Counting the calories on fruit?
jellox77
Posts: 1 Member
Hey Everyone
I am just having a super hard time counting calories on the fruit I eat? I feel so hungry if I'm deciding to eat fruit as a snack and its 60 calories for a small apple... I fee like I shouldn't even count it... It's better to eat fresh fruit then 100 cal snack of small chips? I don't know. Help! I need some input?
I am just having a super hard time counting calories on the fruit I eat? I feel so hungry if I'm deciding to eat fruit as a snack and its 60 calories for a small apple... I fee like I shouldn't even count it... It's better to eat fresh fruit then 100 cal snack of small chips? I don't know. Help! I need some input?
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Replies
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If you eat it, you count the calories. It doesn't matter if it's 100 calories of chips or a 100 calorie banana, the calories still matter.8
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CICO - means calories in calories out all calories count and not counting anything like in WW where they have free foods you often see people on hear surprised they are not losing what they expect to when they don't log so called free foods ...
And the hard time just weigh it
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It is better to eat fresh fruit than processed snack for sure. But I agree with the others a calorie is a calorie in terms of weight gain/loss so I would log it. One calorie can be healthier than another though.3
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Log everything.... EVERYTHING.5
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If you choose to excuse yourself the calories, that's your prerogative, but as is often said on MFP, even if you don't count the calories, your body does. At least if you're not getting the results you expect, you know where to make changes.8
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »If you choose to excuse yourself the calories, that's your prerogative, but as is often said on MFP, even if you don't count the calories, your body does. At least if you're not getting the results you expect, you know where to make changes.
This....log EVERYTHING. just because youre classing it as healthy doesn't negate the fact it has calories3 -
If you eat it, log it. That being said, fruit has never really worked as a snack for me. With the exception of bananas it never fills me up.0
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I think she is having a hard time with fruits adding calories, rationalizing that against the same amount of calories in snack packs. I don't think she means the act f logging itself. OP, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Even though eating fruits makes you feel good about yourself and your efforts to incorporate more nutritious options, unfortunately, all calories count. It's sad that we don't get weight loss brownie points for making more nutritious choices, but it is what it is.
I agree with @sijomial above. Maybe you should revisit your calorie budget? A higher calorie budget will give you more room for fruits and any other foods you choose. Maybe a slower loss is worth it for the sake of sanity?
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Yes, how many lb a week are you trying to lose?0
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If you count calories, log the fruit, because fruit has calories.
Nutrition for weight loss is a balancing act. Maybe snacking on fruit alone isn't working for you? Instead, you can eat proper meals. Or is your calorie goal just too low? A weight loss rate of more than 1% of your body weight per week is aggressive, it will be difficult to adhere to, because you'll be hungry, because you'll be eating too little, a larger calorie deficit than your body fat can support. Feeling hungry before meals, on the other hand, is normal and good.0 -
Count the calories but celebrate your good decision to eat something healthy rather than junk. When you look back at your diary & see all that fruit rather than chips & cookies you will have proof that you made the Lifestyle Change. My "problem" with the fruit entries is the sugar not the calories.1
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I always think of it as getting credit for the good stuff too. mfp tracks your macros and nutrients too...why end up with a diary that's only full of the crap? that's not a realistic depiction of your day either.0
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I am also confused what the problem is exactly. is it that:
- you like fruit too much and want to be able to eat more of it? Pick lower-calorie fruit (berries are surprisingly few calories) so you can have more... And log it.
- You are hungry all the time so need to eat more and think fruit is a "safe" way to fill up? It isn't, it's not calorie-free. As people said above, reconsider how fast you're trying to lose and if that is sustainable for you.
- You have planned fruit as your snacks but it doesn't fill you up enough so you want to eat more of it? Try combining the fruit with protein, e.g. Yoghurt with beries, apple or pear with cheese, and vary the proportions of fruit to protein within your calories until you hit a sweet spot, staiety-wise... And log it.
