THE _______ DIET", it's not a great diet.

Eating a normal, well balanced diet is a great diet.

yah what are you gonna do when your friends go out to dinner? just eat fruit while watching them eat delicious things?

you're gonna binge so hard

and bacon??

you have 1 protein all day and you're making it bacon??

atleast have a grilled chicken breast

So instead of eating a variety of healthy, whole foods you're going to eat one fraction of the food pyramid after breakfast?

I can't even list all the yummy and healthy (and huge portions!) foods you could be eating to stay under 1300 calories a day - If I were you, I'd take a much much much more balanced approach.  Eat whole grains, vegetables, legumes (LENTILS!! Dirt cheap, high in protein and delicious!) AND some fruit....but don't eat JUST fruit after breakfast. Your body deserves better than that.

gee, your body will probably thank you...

there's nothing wrong with it.  as for social events and eating out,  who cares.  if you have discipline and satisfied with fruits, why not.  you're planning to eat protein for breakfast so it's not like you're lacking anything.  why don't you do a fruit dominate type of eating if you like fruits that much.

mind over matter.

I agree with Sara:  combining fruits and raw vegetables may be the way to go.  Best of luck and share with us how it is going.

You say that you only want to do this short term.  To me, that answers the question.  98% of people who try any sort of extreme or fad diet gain all the weight back as soon as they stop doing it.  The people who lose weight and keep it off make healthy lifestyle changes.  Eating a hearty breakfast and then nothing but fruit is not a healthy lifestyle change.  it's the sort of fad that folks try to get some quick results, quick results that dissapear as soon as the fad is stopped.

No need to make it so complicated or difficult..just count calories and limit them to whatever your personal target is for weight loss.

You'll lose weight without having to restrict your diet to only fruit after breakfast.

Why not eat real food if you can do it while staying in your calorie goal?

It makes life a lot easier.

Original Post by justice4me:

gee, your body will probably thank you...

there's nothing wrong with it.  as for social events and eating out,  who cares.  if you have discipline and satisfied with fruits, why not.  you're planning to eat protein for breakfast so it's not like you're lacking anything.  why don't you do a fruit dominate type of eating if you like fruits that much.

mind over matter.

This is terrible advice.

You are lacking things, an appropriate amount of protein and fat to sustain your body.  It's not mind over matter.  You will crash so hard everyday eating basically only sugar.  You will probably find that your guts hurt because you are consuming tons of fibre, but nothing to go with it.  Eating an egg's worth of protein is NOT enough.

If you want to be mal-nurished, than yeah, there's nothing wrong with it. 

People, Pay Attention:

Fad diets, Extreme Diets, Cabbage diets and Diets PERIOD don't work...not forever at least.  You HAVE to be kind to your body.  You may be overweight and chances are you have health issues bc of that and you HAVE to eat a balanced meal and give your body all sorts of nutriants.  losing weight isn't hard or rocket science, it just takes time.  Just watch your cal intake, make sure you're eating high fiber/high protein and watch your sugary intake. It's not hard I do it and I was a big junk food lover. When I'm hungry I eat. When i crave a treat, I have some.

Life Style Change is KEY!

Good Luck.

why don't you just eat like a normal healthy person and stay within your calorie range? seriously, stop trying to make weight loss so complicated.. it's really not.

Eat normal, healthy food in reasonable portions.  Take a walk, ride a bike, or swim a couple times a week.  Do this for the rest of your life and you won't ever have to do The ____ Diet again.

Not that it is ever a good idea