Measuring greens, fruits , veggies

sweetiepie781

Curious to know if you measure/weigh all of your fruits & veggies I normally eat a banana every am and an apple every day with my lunch ( normally eating pretty large apples) ..do you always weigh your fruit before eating it ? Also what about greens i typically eat a salad for dinner or a side salad with my meal, anyone know if you should measure your lettuce and if so whats a good amount for a side salad vs a salad as your meal ??Thanks

Troutrouter1968

Simple answer is to weigh everything to be accurate. However, are you still losing/gaining (whichever is your goal) without weighing them? If so, don't worry about it until you are no longer losing/gaining and then re-evaluate whether you should or not.

Owlfan88

I do weigh my fruits as a difference in size can have a pretty big calorie difference. I don't worry about it overly much if I'm out somewhere, though, as I'm getting better with estimating sizes. For salads, I weighed stuff a few times and now just estimate as it really doesn't make much difference. Same thing with most non starchy vegetables. I know how much I usually eat and even if I were to eat twice as much broccoli, it would be only about 15 more calories.

Lizzy622

I tend to measure more accurately on high calorie items like meat and cheese but just eyeball other things like greens. I did measure and weigh everything at one point but that started to get to be too much.

malibu927

I weigh them all. I've had bananas come up to 80 grams. I've had bananas come up to 160+ grams. An entry that says "medium apple" wouldn't work for me because the apples we get are regularly 200+ grams even after being cored.

Greens I'm less picky about. When I make a salad I always log it as 85 grams even though it's usually less.

lemurcat12

I weigh if it's convenient, since I find logging easier if I have a number vs. estimating. If I'm out I don't worry about estimating, though.

For greens I sometimes estimate by cup.

I don't see any reason not to measure lettuce as you'd be adding it to the same bowl/plate as everything else if making a salad, so it's easier just to take the number for everything as you add it (using the tare feature). But the calories from the greens/lettuce are not going to be significant, so if you'd rather eyeball it, it won't make any difference. As for how much, how much do you want? I tend to make big salads.

BackupFridge

Easier for me to just overestimate and know I'm on the safe side. An 85 calorie peach, 2.5 calorie grape, 50 calorie plum, etc.

Overestimating what I eat and underestimating what I burn is perfect.

ASKyle

I weigh bananas, peaches, sometimes apples because it says "85 calorie peach" and it's more like 150.

Greens, berries, melons- I don't bother.

tayloralanj

There is a class of vegetables known as "free veggies" that one may not need to worry about so much because to eat enough to matter would be preposterous. Did I spell that right?

Examples may include:

lettuce
brussel sprouts
kale
cabbage
artichoke
onions
celery

I think if I found myself counting onions in my salad, I would want you all to call the authorities.

And,,,,,,,,,,drink water people!

Linzon

I weigh everything because I can eat a looooot of veggies and I have the scale out anyway. I had a salad the other day that had over 150 calories from lettuce, red peppers, onions, cucumber, and tomatoes alone - it can add up!

janejellyroll

tayloralanj wrote: »

There is a class of vegetables known as "free veggies" that one may not need to worry about so much because to eat enough to matter would be preposterous. Did I spell that right?

Examples may include:

lettuce
brussel sprouts
kale
cabbage
artichoke
onions
celery

I think if I found myself counting onions in my salad, I would want you all to call the authorities.

And,,,,,,,,,,drink water people!

A cup of brussels sprouts has about 40 calories. If someone is eating a vegetable-heavy diet (I do, I've been known to have several cups at once), those calories can certainly make a difference.

DaddieCat

I weigh and log all of my veggies, even if they are negligible. The goal is to cultivate the habit of logging accurately, not be lax enough that I end up accidentally sabotaging myself by guesstimating incorrectly. I mean, I can easily turn 10 grams of almonds into 100 grams of almonds just by snacking and that makes a big difference.

Personally, being lax in one aspect makes me lax in the whole process.

lemurcat12

janejellyroll wrote: »

tayloralanj wrote: »

There is a class of vegetables known as "free veggies" that one may not need to worry about so much because to eat enough to matter would be preposterous. Did I spell that right?

