Calories in veggies

wizard818

Hi Everyone! What's everyone's opinion on counting the calories in veggies -- I.e. various veggies in a salad? Veggies are considered "free" on Weight Watchers and other plans. Dressings definitely need to be counted.

Sabine_Stroehm

Count them. But if I were aiming for a "lifestyle", I'd be saying "two cups mixed vegetables" in my salad then add the non veggies (nuts, legumes, protein, dressing).

I wouldn't weight my lettuce, weigh my mushrooms etc.

I'd approach starches differently, in part because they are often more calorie dense.


I'm sure plenty of folks do weight their vegetables though.

Coley88

Weigh and count them.

jemhh

wizard818 wrote: »

Hi Everyone! What's everyone's opinion on counting the calories in veggies -- I.e. various veggies in a salad? Veggies are considered "free" on Weight Watchers and other plans. Dressings definitely need to be counted.

The first 5 servings of fruits and veggies are only free on Weight Watchers because your points goal is lower to account for them. This is not WW. Count your vegetables.

diannethegeek

Weight Watchers gets away with it by setting their goals lower with the assumption that you'll load up on plenty of veggies to make up for it. MFP doesn't do that, so they count.

mkakids

I count them. I can easily eat several hundred cals a day in veggies. Thats too many to ignore!

SonyaCele

non starchy vegetables are free, my my opinion. I stuff myself with them all day long and rarely count them. Make sure you know which are non starchy. I am a believer that they take as many calories to chew and digest as they contribute. So i don't count them,

bwogilvie

Vegetables have calories, so you should log them. That said, you don't need to be as careful as with calorie dense items. When I roast cauliflower, for example, I will often use a guesstimate for the size of the cauliflower head, but I will carefully measure the oil that I toss it in before roasting.

Fatty vegetables like artichokes are an exception. Starchy roots and tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes also need to be weighed. And fruits should generally be weighed, especially fatty ones like avocados.

sunnybeaches105

If you are counting calories then count them. If you're doing weight watchers then do that. I'm not saying don't experiment with what works for you along the way, but in the beginning it's best to pick a program and stick with it.

BurnWithBarn2015

i count them i can eat easily 500 calories in vegetables a day....that's a pound weight loss a week

cbelc2

I count everything. I counted everything when I was on weight watchers too. I can overeat anything.

sndrd49

Some veg are higher in carbs, gotta count them.

richardgavel

Log them. Don't get in the habit of not logging anything.

tomteboda

Vegetables have calories. All calories count.

arditarose

Weigh 'em and count 'em. I can eat at least 200 calories worth of veg per day. That's a decent dent in my calorie goal.

LessthanKris

I log them but just estimate portion sizes of greens and low calorie veggies usually.

Ready2Rock206

If you're counting calories then everything counts.

inglysh731

Ugh. Vegetables. Yuck.

Don't eat them... way less hassle.

...and if you feel like you must use them, they should be a garnish on bloody mary's.

*only trying to be funny because there is nothing more that needs to be said that hasn't been said already.

wizard818

Thanks everyone! I've been logging everything, and it made sense to do so, but wanted to throw it out there. (Inglysh731, love your creative response