Will eating pickles help or hurt my diet?

npbaby92

I am a little confused. I am currently altering my diet to help me lose weight, and its calorie restricted. I absolutely LOVE to eat dill pickles, but I am a little confused as to whether they are okay to eat on a diet.

Some things I've read said that pickles are a "negative calorie" food, so you can eat as many pickles as you want on a diet (in portions of course; too much of anything is bad).

Whereas I have also read things that say that pickles are terrible for diets, because even though they are low in calories, they are high in sodium. Sodium creates water retention which will make you bloated and prevent weight loss.

So what's the verdict? Are pickles okay on a diet or will they sabotage it?

juggernaut1974

They're fine to eat if they fit within your calorie budget for the day...any food is

They're NOT a negative calorie food...there is no such thing

kk_inprogress

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

They're fine to eat if they fit within your calorie budget for the day...any food is

They're NOT a negative calorie food...there is no such thing

^^ That.

npbaby92

Let me rephrase. It said negative calorie because the calories in the pickle itself is less than the body will burn to eat and digest the pickle. Either way, I was just confused about the sodium causing water retention and if that would make me gain water weight.

ariana_eatsandlifts

npbaby92 wrote: »

Let me rephrase. It said negative calorie because the calories in the pickle itself is less than the body will burn to eat and digest the pickle. Either way, I was just confused about the sodium causing water retention and if that would make me gain water weight.

Again, negative calorie foods are just a myth. Yes, they are salty and could cause a little water retention, but it will not affect your fat loss unless they are causing you to eat at maintenance or above.

zoeysasha37

Even still, water weight is temporary and much different then a real gain.

So if you ate 20 pickles , and remained under your calorie goal ,you wouldn't gain weight. You may retain water , which could mask any weight loss temporarily . so I'm not seeing the problem here.
Water weight isn't permanent , its no big deal

npbaby92

Okay thanks you guys answered my question. Like I said, I was just a little confused because I kept seeing different information about it.

vivelajackie

Honestly the sodium is the only thing you gotta worry about, but that's something you keep in line and it's whatever. I totally indulge.

zoeysasha37

This goes for anything, not just pickles.
Weight loss comes down to a calorie deficit.
Eat whichever foods you like, use a food scale be accurate, log them here. As long as you're consistently eating at a deficit, you will lose weight.
Since you understand about water weight , don't get upset when you see fluctuations on the scale ( I was up 8 lbs this morning!! But since I know for a fact that I have not eaten at a surplus, I know its just water weight and will go away ) just remember that these fluctuations happen, and its no big deal. Also water weight can hide any real weight loss on the scale, so don't get discouraged. Just eat at a deficit and you'll be fine

npbaby92

Thanks Thorsmom01, that is really encouraging and I will keep that in mind when I weigh! Cuz I love pickles lol.

Kalikel

There is no such thing as a "negative-calorie food" but pickles come about as close as anything! Whether or not they're okay is something you have to decide for yourself. They're low-cal but ridiculously high in sodium. A no-no for me. Much as I love pickles, it's the rare occasion that I eat one.

It's your diet and you get to make up your own rules! If you say they're okay, they are. If you say something else, that goes, too.

lemmie177

Vinegar (as in pickles) has actually been shown to improve insulin sensitivity when taken with meals. So, eating pickles alongside your higher-carb foods is actually a great thing to do, potentially leading to improved body composition. I'm not gonna lie, all that sodium's not great, but provided you're consuming them in moderation and not overdoing it elsewhere in your diet, should be fine.

Lounmoun

How many pickles do you plan to eat each day?
They are a low calorie food not zero calories. How many calories depends on the size/amount. A small dill pickle could have 5 calories while a very large one could be around 20. That adds up. Just log them and stick to your calorie goal like any other food.
If you are concerned about getting too much sodium you can choose to track your sodium intake under your food and exercise diary settings.

pearso21123

They will definitely make you retain water and mask your true weight loss. I LOVE dill pickles, too, and went a little overboard when I learned how low calorie they were. Learned the hard way.

Christine_72

I'm wondering if we're talking about the same pickles.. I love sweet n sour pickles/gherkins, but 30g which is ONE medium size pickle is 21 calories and 114g sodium . I had one just last night.

scolaris

If sodium is a problem, watch them. Full of great gut probiotics if they're the 'live' kind!

MommyL2015

Eat all the pickles! Love dill spears. Low calorie, too.

Machka9

I love dill pickles.

Just about every evening when I get home from work or whatever I've been out doing, I have 100 grams of cottage cheese with either salted cucumber slices or a pickle.

As it happens, I tend to be quite low in sodium, and would have intense cravings for potato chips ... until I started eating the salted cucumber slices or a pickle every day.

Machka9

christinev297 wrote: »

I'm wondering if we're talking about the same pickles.. I love sweet n sour pickles/gherkins, but 30g which is ONE medium size pickle is 21 calories and 114g sodium . I had one just last night.

Here in Australia, you Aussies seem to love sweet pickles. When I'm browsing the pickle sections of Woolies, it's just about all sweet pickles.

I just cannot get into sweet pickles ... yuck!!!

But if I look way down to the bottom shelf, tucked into a corner, sometimes half hidden behind the sweet pickles ... there's a jar of dill pickles. Dill pickles are the good ones!

scolaris

I love both. I have about 4 jars open right now. I am a pan-pickle enthusiast! But only in moderation... It's the probiotics. I love them bugs.

Sued0nim

Wow the woo

Love pickles

Sweet and sour

Cornichons

Just log them

Queenmunchy

My brother belongs to a co-op in Philly and brings me back their spicy pickles occasionally. I love to use them in my tartar sauce for fish tacos

ilovecereal1982

I loooove pickles but only when I sprinkle them in salt and then dip them in soy sauce mmmmmmm

SherryTeach

I have a nice jar of hamburger dills in my refrigerator. When I really need a little something, I put a few in a small dish and enjoy. It seems to satisfy my need for a little crunch and a little salt. If it keeps me from choosing potato chips instead, that's a good choice. Bottom line: stay in your calories.

npbaby92

Yeah, I was referring to the whole dill pickles! They are 20 calories per who pickle, but a CRAP ton of sodium! lol but they are soooo delicious.

jgnatca

The only danger with pickles is they may be distracting you from all the rest of the calorie laden foods in your day.

Like hitting a stop sign in the middle of a farmer's field.

Just love them, count them, and track all you eat.