There is no question that fruits and vegetables are an important part of the Nutrisystem diet. Some people want to take full advantage of this and they wonder if they can eat an unlimited amounts of fruits. I find that not surprisingly, more people ask about eating the fruits than the vegetables.
I heard from someone who said: "I am interested in starting the Nutrisystem diet relatively soon. But I am wondering if I will be able to eat a lot of fruits. Cookies, I feel like bananas and kiwi are a decent substitute, at least while I'm dieting. But I am wondering if there are going to be limits on how much I am able to eat. " I will address these concerns below.
I find that there is sometimes confusion about unlimited fruits and vegetables on this diet. Many non starchy vegetables ARE unlimited, but only those that are low on the glycemic index. (Examples are tomatoes, asparagus, and broccoli.) You may already know this, but Nutrisystem encourages and provides foods that are glycemic friendly, meaning that they are lower in starches and carbohydrates in order to keep you feeling full and to keep your blood sugar steady. You are encouraged to eat more foods that are glycemic friendly and less foods that are not.
That is why fruits are not unlimited. They tend to be higher in natural sugars. (For example, an apple can have over 25 grams of sugars, although these sugars are more beneficial than the processed kind because they are easily converted to energy.) And although you are encouraged to eat up to three servings of fruits per day, these are not unlimited. But the serving sizes are generous. For example, a serving is one apple, one banana, or an entire cup of blueberries, cherries, strawberries, or pineapple, to name just a couple of examples.
It is suggested that you have a fruit with breakfast, plus another at one more of the main meals or with a snack. And, you can either have a fruit or vegetable with dinner. So that is up to three per day if you chose the fruit instead of the vegetable at dinner. Breakfast is recommended because it is usually very easy to incorporate fruit with breakfast. Simply add strawberries to your cereal or blueberries on top of your french toast. It's also easy to add fruit to a protein based snack. Cherries on top of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese is a quick, easy and nutritious way to get a serving into your day.
I know that this question was based on having plenty of fruit but, believe it or not, I sometimes have people ask me if they can skip the fruit since they do not like it. You should not skip the fruit, but you can substitute four ounces of pure fruit juice without any sugar added.
I know that not having unlimited fruits may seem like a negative, but honestly, you are also asked to add in vegetables and protein as well. So you have plenty of fresh sides that you are trying to work in. So you usually have more than enough.