10 portions of fruit and veg a day

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Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    aamb wrote: »
    I always believed that multiple servings of the same veggie and potatoes didn't count... i'm hopeless at getting 5 in, so won't even attempt going for 10!

    Why wouldn't they count?

    Because some don't count, like beans (pulses) and potatoes, since they have fibre and are starchy. I don't understand the reasoning myself. Possibly because they aren't actual vegetables/fruits. IDK. I don't make the rules.

    http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/pulses.aspx

    "One portion is 80g, which is equivalent to around three heaped tablespoons of cooked pulses.

    However, if you eat more than three heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses in a day, this still only counts as one portion of your 5 A DAY. This is because while pulses contain fibre, they don't give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as fruit and vegetables.

    This excludes green beans, such as broad beans and runner beans, which are counted as a vegetable and not a bean or pulse for 5 A DAY.
    "
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited February 2017
    I'm not overly concerned about my fruit and vegetable consumption. A 500 gram vegetable portion (6 portions?) in at least one meal is not uncommon for me, plus 3-4 pieces of fruit and 1-4 pounds of tomatoes over the course of the day is more common for me than not. It's not as hard as you think. You can very easily eat 10 potions in one meal. Roasted vegetables shrink a lot and what you thought of as "too much" would become "barely enough". That huge bunch of spinach you thought no way would fit? Cook it down and see how much of it is left.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Tum22 wrote: »
    Will anyone be following the new advice of ten 80g portions of fruit and or veg a day? (UK) It used to be five and now it is recommended to eat ten portions a day to avoid deaths from cancers/strokes and heart attacks. And what do you think is the best way to do this?

    I dunno but I sure won't be attempting it. I put all those foods in my calculator and I get 630 calories....just for fruits and veggies. Yeah not happening.

    How did you come up with 630? I used carrot as proxy, being a middle of the road calorie veggie (things like cauliflower and broccoli would be even lower) and I came up with 329 calories for 800 grams. Have you used a fruit in your calculations?
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I'm not overly concerned about my fruit and vegetable consumption. A 500 gram vegetable portion (6 portions?) in at least one meal is not uncommon for me, plus 3-4 pieces of fruit and 1-4 pounds of tomatoes over the course of the day is more common for me than not. It's not as hard as you think. You can very easily eat 10 potions in one meal. Roasted vegetables shrink a lot and what you thought of as "too much" would become "barely enough". That huge bunch of spinach you thought no way would fit? Cook it down and see how much of it is left.

    This.

    When I oil wilt my kail, 200g goes from filling up a stew pot, to barely half of a bowl.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    I just couldn't eat 10 portions of fruit a day, but when it comes veg I could..... honestly each week it seems they tell us something different. I won't be getting hung up on it that's for sure.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Tum22 wrote: »
    It used to be five and now it is recommended to eat ten portions a day to avoid deaths from cancers/strokes and heart attacks. And what do you think is the best way to do this?

    idk, i'm old enough to be cynical. i remember when it was four, and more and more i suspect they're just making this up.

    i think it was always 10, but 'they' thought that was too hard for people to do, so made it 5 which was supposed to be more manageable...

    I would agree. New way to do thinkgs, if the standard is considered by some too hard make it easier.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html
  • dammitjanet0161
    dammitjanet0161 Posts: 319 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    aamb wrote: »
    I always believed that multiple servings of the same veggie and potatoes didn't count... i'm hopeless at getting 5 in, so won't even attempt going for 10!

    Why wouldn't they count?

    Because some don't count, like beans (pulses) and potatoes, since they have fibre and are starchy. I don't understand the reasoning myself. Possibly because they aren't actual vegetables/fruits. IDK. I don't make the rules.

    http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/pulses.aspx

    "One portion is 80g, which is equivalent to around three heaped tablespoons of cooked pulses.

    However, if you eat more than three heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses in a day, this still only counts as one portion of your 5 A DAY. This is because while pulses contain fibre, they don't give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as fruit and vegetables.

    This excludes green beans, such as broad beans and runner beans, which are counted as a vegetable and not a bean or pulse for 5 A DAY.
    "

    I'm sure I've read in the past that it's also to get people eating a larger variety of nutrients and not to rely on fruit over veg (which might be tempting for some), so for instance 5 apples a day wouldn't count as your 5 servings.

    It's a good thing to aim for, but I agree I wouldn't get too hung up on the details.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p
  • Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I want to know how they know this. Did they ask you? Me? Everyone here? I never take these types of statements seriously because I just don't know where they get their information.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2017
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p

    I eat 3 times, and one reason I've never ended up trying the 2 meal/day or IF options is that for me it would be hard to get the amount of veg I like and the amount of protein I aim for without 3 meals to spread them around in.

    It really depends on what I have on hand, but on average I tend to eat about 300 g of veg with a meal, usually a couple of different ones, sometimes more, sometimes less (I don't count legumes or starches like potatoes/sweet potatoes/corn as veg in my own mind, just never have). I have as a goal to have vegetables with breakfast, often something like brussels sprouts, 2 eggs, some cottage cheese (today), although I will often have some fruit instead of as much veg then (today I had some blueberries with the brussels, and around 200 g of the brussels). I mostly think in terms of 150-200 g of each veg (which feels like a serving to me) of 2 different veg unless doing a dish that involves a bunch of them (like a salad or stir fry or many of the pasta toppings I make). I take seriously the idea that vegetables should make up the majority of the meal, although I tend to plan in my head around the protein and what goes with it. For me the starch is more accent/round out the meal unless I need more calories.