Examples may include:

lettuce
brussel sprouts
kale
cabbage
artichoke
onions
celery

I think if I found myself counting onions in my salad, I would want you all to call the authorities.

And,,,,,,,,,,drink water people!

A cup of brussels sprouts has about 40 calories. If someone is eating a vegetable-heavy diet (I do, I've been known to have several cups at once), those calories can certainly make a difference.

Yep, just what I was going to say, and the brussels sprouts stuck out to me too. I frequently have 50 cal or more of brussels sprouts at a time (not a huge serving at all), might as well log them correctly. Heck, last week I made a big side of mustard greens and kale which I ate with lunch and dinner that added up to 80 calories even without including any of the other ingredients. I eyeball greens all the time, true, but I wouldn't call them free.

broncos1982

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

DaddieCat

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Do you have any idea how many calories are in a banana? You sure do need to weigh it. It can make a huge difference.

TeaBea

Owlfan88 wrote: »

I do weigh my fruits as a difference in size can have a pretty big calorie difference. I don't worry about it overly much if I'm out somewhere, though, as I'm getting better with estimating sizes. For salads, I weighed stuff a few times and now just estimate as it really doesn't make much difference. Same thing with most non starchy vegetables. I know how much I usually eat and even if I were to eat twice as much broccoli, it would be only about 15 more calories.

This^

mbaker566

simply yes. i measure it all

amberlyda1

I estimate; but im usually in a hurry. My fruits i try to be more accurate because they have a higher density kcal.

Anything im pairing my vegetables with; dressings, hummus etc, gets measured

Honestly I dont worry about most of my raw plain veggies. They are low in calories. For example; I think I can eat 4 cups of spinach for about 60 kcal. There is only so much I can eat before my body decides to hurry things up and make some room.

nordlead2005

Fruits I weigh, as they are calorie dense enough. Greens I sometimes weigh, but often just guess randomly since I'm not always given the opportunity to weigh them even though my wife knows I like to weigh my food.

If I wasn't losing weight at my expected rate then I would definitely weigh everything.

broncos1982

BecomingBane wrote: »

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Do you have any idea how many calories are in a banana? You sure do need to weigh it. It can make a huge difference.

lol, what kind of bananas are you buying that they weigh vastly different? A large banana is around 120 calories. Are you weighing it with/without skin? You can make these things ridiculous. You don't need to weigh a banana, just choose a large banana on any calorie tracking program, it's close enough. Just like eggs, if you weigh your eggs then you're being absurd, especially when it tells you the calories for the eggs on the box. a large egg is a large egg.

DaddieCat

broncos1982 wrote: »

BecomingBane wrote: »

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Do you have any idea how many calories are in a banana? You sure do need to weigh it. It can make a huge difference.

lol, what kind of bananas are you buying that they weigh vastly different? A large banana is around 120 calories. Are you weighing it with/without skin? You can make these things ridiculous. You don't need to weigh a banana, just choose a large banana. Just like eggs, if you weigh your eggs then you're being absurd.

So... you're saying that the difference between a 4 inch banana and an 8 inch banana is negligible? I can not only find both sizes in the same store, but in the same bunch. And that doesn't take into account cultivars and different types of bananas of which there are many.. some with more starch, others with more sugar.

While you are right, I could just pick a large banana for both, but why would I not eat the calories that are allotted to me by over-logging? I don't know about you, but the difference here is approx 75 calories for the small banana and 120 for the large. I want those extra 45 calories to eat elsewhere. Also, if you are over-logging one thing, odds are you are over logging others, which means that you end up with no realistic idea of what you are actually eating which can be detrimental to the whole process and your success or failure.

Accurate logging is the only way I have to control what goes in my face and still make sure I'm within or meeting my calorie goals.

To me... that is a big deal.

