How do you know how many calories are ACTUALLY in fruit and veg?

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  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
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    SezxyStef wrote: »
    lorrainequiche59 wrote: »
    I haven't read all the comments, but what I have read I tend to agree with those who are less rigid. If you are eating the recommended servings of fruit & veg (is it still 5-10 daily? in the revised food guide) and not choosing HUGE portions then it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you're not exactly exact. And even though MFP contains varying estimates, I think most things can be averaged out without going extreme either way.

    If you think about it Weight Watcher members lose weight WITHOUT calculating most of their fruits & veg intake, but it is also based on being reasonable, it isn't a free-for-all just because they are considered "free" foods. For instance bananas are a free food, but only if you eat ONE banana not FIVE bananas. I'm assuming Weight Watchers still calculate that way...they tend to change their format regularly so perhaps it isn't...ANYHOO the principle still applies.....

    except 5 servings of fruit can be up to 500 calories and that can and often does wipe out a deficit.

    Same with veggies...

    I am not saying that it has to be so strict that you are stressing over a carrot stick or even 4 or 5 but they do have calories and they need counted especially if you are stalled...or finding it difficult to lose weight or gaining...time to take stock of the CI CO equation.

    I wasn't saying not to count calories from fruits & veg, I said "Weight Watchers" do not count fruit & veg, perhaps you could re-read my comment. I'm saying don't be obsessed if one estimate says a medium apple is 80 cals another says 90 cals. The difference is 10 calories. Multiply that by 5.

    I thought the OP was referring to tracking "exactly" what the correct calorie count is. And as another commenter said you'll never know "exactly" anyway, and if you continue to lose weight then does it really make a difference if the calories are "exact."
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    CICO isn't counting calories. It's simply the energy balance equation that governs whether weight is lost, gained, or maintained.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    I agree that you don't have to be super exact with fruit and veg, and there have definitely been times when I logged a cup of greens or a medium banana, or just went by how it compared to past experience (looks like that half avocado is about 75 g). I do that with some higher cal foods too (well, avocado is higher cal), although for me it's easier to weigh if I can rather than spend the extra time thinking about the estimate. ALSO, I think that eating lots of veg especially is important, so there I wouldn't want to be overestimating for safety -- I'd want to accurately understand how much I am eating and I want to be getting lots of cals from them.

    What I find more confusing is the idea that with fruits and veg it makes no difference what entry is chosen, that it's a silly thing to think about, just pick some average one. The principle behind picking a better entry for fruits and veg is the same as for any other food and it takes no extra time and it's nice to have a reliable one in your Frequent Foods. So why not tell someone who is confused by all the entries (many of which are nutritionally incomplete or just wrong) how to find the USDA ones (usually it's just a matter of typing in whatever it is, raw, and seeing if it has a lot of different measurement choices). I get that it's still just an estimate, but it's not like all the entries are reasonable estimates and differ based on season or what not. Many of the alternatives are things like "orange, one" (how big an orange?) or don't specify cooked or raw or are homemade weirdness that could have ingredients added or are just very off (celery, -3 calories or some such).
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    lorrainequiche59 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    lorrainequiche59 wrote: »
    I haven't read all the comments, but what I have read I tend to agree with those who are less rigid. If you are eating the recommended servings of fruit & veg (is it still 5-10 daily? in the revised food guide) and not choosing HUGE portions then it shouldn't be that big of a deal if you're not exactly exact. And even though MFP contains varying estimates, I think most things can be averaged out without going extreme either way.

    If you think about it Weight Watcher members lose weight WITHOUT calculating most of their fruits & veg intake, but it is also based on being reasonable, it isn't a free-for-all just because they are considered "free" foods. For instance bananas are a free food, but only if you eat ONE banana not FIVE bananas. I'm assuming Weight Watchers still calculate that way...they tend to change their format regularly so perhaps it isn't...ANYHOO the principle still applies.....

    except 5 servings of fruit can be up to 500 calories and that can and often does wipe out a deficit.

    Same with veggies...

    I am not saying that it has to be so strict that you are stressing over a carrot stick or even 4 or 5 but they do have calories and they need counted especially if you are stalled...or finding it difficult to lose weight or gaining...time to take stock of the CI CO equation.

    I wasn't saying not to count calories from fruits & veg, I said "Weight Watchers" do not count fruit & veg, perhaps you could re-read my comment. I'm saying don't be obsessed if one estimate says a medium apple is 80 cals another says 90 cals. The difference is 10 calories. Multiply that by 5.

    I thought the OP was referring to tracking "exactly" what the correct calorie count is. And as another commenter said you'll never know "exactly" anyway, and if you continue to lose weight then does it really make a difference if the calories are "exact."

    and I didn't say you did...I elaborated on something you missed because you didn't read hte thread.

    I said...no you don't have to be "exact" most of the time but if you are stalled or finding it hard start tracking more diligently and htat includes fruits and veggies.

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