    I also might have fruit as a snack or evening dessert, but often it's a side dish for 1 or 2 meals and I don't snack.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p

    I eat 3 times, and one reason I've never ended up trying the 2 meal/day or IF options is that for me it would be hard to get the amount of veg I like and the amount of protein I aim for without 3 meals to spread them around in.

    It really depends on what I have on hand, but on average I tend to eat about 300 g of veg with a meal, usually a couple of different ones, sometimes more, sometimes less (I don't count legumes or starches like potatoes/sweet potatoes/corn as veg in my own mind, just never have). I have as a goal to have vegetables with breakfast, often something like brussels sprouts, 2 eggs, some cottage cheese (today), although I will often have some fruit instead of as much veg then (today I had some blueberries with the brussels, and around 200 g of the brussels). I mostly think in terms of 150-200 g of each veg (which feels like a serving to me) of 2 different veg unless doing a dish that involves a bunch of them (like a salad or stir fry or many of the pasta toppings I make). I take seriously the idea that vegetables should make up the majority of the meal, although I tend to plan in my head around the protein and what goes with it. For me the starch is more accent/round out the meal unless I need more calories.

    I also might have fruit as a snack or evening dessert, but often it's a side dish for 1 or 2 meals and I don't snack.

    Yeah, I may have to get away from IF while I do this. I'm also curious to see what my calorie intake will be fitting in the extra veggies and fruit. Since I don't like fruit by itself, when I do eat it I add it to other things like smoothies, pudding, pie :D etc. I anticipate my calorie intake being quite a bit higher?
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited February 2017
    dp
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited February 2017
    I've been thinking through my own habits on the heels of this.
    I tend to have something veg with breakfast, but a small portion.
    I often snack on raw vegetables.
    I almost always have protein and veg for lunch, but in weird proportions. So, yesterday, for example, I had 4 ounces of chicken, and a whole BAG of broccoli (nearly 400 grams), stir fried in chili garlic paste.
    Dinner is almost always protein and veg, or a veg soup, or just veg.

    I don't tend to eat "a lot" of fruit, but do have berries, tomato juice, apples etc. fairly regularly.

    I think I'll count and weigh for a few days to see where I am relative to "800 grams" of vegetables.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited February 2017
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p

    I eat 2-3 meals a day but snack a lot in between. My snacks are mostly raw tomatoes and sometimes other veggies too but I do end up with a few pieces of fruit too by the end of the day. My biggest meal usually contains most of my veggies. If roasting or doing cooked leafy, I often go with about 500-1000 grams of raw veggies, or 100-300 grams of leafy veggies. It sounds like a lot of food but it really isn't. I like my cauliflower and eggplant well-roasted so a kilo shrinks down to barely a bowl. If I'm making soup or raw salad it ends up being less per serving than I would do for roasting. My other meals also always contain veggies in some form but in smaller quantities. People eat popcorn when watching TV, I randomly munch on raw lettuce, cauliflower or cabbage leaves right off the stem because I love the crunch.

    ETA: I often end up with anywhere between 15-40 servings of veggies a day if I'm not eating out or fasting, so the way I eat is not representative of what it would take to eat 10. Trust me, it won't be hard.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited February 2017
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I want to know how they know this. Did they ask you? Me? Everyone here? I never take these types of statements seriously because I just don't know where they get their information.

    Of course they didn't ask everyone. Have you heard of statistical sampling? If the data is based on self reporting it may even be a bit overstated.

    Thr data is from the Center for Disease Control. I'm sure their methodology is valid.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p

    I eat 3 times, and one reason I've never ended up trying the 2 meal/day or IF options is that for me it would be hard to get the amount of veg I like and the amount of protein I aim for without 3 meals to spread them around in.

    It really depends on what I have on hand, but on average I tend to eat about 300 g of veg with a meal, usually a couple of different ones, sometimes more, sometimes less (I don't count legumes or starches like potatoes/sweet potatoes/corn as veg in my own mind, just never have). I have as a goal to have vegetables with breakfast, often something like brussels sprouts, 2 eggs, some cottage cheese (today), although I will often have some fruit instead of as much veg then (today I had some blueberries with the brussels, and around 200 g of the brussels). I mostly think in terms of 150-200 g of each veg (which feels like a serving to me) of 2 different veg unless doing a dish that involves a bunch of them (like a salad or stir fry or many of the pasta toppings I make). I take seriously the idea that vegetables should make up the majority of the meal, although I tend to plan in my head around the protein and what goes with it. For me the starch is more accent/round out the meal unless I need more calories.

    I also might have fruit as a snack or evening dessert, but often it's a side dish for 1 or 2 meals and I don't snack.