ShannonMpls

I weigh produce when it's convenient (but almost never greens; those I estimate). If I already have my scale out or I'm slicing a pear at my kitchen counter with it right there, I weigh it. But if I pack an apple to have with lunch, I estimate.

The primary purpose of my food scale is not to verify that I'm eating 136g of banana or 112g. I can handle that potential miscalculation. But when it comes to calorie dense foods like peanut butter or mayonnaise, the scale definitely makes a difference.

janejellyroll

broncos1982 wrote: »

BecomingBane wrote: »

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Do you have any idea how many calories are in a banana? You sure do need to weigh it. It can make a huge difference.

lol, what kind of bananas are you buying that they weigh vastly different? A large banana is around 120 calories. Are you weighing it with/without skin? You can make these things ridiculous. You don't need to weigh a banana, just choose a large banana on any calorie tracking program, it's close enough. Just like eggs, if you weigh your eggs then you're being absurd, especially when it tells you the calories for the eggs on the box. a large egg is a large egg.

I think it's ridiculous to eat fewer calories than I can. If I eat a small banana, why would I want to log the calories for a large one?

lemurcat12

My eggs don't tell the calories on the carton -- I get them from a farm. And they can vary a lot in size, from about 40 g to as many as 65. I try to pick two that will average out around 105-115 g, and am good at that, but for me it's just as easy and somewhat satisfying to be able to log an exact number when I'm making an omelet so putting them in a bowl before cooking anyway.

If I do a fried or hard boiled egg I estimate.

And I prefer having correct numbers and not overestimating even for fruit and veg because right now I'm playing around with logging at cron-o-meter which gives a breakdown of micros in a much more user-friendly way than MFP, and I don't want to overestimate what I'm getting.

ValerieMartini2Olives

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Everyone has a different perception on what is small or large. Your logic is very askew.

malibu927

broncos1982 wrote: »

BecomingBane wrote: »

broncos1982 wrote: »

You don't need to weigh a banana or apple, just choose 1 large apple/banana. Fruit you'll need to weigh to be more accurate. No need to count calories in lettuce.

Do you have any idea how many calories are in a banana? You sure do need to weigh it. It can make a huge difference.

lol, what kind of bananas are you buying that they weigh vastly different? A large banana is around 120 calories. Are you weighing it with/without skin? You can make these things ridiculous. You don't need to weigh a banana, just choose a large banana on any calorie tracking program, it's close enough. Just like eggs, if you weigh your eggs then you're being absurd, especially when it tells you the calories for the eggs on the box. a large egg is a large egg.

"Close enough" doesn't work for people who are working with a small deficit. Underestimating can easily wipe that deficit out.

Francl27

I weigh everything.

sweetiepie781

nordlead2005 wrote: »

Fruits I weigh, as they are calorie dense enough. Greens I sometimes weigh, but often just guess randomly since I'm not always given the opportunity to weigh them even though my wife knows I like to weigh my food.

If I wasn't losing weight at my expected rate then I would definitely weigh everything.

O

abatonfan

Fruits I weigh every time I eat it. Even being off by 10-20g can affect how much insulin I need to take.
Starchy vegetables I always weigh.
Nonstarchy vegetables I weigh, but I don't necessarily change my portion size in MFP if I pre-logged 228g of broccoli and actually weighed out 222g.
Salad greens I estimate. Two handfuls (about 3 cups) is about 80g, so I typically log about 90-100g to leave a bit of wiggle room.

sweetiepie781

Thanks everyone for your input I normally measure out my greens and go per cup measurements I always measure my tomatoes , carrots , cucumbers ...but just recently got a food scale and started to weigh them instead of using measuring cups i dont normally weigh my fruit but think my apple habit would be the only prob I would run into as I buy large apples and was shocked when I weighed one at 9 oz and thought it was smaller than that lol.. i have been losing on a regular basis just wondering sometimes if I am over doing my fruits and veggies (as I eat alot ) thanks again

Christine_72

I have a banana everyday, and they range from 100g to 170g. A "Large banana" in the database is 136g, so they are one of the things I always weigh. I guestimate stuff like lettuce and onions though.