How to measure a serving size for vegetables & fruits..?

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  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I weigh them like everything else.

    When it comes to grapes I get a small bowl tear out the scale. And put in the amount of grapes that I think I want to eat. I weigh them in grams look up the calories in Presto. Sometimes I'm in the mood for 200 grams of grapes. Sometimes I'm in the mood for 50 grams of grapes, 50 grams of blueberries, 50 grams of strawberries, a hundred grams of cantaloupe. Nice little fruit salad. It's so much easier when you weigh your fruit by grams.

    I do the same thing with veggies.

    The only time I wing it with fruits and vegetables is when I am out and cannot weigh my food because I just don't carry a food scale around with me.

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    Guess my point is eating too many vegetables and fruits isn't the problem with over weight people... it's the other things they eat...and if they were to eat a lot more vegetables and fruit they might not eat so much garbage
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    Pulling out the scale to weigh an apple just seems ridiculous to me as the apple is the least of the dieters problem

    I notice you did not respond to my earlier comments about tracking veg and fruit not necessarily being about limiting them, or the many other people who said similar things.

    The things you said above, that I am quoting here, are reflective, I think, of how you perhaps used to eat, or are tempted to eat, but they are not true for all people who need to lose.

    When I decided to lose, I was eating a lot of vegetables (and some fruit) -- well more than the average American and even more then the recommended amounts of veg, by a lot. I don't think the veg made me fat (veg are pretty low cal), but I often cooked them in fat or ate them with high cal dinners, and eating the veg made zero difference to the fact that I was overeating in a number of different ways that added up.

    For me, it was extremely helpful to understand my diet and enjoyable to log carefully, and since I cook treating veg and fruit as thing not to weigh or log when I was weighing everything else would have just seemed weird and nonsensical. Plus, some things are hard to classify -- I eat a lot of beans and beans are technically a veg (and one serving counts as one for the challenge I mentioned above). Some will count potatoes and sweet potatoes as veg (they technically are, after all). Others are quite high cal (avocado). If you are prone to eat lots of higher cal fruit (I'm not, but some are), they add up too.

    Bigger thing is that a significant amount of my calories daily are from veg and fruit (since I eat so much of them), and if I were on low cals, it would be even more. I want to know my real calorie level (if I am logging), and my real macros (most of my carbs are from veg, fruit, beans, tubers, after all), and green veg and beans contribute a decent amount of protein too.

    And as mentioned, one use for logging veg -- and what I think OP was getting at -- was to make sure you are eating a sufficient amount. Saying "oh, I don't log veg, they can't make me fat," can also be a good way to ignore the fact you aren't eating an adequate amount or reasonable variety. Not my issue, but something to think about.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    I get what your saying...I do...the bigger point I'm trying to make is if you eat more vegetables and fruits you will eat less garbage and will feel better! Yes I'm very over weight

    This is not true for me. Sadly, just eating lots of veg and fruit does not cause me to just naturally decrease other calories.
  • brooklyn7214
    brooklyn7214 Posts: 22 Member
    Terrytriesharder wrote: »
    Show me a person who got fat eating fruits and I will show you a person with a deep fat dryer and too much time on their hands.

    HighCarbHannah on YouTube.
    She gained a bunch of weight when she was eating mostly fruit and vegetables.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    Why would u limit those?

    It's not limiting them...it's using weight to accurately log them and their calories.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited April 2018
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    Why would u limit those?

    It's not limiting them...it's using weight to accurately log them and their calories.

    ^ This.
    And weighing food is neither a punishment nor a deterrent. It's actually extremely liberating.

    Edited for grammar.
  • iWishMyNameWasRebel
    iWishMyNameWasRebel Posts: 174 Member
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    I get what your saying...I do...the bigger point I'm trying to make is if you eat more vegetables and fruits you will eat less garbage and will feel better! Yes I'm very over weight

    You are completely right. And I've become even more convinced of my need for fruits and vegetables by tracking them. Not only does tracking them let me see the calories, I can see if I've had enough fiber and vitamins. It also helps me to see that maybe I should choose a bowl full of berries instead of the mango and bananas on days when my other foods have been a little over the limit. It never, ever, ever discourages me from eating them in any way, shape or form. It also shows me how on the days I have more of XYZ fruit/veggie I feel better/workout better/eat less crap. So yes, tracking my fruits and vegetables is extremely important for my overall success and serves to increase the amount I eat of the healthiest produce.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    iWishMyNameWasRebel wrote: »
    Fatmansyndrome wrote: »
    I get what your saying...I do...the bigger point I'm trying to make is if you eat more vegetables and fruits you will eat less garbage and will feel better! Yes I'm very over weight

    You are completely right. And I've become even more convinced of my need for fruits and vegetables by tracking them. Not only does tracking them let me see the calories, I can see if I've had enough fiber and vitamins. It also helps me to see that maybe I should choose a bowl full of berries instead of the mango and bananas on days when my other foods have been a little over the limit. It never, ever, ever discourages me from eating them in any way, shape or form. It also shows me how on the days I have more of XYZ fruit/veggie I feel better/workout better/eat less crap. So yes, tracking my fruits and vegetables is extremely important for my overall success and serves to increase the amount I eat of the healthiest produce.

    Yes, this is a great point. Fruits and vegetables aren't all completely interchangeable -- they have different calorie counts as well as different macro- and micronutrients. Tracking them allows us to see these differences and choose a variety that best meets our nutritional needs.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    edited April 2018
    alondraNramos wrote: »
    I am really confused in regards to how to meansure fruits & veggies.. should I use a scale or measure using cup measurements..? If you can elaborate on your respond, it would be greatly appreciated ♥️

    A scale will be the easiest and most accurate way to measure fruits, vegetables or any solid food.
    A lot of vegetables and fruits are awkward shapes to fit in a measuring cup so you might measure more or less depending on the shape and how much you could cram in. 50 g of avocado is 50 g of avocado though.
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