    Yeah, I may have to get away from IF while I do this. I'm also curious to see what my calorie intake will be fitting in the extra veggies and fruit. Since I don't like fruit by itself, when I do eat it I add it to other things like smoothies, pudding, pie :D etc. I anticipate my calorie intake being quite a bit higher?

    Not necessarily. I don't log often, but here is a day from last December, 1900 total calories, without breakfast and 2079 g (almost 26 portions) of F&V:
    December 3, 2016
    FOODS Calories Carbs Fat Protein Cholest Sodium Sugars Fiber
    Lunch
    Oil - Olive, 2 tbsp(s) 239 0g 27g 0g 0mg 1mg 0g 0g
    Lettuce, green leaf, raw, 160 g 24 5g 0g 2g 0mg 45mg 1g 2g
    Usda - Avocado, 90 g 144 8g 13g 2g 0mg 6mg 1g 6g
    Tangerines, (mandarin oranges), raw, 200 g 106 27g 1g 2g 0mg 4mg 21g 4g
    Geppino - Fettina Vitello Magra, 115.0 g 129 0g 3g 29g 82mg 99mg 0g 0g
    Pears, raw, 300 g 171 46g 0g 1g 0mg 3mg 29g 9g
    Usda - Eggplant, Raw (g), 75 g 19 4g 0g 1g 0mg 2mg 3g 2g
    Inran - Frutta - Arancia Wtp, 100 g 34 8g 0g 1g 0mg 3mg 8g 2g
    Inran - Pollo, Sovracoscio Senza Pelle Crudo (C ), 100 gr 132 0g 6g 19g 73mg 67mg 0g 0g
    Tesco Finest - Acacia Honey, 3 g 10 2g 0g 0g 0mg 0mg 2g 0g
    Inran - Banana, 170 g 111 26g 1g 2g 0mg 2mg 22g 3g
    Dinner
    Geppino - Fettina Vitello Magra, 100 g 112 0g 3g 25g 71mg 86mg 0g 0g
    Ortaggi - Melanzane Crude (Inran), 700 g 126 18g 3g 8g 0mg 182mg 18g 18g
    Oil - Olive, 1 tablespoon 119 0g 14g 0g 0mg 0mg 0g 0g
    Evening Snack
    Bresaola - Bresaola, 28.0 g 42 0g 1g 9g 0mg 447mg 0g 0g
    Inran - Banana, 84 g 55 13g 0g 1g 0mg 1mg 11g 2g
    Galbani - Provola, 68 gr 229 0g 18g 16g 0mg 252mg 0g 0g
    Generico - Mandaranci, 200 gr 106 26g 0g 2g 0mg 4mg 26g 4g
    TOTAL: 1,908 183g 90g 120g 226mg 1,204mg 142g 52g

  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Lot of outliers here. According to the CDC, only 10% of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

    https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/centers-for-disease-control-news-120/only-1-in-10-americans-eats-enough-fruits-and-veggies-cdc-701213.html

    I'm kind of surprised at how many in this thread eat the amount of veggies and fruit that they eat, I don't know anyone in real life who eats close to that (my husband for example doesn't eat fruit or veggies at all-as in NONE). I actually forwarded my mother-in-law the article link, and she responded back that she maybe gets in 3-4 servings a day. And she's someone who I consider very healthy/eats healthy.

    I still don't know how I'm going to actually fit in 800 grams a day for my little challenge next week. For those who do hit that (or close to it), how many meals/snacks do you eat a day? I typically only eat twice, with an occasional afternoon snack, so that breaks down to around 400g per meal. I don't know if my stomach can actually handle that much :p

    I eat 3 times, and one reason I've never ended up trying the 2 meal/day or IF options is that for me it would be hard to get the amount of veg I like and the amount of protein I aim for without 3 meals to spread them around in.

    It really depends on what I have on hand, but on average I tend to eat about 300 g of veg with a meal, usually a couple of different ones, sometimes more, sometimes less (I don't count legumes or starches like potatoes/sweet potatoes/corn as veg in my own mind, just never have). I have as a goal to have vegetables with breakfast, often something like brussels sprouts, 2 eggs, some cottage cheese (today), although I will often have some fruit instead of as much veg then (today I had some blueberries with the brussels, and around 200 g of the brussels). I mostly think in terms of 150-200 g of each veg (which feels like a serving to me) of 2 different veg unless doing a dish that involves a bunch of them (like a salad or stir fry or many of the pasta toppings I make). I take seriously the idea that vegetables should make up the majority of the meal, although I tend to plan in my head around the protein and what goes with it. For me the starch is more accent/round out the meal unless I need more calories.

    I also might have fruit as a snack or evening dessert, but often it's a side dish for 1 or 2 meals and I don't snack.

    Yeah, I may have to get away from IF while I do this. I'm also curious to see what my calorie intake will be fitting in the extra veggies and fruit. Since I don't like fruit by itself, when I do eat it I add it to other things like smoothies, pudding, pie :D etc. I anticipate my calorie intake being quite a bit higher?

    Not necessarily. I don't log often, but I have a day from last December with no breakfast, 1900 calories, and 2079 g of F&V (almost 26 portions):
    ss56tox4v9vr.png