Have you ever wondered why some people seem to thrive when transitioning to the natural diet, while others struggle?
One of the biggest factors I’ve seen time and again that determines success or failure is the choice of fruit.
Those who base their diet on calorie-dense fruits tend to succeed. Those who gravitate toward watery fruits like melons often struggle, binging on cooked foods in the evenings or losing too much weight.
Why? Most people simply can’t eat enough watermelon, cantaloupe, or berries in one sitting to meet their body’s daily calorie needs.
The average person needs between 1,700 and 2,000 calories for a moderately active lifestyle. If you’re exercising, lifting weights, biking, or running, you’ll need more than 2,000. But let’s say you aim for an average of 1,800 calories per day, spread across three meals and a snack:
- Two fruit meals at 600 calories each
- One salad around 300–400 calories
- One snack around 200–300 calories
How much fruit do you need to make a 600-calorie fruit meal?
- Bananas: about 3 cups (roughly 5 to 6 medium bananas)
- Watermelon: 21 cups!
This is where many go wrong. Influencers may glamorize “watermelon island cleanses”, but unless you’re eating a 20- to 30-pound melon each day, you’ll likely fall short on calories, leading to cravings and fatigue.
Not only that, but melons are highly fermentable in the digestive tract. If your digestion is still compromised from previous habits or you’re still eating cooked foods, melon meals are more likely to ferment, leading to bloating and gas, and those calories get wasted. Unripe melons make this problem even worse.
In contrast, those who make dense fruits like bananas, mangoes, papayas, apples, pears, and even durian the foundation of their fruit meals are far more likely to succeed. These fruits are easier to eat in calorie-sufficient quantities, helping you:
- Meet your daily energy needs
- Avoid cravings for cooked foods
- Prevent unnatural weight loss and muscle wasting
Take a look at the chart below and save it for future reference. Make sure at least one meal per day is built around dense fruits. Pair watery fruits with dried fruits or bananas, and periodically check your total calorie intake to ensure you’re on track.
Remember: Your body needs calories to heal. Healing is a high-energy process, and underfeeding the body—especially to the point of excessive weight loss—starves it of the very energy it needs to cleanse and repair.
Don’t sabotage your healing by eating too light. Fuel your body with the fruits it was designed to eat—dense, sweet, juicy fruits—and give yourself the best chance to succeed in both your transition and long-term health journey.
Fruit by the piece
Bananas – 6 medium 623.04 kcal
Pears – 6 medium 608.76 kcal
Grapefruit – 6 medium 645.12 kcal
Apple – 7 medium 662.48 kcal
Orange – 10 medium 615.7 kcal
Peaches – 11 medium 643.5 kcal
Kiwi Fruit, Green – 15 fruits 631.35 kcal
Mandarin Orange – 15 small 604.2 kcal
Tangerine – 15 small 604.2 kcal
Plums, Raw – 20 medium 607.2 kcal
Cucumber – 20 medium 604.8 kcal
Fig, Raw – 21 small 621.6 kcal
Tomatoes – 30 medium 664.2 kcal
Apricots, fresh – 38 each 638.4 kcal
Fruit by the cup
Durian – 1.75 cups 625.12 kcal
Mango – 4.5 cup 619.41 kcal
Papayas – 5.5 cups 614.6 kcal
Grapes – 6 cups 625.15 kcal
Cherries, Sweet – 6.5 cups 630.65 kcal
Blueberries – 7.5 cups 632.69 kcal
Honeydew Melon – 9 cups 617.37 kcal
Raspberry – 10 cups 627.26 kcal
Blackberries – 10 cups 619.2 kcal
Strawberries – 12 cups, 601.91 kcal
Cantaloupe – 15 cups 621.01 kcal
Watermelon – 21 cups 620.14 kcal
Dried Fruits
Dates, Medjool – 10 dates 664.8 kcal
Raisins – 1.5 cups 650.31 kcal
Figs, Dried – 1.75 cups 649.25 kcal
Apricot, Dried – 2 cup 626.58 kcal
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