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I regard fruit as treat because it is high in calories. Of course you have to log them. Apple or chips, 100 calories is 100 calories.1
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Just because it's an apple doesn't mean it doesn't count in the calories you consumed. No matter how good/holy/morally superior you seem to think it is, a calorie is still a calorie for weight loss/gain.0
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Why wouldn't you count it? If you don't count 2 apples a day, even if they only total 60 calories each - if you are supposed to be on a 1200 calorie a day goal, you've just NOT COUNTED 10% of them!2
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Your body counts fruit, so why shouldn't you? Fruit adds up...
You're better off weighing all your food on a lichen scale instead of guessing. A small Apple to you may be too small or too big to what others consider small Apple so the calories can range. No more guessing. And if you eat dry fruit, the calorie count for those can be as much as candy.
There's no need to cut treats out... I'm 90lbs down and I eat treats daily. Calories are king.Count the calories but celebrate your good decision to eat something healthy rather than junk. When you look back at your diary & see all that fruit rather than chips & cookies you will have proof that you made the Lifestyle Change. My "problem" with the fruit entries is the sugar not the calories.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »
I think she is having a hard time with fruits adding calories, rationalizing that against the same amount of calories in snack packs. I don't think she means the act f logging itself. OP, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Even though eating fruits makes you feel good about yourself and your efforts to incorporate more nutritious options, unfortunately, all calories count. It's sad that we don't get weight loss brownie points for making more nutritious choices, but it is what it is.
I agree with @sijomial above. Maybe you should revisit your calorie budget? A higher calorie budget will give you more room for fruits and any other foods you choose. Maybe a slower loss is worth it for the sake of sanity?
Yeah, I got the impression that she felt the fruit calories weren't worth it since she was still hungry afterwards.
OP, you might want to to eat some protein or fat with your fruit when eating as a snack. People like peanut butter or string cheese with an apple. Stuff like that.0 -
Hey Everyone
I am just having a super hard time counting calories on the fruit I eat? I feel so hungry if I'm deciding to eat fruit as a snack and its 60 calories for a small apple... I fee like I shouldn't even count it... It's better to eat fresh fruit then 100 cal snack of small chips? I don't know. Help! I need some input?
Counting as I see it is an all or nothing thing. To know when I need to change oil in the car I have to count the miles in EVERY trip not just the trips that I want to count.
You are on the right track and welcome to MFP forums. It is almost always better to eat whole foods vs. processed foods.1 -
Your body counts calories whether you do or not.. and that apple probably has more than 60 calories if you aren't weighing it in grams on a food scale. I log nibbles, bites, single almonds, single m&ms, sips of milk, etc.0
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Personally, I prefer to snack on fresh fruit and veggies because it's lower calories than most other processed snack foods and often has more nutrients. Yes, I absolutely log it as I frequently consume between 400 - 800 calories a day from fruits and veggies. In the mornings I juice kale, beets, carrots, pineapple, and apples which equal 200 calories. I have a banana as a midmorning snack, and may have apples, berries, and a mango for lunch which is another 200 calories. If I get the munchies at night I will often have strawberries, cherries, or other fruits that easily add up to another 200 calories. If I didn't log it that's a significant amount of calories I am ignoring.
While a couple hundred calories here or there may not have a huge affect on your weightloss now, it most certainly will when you get closer to your goal. You might as well get into the habit of logging everything now. Trying to lose the last five to ten pounds can be both difficult and frustrating, and that is when you really have to pay attention to all calories.
As for is fruit better than chips for a snack - unequivocally yes. With fruit you are getting a larger variety of nutrients and antioxidants. I may receive hate for saying this, but I think if given a choice between whole foods which are minimally processed or hyperpalatable extremely processed foods, the whole foods are the better choice. Again, that's just my opinion. Many people thing the super processed foods are fine as long as you stay within your calorie budget, however, more often than not you get some much more fruit to eat than potato chips if you only have 200 calories to spend. I like having the quantity and I like to know what I am eating is nutritionally beneficial for my body and full of vitamins. Good luck!2 -
Yes, I definitely log fruit. It has calories (sometimes quite a lot- while a small apple may be sixty calories, one of the gigantic honeycrisps we get at high season can easily be 200 or more), and other nutrition you'll want to track, like fiber and vitamins.
