If you're trying to lose weight, when choosing between fruit and fruit juice, stick with fruit. The whole fruit not only offers more fiber than fruit juice, it contains fewer calories as well. Eating fiber not only prevents certain types of cancers and keeps you regular, but it also helps fill you up so you're less likely to eat as many calories. I'm not saying you should give up juice entirely, but if you have a choice it's best to choose the original source. If sweet beverages are your weakness, fruit juice is definitely a better option than soda for its nutritional benefits, but it still contains just about as many calories (8.1 ounces of Coca-Cola contains 97 calories). So if you're watching your calorie intake, you may want to limit yourself to one eight-ounce glass a day, and opt for water or herbal teas for the rest of the day.
To emphasize my point I have made a handy little chart comparing an orange to a serving of orange juice. To see it, just read more.
| Calories | Total Fat | Sat Fat | Chol. | Sodium | Carbs | Fiber | Sugars | Protein | Calcium | Potassium | |
| One orange | 62 | .2g | 0g | 0mg | 0mg | 15.4g | 3.1g | 12.2g | 1.26g | 52.4mg | 237.1mg |
| 8 oz. orange juice | 112 | .5g | .1g | 0mg | 2mg | 25.8g | .5g | 20.8g | 1.7g | 27.3mg | 496.3mg |
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If I have a bit of a diet soda (diet soda is bad for you!) craving, I just take a glass of sparkling water and add a splash of orange or ruby-red grapefruit juice to the water and voila! Fruity, low-cal and additive-free, yummy-tasting water! =D
I love fruit and rarely eat fruit, so this isn't too tough for me, but I always forget how many calories are in juice when i do drink it.