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Do you count the calories in fruits and vegtables?

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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    brendak76 wrote: »
    I am so jealous of those that can eat a pound of broccoli or cauliflower for a meal. No sarcasm. My digestive system would revolt for days. Not to hijack the thread but how do you get your stomach to cooperate?

    Is it the fiber that gives you problems? Increasing your fiber all at once can lead to discomfort, but if you increase it gradually and regularly eat it, many people adjust. I get about 40-50 grams a day most days.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Also, mixing the macros helps everything go down easier. Eat that broccoli and cauliflower with a nice cheese sauce.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2015
    brendak76 wrote: »
    I am so jealous of those that can eat a pound of broccoli or cauliflower for a meal. No sarcasm. My digestive system would revolt for days. Not to hijack the thread but how do you get your stomach to cooperate?

    I usually eat a more varied mix of veg at a specific meal, but eating that much broccoli or cauliflower in a day doesn't bother me at all. Part of it is likely just individual differences, but I recall when I started eating lots of veg again after a period in my 20s when I ate a lot less it caused some issues. It was just a matter of working up more gradually until the gut flora adapted, I think.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    If you have inflammatory bowel disease (not IBS) high fiber, veggies and fruit (among lots of other things) can be trigger foods and are very painful to eat. Spinach/lettuce and tomatoes are the worst.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    I log vegetables to encourage me to eat more of them. I'm up to 100 grams of broccoli (weighed raw and then steamed), which seems like a lot, but am now motivated to up it further.
  • brendak76
    brendak76 Posts: 241 Member
    brendak76 wrote: »
    I am so jealous of those that can eat a pound of broccoli or cauliflower for a meal. No sarcasm. My digestive system would revolt for days. Not to hijack the thread but how do you get your stomach to cooperate?

    Is it the fiber that gives you problems? Increasing your fiber all at once can lead to discomfort, but if you increase it gradually and regularly eat it, many people adjust. I get about 40-50 grams a day most days.

    I don't think it's necessarily the fiber, just certain types of veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and beans are the worst. I can be in severe pain for up to 3 days if I have these. Split peas and lentils are fine and other veggies (carrots, tomatoes, celery, lettuce). I wish I could eat beans every day. I love them!

  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I log vegetables to encourage me to eat more of them. I'm up to 100 grams of broccoli (weighed raw and then steamed), which seems like a lot, but am now motivated to up it further.

    Just be sure to practice progressive overload and you'll hit 2 plates soon.
  • VpinkLotus
    VpinkLotus Posts: 849 Member
    I do! I feel like the only reason I take the time to count cals because I really want to know accurately how many I'm eating. If I ignore a few here and there, then pretty soon my numbers will be way off. I think it's important to know the truth for me.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,636 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    Here's something else to consider. Not logging is erasing knowledge. If in a few weeks you aren't seeing the results you expected, you will have no way of knowing if the fruit and vegetables had anything to do with it.

    +1, and then some.

    Me, I love data. If I weigh (mostly) and measure (liquids) accurately, I know how many calories I'm eating, and if I work to log exercise calories accurately, too, then I have enough data to calculate my own personal, quite accurate TDEE.

    When I've lost a good chunk of weight, so needed to drop my loss rate from 2lbs/week to 1lb/week, then later 0.5lb/week, I could calculate that with fair accuracy. (It's still an estimate, because it's impossible to measure either food or activity perfectly, but it's a *good* estimate. Specifically, it's *very* different from MFP's vanilla estimate.)

    Like some of the other vegetarians, I eat a big bunch'o'veg'n'fruit daily - 500+g, maybe? If I didn't log them, I wouldn't have nearly as good a base of data for understanding & managing my weight loss. And that's without even considering the value of logging in order to track other macro/micro nutrients.

    So, can you lose weight without logging fruits/veg? Sure, as long as CI < CO, and as long as that's your only objective. But if you want to manage your weight loss and nutrition more effectively, then logging everything meticulously is the way to go.

    On the "how much is too much veg" sub-topic: Most mainstream health-promotion entities seem to be suggesting 5 to 9 half-cup servings of veg/fruit daily for everyone. The standard American diet's couple of lil' broccoli florets and 15 carrot coins won't get you there very fast.
  • bacs
    bacs Posts: 40 Member
    Wow the 10% of the population that eats enough fruit and veggies is on this thread......just imagine the chances of that!!!!

    Well we are on a fitness/calorie counting board. It's not illogical to think most of us are changing the way we eat to be healthier. That includes making better food choices. I know I certainly didn't eat as many veggies as I'm eating now. When I track I'm more conscious of the choices I make.
  • bacs
    bacs Posts: 40 Member
    As to the question at hand. I do track everything. It would be counter productive to not do so. My deficit isn't very large because A. I'm short B. I'm sedentary and C. my post hysterectomy my body wants to be fat lol
    Some days my deficit is only a few hundred calories, just not much wiggle room.. I'm sure if you had a more generous daily calorie goal it would be possible to do it and still lose weight.
  • KateQuattro
    KateQuattro Posts: 20 Member
    This has become quite the conversation. With a little bit of conflicting opinion, but generally the same consensus. Thanks Everyone. :)
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    Wow the 10% of the population that eats enough fruit and veggies is on this thread......just imagine the chances of that!!!!