The "best" foods to eat are the ones that make you feel physically good *in the long run* and help you maintain your eating plan- eating apples if you hate apples isn't a good choice because you aren't likely to stick with it, though you may find if you give it a try that there are snacks you will enjoy more than chips. Certainly the volume of food you get and the satiety are likely to be better with almost anything other than chips.
I am insulin resistant, and I find eating carbs alone, while I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, makes me feel terrible in the long run, so I limit them to around 45 grams a meal/15 grams a snack, and pair them with fats or proteins to keep my blood sugar on an even keel. An apple and peanut butter is not as instantly gratifying as a packet of crackers or chips, but by logging over time I was able to see how much better I felt eating the first snack than the second- and that I usually did not become ravenously hungry again an hour later with the apple and peanut butter the way I did with the chips. I still have chips once in a while- they're tasty! But I have small portions, I have them with other foods so they don't spike and crash my blood sugar, and I recognize that eating an entire bag is *not* going to give me 12 times as much enjoyment as eating one portion, while it WILL give me 12 times as many calories.2 -
Weigh and log everything you eat/drink.0
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Funny that because I am happy knowing that as long as my macro and micro nutrients are hit I can happily chow down on an ice cream rather than a large apple because of the calories
fruit has vitamins and fibre - tis true.. it is a healthy choice
but there are no good and bad foods
just good and bad diets
and that's what logging every single thing helps you understand - I am not holier than you because I had an apple while you had a pack of chips ...
but I am probably doing better than someone who doesn't hit their protein, fat minimums and doesn't get a wide range of foods including brightly coloured fruit and vegetables in their diet
it's great when you get it
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An apple may have different nutrition than a bag of chips, but a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Even if you get different nutrients, a calorie is the same unit of energy and contributes to weight loss or gain, no matter what food you get it from.3
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There are some days where the primary bulk of my day is fruits and vegetables. Today, for example, I have yellow plums, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, tomatoes, an avocado, and kale in my plan so far, and I haven't even logged a dinner plan yet. If I decided those were all "free" because they're "healthy", I'd be missing close to 350 calories from my diary. My deficit right now is only 250 day for .5 lb loss, so if I didn't log those, I could easily overeat and wipe out my deficit every day.
Not to mention, not all "small" apples are created equally. Their calorie content will vary based on the weight of the fruit. Small is in the eye of the beholder, so what you see as a 60 calorie apple might actually be more than that..
Maybe if you're still feeling hungry, though, it's a possible sign that your deficit is too high. Are you set to 2lb loss per week?0 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »There are some days where the primary bulk of my day is fruits and vegetables. Today, for example, I have yellow plums, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, tomatoes, an avocado, and kale in my plan so far, and I haven't even logged a dinner plan yet. If I decided those were all "free" because they're "healthy", I'd be missing close to 350 calories from my diary. My deficit right now is only 250 day for .5 lb loss, so if I didn't log those, I could easily overeat and wipe out my deficit every day.
Not to mention, not all "small" apples are created equally. Their calorie content will vary based on the weight of the fruit. Small is in the eye of the beholder, so what you see as a 60 calorie apple might actually be more than that..
Maybe if you're still feeling hungry, though, it's a possible sign that your deficit is too high. Are you set to 2lb loss per week?
Yep. Your post made me go and calculate the calories of fruits and vegetables I had today so far, and out of the 764 calories I have eaten so far, 283 are fruits and vegetables (or more than third) with more on the way. My diet would be screwed if I didn't count them.1 -
Definitely log it. Eat it and log it. You don't want to re-post three months from now asking why you're not meeting your goals. Don't get into the habit of tricking yourself into thinking you're logging correctly when you're omitting foods. Don't cheat yourself, you got this!1
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There are good and bad foods but what may be good for one person may be bad for another and the other way around.
We can figure out what foods are good and bad for ourselves over time but we can not tell another something is good/bad for them over social media with any degree of integrity.0
This discussion has been closed.
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