Counting Veggies

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juggernaut1974

gorymeraz wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I know excess vitA can do some damage..

Yep you're right there are several micronutrients that are toxic, or at the very least unpleasant to have too much of in your system.

I was merely giving one example of such...there are certainly more.

omg are you aware that for you to have a micronutrient intoxication you will have to eat huge amounts of food??

like 100x what you eat on a day?

damn...

You didn't put any boundaries on your statement that it was impossible to overdose on nutrients...so....yep. Still wrong.

stealthq

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I know excess vitA can do some damage..

Yep you're right there are several micronutrients that are toxic, or at the very least unpleasant to have too much of in your system.

I was merely giving one example of such...there are certainly more.

+1

Minerals fall under that heading. Selenium springs to mind because it makes the news every now and again. And iron, because the prescription comes with a toxicity warning from the doc - not that you're likely to OD on iron from food.

thereshegoesagain

I don't log my veggies all the time. I always log low on my exercise and high on my entrees, so I figure it balances out. I eat a well balanced diet so don't worry about nutrients.

brynnsmom

I log most of my vegetables. I try to keep my diary as accurate as possible, but don't sweat it if I forget to, for example, log the chives on a baked potato.

pollypocket1021

Christine_72 wrote: »

I know excess vitA can do some damage..

Yes, which is why pregnant women are advised to avoid animal sources of vitamin A. But barring a medical condition (like pregnancy), this isn't a concern for the general population.

neohdiver

finalslowdance wrote: »

Hi guys and gal,

I'm wondering if it's worth tracking veggies that I have daily? With them being so low in calories etc........I haven't been thus far but Im worried I could be making a mistake

You have to find a system that will work for you as a lifetime way of eating.

I know myself well enough to know that I can't maintain by counting calories (points, whatever substitute for calories is in the currently popular weight loss/management scheme). So I devised a scheme that worked for me that did not require counting anything, both to lose weight and maintain the loss for more than 5 years - until overwhelming stress hit (daughter and spouse both diagnosed with devastating chronic illnesses - just to name two stressors). I never counted fruits or veggies (to be fair, I was never a big fruit eater). I ate a small portion of lean protein twice a day, high volume "empty" carbs three times a day [which I converted to denser more micronutrient packed carbs as I approached maintenance], tons of veggies, and moderate quantities of fruits. I eliminated added sugar & most oils (they create cravings, as does a lack of carbs in my diet). I've counted calories enough that I could easily have estimated within 100 calories of what I was consuming, but I didn't count calories. (I was consuming roughly 12-1300 calories a day). That was the kind of plan I needed to succeed long term.

My point is, sort out what you will be able to maintain long term, and eat that way during the losing period so that the transition to maintenance is nearly invisible. That may - or may not - include counting veggies. (When I counted calories for weight loss, I counted veggies. Once I designed a plan I could actually stick to long term, I did not count veggies or fruits.)

Not sure what I'm going to do now that my body is no longer carb tolerant, and I have to count carbs, protein, and calories at the moment . . . once I get used to the new routine, I'll have to devise a non-counting plan that will work for me or I will not be able to sustain either normal blood glucose or weight loss.

lemurcat12

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

gorymeraz wrote: »

cbelc2 wrote: »

I count it all. That way, MFP lets me know when I've had enough of a nutrient. It isn't just about calories. It's about balance, about accountability, about being good to ourselves.

you cant have a nutrients overdose...

Yes you can

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16320662

For one example...

My mother has a badly damaged liver due to an excess of iron. (She has a condition that causes it to build up, but it still demonstrates that you can -- it's one reason people are often warned not to supplement iron without a doctor's recommendation first.)

So yeah, you can.

lemurcat12

gorymeraz wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I know excess vitA can do some damage..

Yep you're right there are several micronutrients that are toxic, or at the very least unpleasant to have too much of in your system.

I was merely giving one example of such...there are certainly more.

omg are you aware that for you to have a micronutrient intoxication you will have to eat huge amounts of food??

like 100x what you eat on a day?

damn...

Or just polar bear liver.

arditarose

60 calories in my greens for lunch...another 60 for my zucchini/squash for dinner. You bet I weight and count that. 120 calories of veg per day.

ilex70

Another one who weighs/measures fat/protein/carbs, but is less exact with veggies.

I keep pre-portioned meat and sometimes starches in the freezer.

When it is time to cook I grab a meat, sometimes a starch, measure any oil, and eyeball the veg. I've cooked quite a while so have a fair idea if I have 1/2 cup of chopped celery vs. 1 cup, but maybe sometimes it is a little over or under.

Not measuring all the non-starchy veg makes it much quicker for me to get a meal made.

lemurcat12

I don't think it's important to be precise about non starch veg, but I usually am just because it is so easy -- I chop it and toss it on the scale as part of the same process. The only exception (sometimes) are greens, where I might just eyeball a cup or two.

gardensneeze

I would. Yesterday I had a medium sized bowl of salad for lunch (with tofu, some seed sprinkles and vinaigrette for those playing at home!) and I weighed everything meticulously. The vegetable components were 76 calories. That's 56g tomato, 40g salad leaves, 37g carrot, 76g cauliflower, 60g cabbage, 38g celery. On 1200cal a day, that's enough for me to want to log that. But I also log them so I get my fibre count, which is really important.

OhMsDiva

I don't log my veggies because my plan is 1800 calories, plus 2 cups of veggies. Although I know how many calories I am eating in veggies.

Fursian

rainbowbow wrote: »

Whether or not you log them in your food diary, your body is logging them.

It is imperative that you know how much you're eating, otherwise what's the point of even logging in the first place?

This is a very important point, and great post.

Calories, as I've came to understand, can add up to surprising amounts, and if we become slack in our logging, we could become stuck and frustrated down the road. None of us want that.

snowflake930

Everything I eat.
It adds up and can, in the long term, make a difference.

Christine_72

I just went through and added up the veggies I had in the last 7 days, they came to 481 calories. Fruit, that i know some people don't count either came to 336 calories (strawberries & raspberries).

So all up that would have come to 817 unaccounted calories for this week. Not a huge amount, but enough to slow your weight loss down.

kshama2001

I weigh non-starchy veggies in order to encourage myself to eat more of them. I shoot for 100 grams of broccoli per serving, up from my former 70 or so grams. When I weight lettuce as I add it to a sandwich, I will eat more of it.

I log starchy veggies and fruit because my body is.