To provide some backstory on this post, I was recently reading a book that was a small collection of transcripts from a podcast.
In this book, the hosts are making some small talk and the one host mentions that he’s eating grapes.
His co-host says that compared to something like Cheerios, grapes are a good option.
And it got me thinking: I wonder what my clients would say about that?
So, I asked the majority of the clients that we saw on one day of business this question: What’s worse for your health: A serving of Cheerios or a serving of grapes?
I’ll give you the results first.
Of 24 people asked, 13 said that Cheerios were worse and 11 said grapes were the worst.
What’s the truth?
Well, part of that depends on your perspective.
Here’s a breakdown of each (1.5 cups is the serving size):
Cheerios: 140 calories, 2.5g fat, 29g carbs, 4g fiber, 2g sugar, 5g protein
Grapes: 166 calories, 44g carbs, 2g fiber, 37g sugar, 2g protein
Let’s look at this from a few angles.
If fat loss were your goal, the 26 calorie difference between the two is basically a non-issue.
The difference is carbohydrates is somewhat significant and the grapes have considerably higher sugar content (that might matter if you’re a diabetic).
Most (not all) people would prefer to eat their Cheerios with milk or a dairy alternative and this would raise the calories (and macronutrients accordingly) for the serving.
We often hear people say that you should a) eat more fruits and vegetables and b) eat mostly whole, minimally processed food. Neither of these suggestions is inherently incorrect.
But what I found, in getting my clients to choose between the two is that some people hesitated in their response or would second-guess their choice. Some people think that cereal (in general) isn’t a healthy choice and others look down on grapes for the sugar content.
The reality is, neither of these options is particularly unhealthy and what you choose to include in your diet leans into personal preference and enjoyment of a food, your ability to moderate the portions you need as it pertains to your goals, and how that food may affect your performance and/or your digestive system.
If you’ve been following my work for awhile, you know what side of the fence I sit on: Don’t demonize foods. Unless you’re allergic or intolerant to something, there’s no need to keep something out of your diet. There may be foods you don’t enjoy, foods you don’t moderate well and foods which may not be helpful to keep around the house if you’re trying to succeed at something like fat loss.
I also decided to pose the Cheerios vs grapes question on Instagram over the weekend and an interesting comment came up: “This is the stuff that gives us parents so much anxiety…saying that grapes are worse than Cheerios. What are we left to feed our children?”
And I love this question. It leans right into one of my biggest problems about the information we receive on social media about our food: too many people spend their time creating content that makes viewers fear their food choices.
The unfortunate thing about that is there are far too many logical and intelligent people out there who are getting misled by poor information.
I’ll address this directly to Julie, who commented on my post: Rest assured that you can feed your child Cheerios or grapes and feel like you’re making an appropriate decision. There’s enough parent shaming and parent guilt out there about the decisions we make for our children. I’m not going to add to the mix with fear-mongering comments.
And the same sentiment goes out to the rest of you too: enjoy your Cheerios and enjoy your grapes.
If you’re struggling to make sense of all this nutrition stuff, I’ll be opening up the doors to the next intake of Fat Loss Simplified, my 8-week online group coaching program at the beginning of July. If you’d like to be on the waiting list, drop a comment below.