    And just imagine the chance that the people who have successfully lost weight are giving the OP sound advice on counting their vegetables. In one post you rant about the fact that 90% of people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables while in another post, you tell someone that the amount of broccoli she eats is not normal and her portion control is bad. So...should she A) eat less vegetables and be part of the 90% or should she B) continue to eat vegetables and log them so that she knows what is taking in overall for the day? I vote B. I ate 240 grams of asparagus for lunch and easily could have eaten twice that. I chose B) and logged it.
  • Oflamez
    Oflamez Posts: 43 Member
    isn't 1200 calories extremely low ? I'm a 106 kg male trying out a cut (fat loss) on 2800 calories.

    I'd assume it'd be good to up your calories to 1400 and just use those extra 200 cals for vegetables or even 1600 calories - if you are exercising it sounds like a big enough deficit to lose weight.

    If you are eating untracked vegetables and fruit you certainly aren't getting 1200 calories but more, especially with fruits that are not berries, 1 banana alone has 90-100 calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,636 Member
    Oflamez wrote: »
    isn't 1200 calories extremely low ? I'm a 106 kg male trying out a cut (fat loss) on 2800 calories.

    Heh. You're young, relatively large (no negative implication intended), male, and since you mention cutting, probably muscular/active. You'd be *amazed* how few calories it takes to maintain, let alone lose, if you're female, tiny, and old (I know OP isn't old).

    I was obese at my 83kg starting weight, and I'm mid-sized for a female (5'5"). At goal weight, if sedentary, most calculators would put my *maintenance* calories in the mid-1400s. Imagine what it's like for someone who's 5' or thereabouts.

    But your final point is more than valid, and very important to people with lower BMR/TDEE - If you have to eat 1200 (or even 1400) to lose, then those uncounted veggies/fruit can be a huge variable.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Wow the 10% of the population that eats enough fruit and veggies is on this thread......just imagine the chances of that!!!!

    And just imagine the chance that the people who have successfully lost weight are giving the OP sound advice on counting their vegetables. In one post you rant about the fact that 90% of people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables while in another post, you tell someone that the amount of broccoli she eats is not normal and her portion control is bad. So...should she A) eat less vegetables and be part of the 90% or should she B) continue to eat vegetables and log them so that she knows what is taking in overall for the day? I vote B. I ate 240 grams of asparagus for lunch and easily could have eaten twice that. I chose B) and logged it.

    Asparagus is one of my favorites! My husband and I both love it and no matter how much I prepare, it never seems like we have enough.
  • justrollme
    justrollme Posts: 802 Member
    Wow the 10% of the population that eats enough fruit and veggies is on this thread......just imagine the chances of that!!!!

    And just imagine the chance that the people who have successfully lost weight are giving the OP sound advice on counting their vegetables. In one post you rant about the fact that 90% of people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables while in another post, you tell someone that the amount of broccoli she eats is not normal and her portion control is bad. So...should she A) eat less vegetables and be part of the 90% or should she B) continue to eat vegetables and log them so that she knows what is taking in overall for the day? I vote B. I ate 240 grams of asparagus for lunch and easily could have eaten twice that. I chose B) and logged it.

    Asparagus is one of my favorites! My husband and I both love it and no matter how much I prepare, it never seems like we have enough.

    Me too! I love it in so many ways. And it's yummy whether it's the thin ones or the fat ones, or the purple, green or white! Even my vegetable-refusing kid thinks asparagus is surprisingly good!
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    If I didn't count fruits and veggies, my lunch alone would be 180 calories. Not very truthful. I count it all, knowing that it's good nourishment in a lot of ways, especially because my snacks are often fruits and veggies and can be around 300 calories.
  • Oflamez
    Oflamez Posts: 43 Member
    edited December 2015
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Oflamez wrote: »
    isn't 1200 calories extremely low ? I'm a 106 kg male trying out a cut (fat loss) on 2800 calories.

    Heh. You're young, relatively large (no negative implication intended), male, and since you mention cutting, probably muscular/active. You'd be *amazed* how few calories it takes to maintain, let alone lose, if you're female, tiny, and old (I know OP isn't old).

    I was obese at my 83kg starting weight, and I'm mid-sized for a female (5'5"). At goal weight, if sedentary, most calculators would put my *maintenance* calories in the mid-1400s. Imagine what it's like for someone who's 5' or thereabouts.

    But your final point is more than valid, and very important to people with lower BMR/TDEE - If you have to eat 1200 (or even 1400) to lose, then those uncounted veggies/fruit can be a huge variable.

    that's crazy ! And well written post. Crazy in the sense that its astonishing.

    I think that the thread starter is trying to go overboard with her caloric deficit, like the attitude : more is better, more deficit is better, I'm thinking she will be so hungry on 1200 calories that she will crack and eat more food.

    That or 1200 calories is really the right deficit, in that case I wish her good luck. In any case fruits can be relatively high in calories so if you eat them weather or not you track it's still above 1200 calories.

    I'm more then double the size / weight then my best friends sister, literally, and she is just very slim not unhealthy.