Do any of you have "free" foods that you don't add in your calorie count?

DecryingShame · July 2020

I'm thinking of compiling a list of food that is so low in calories and high in fiber that I will allow myself to eat as much of them as possible and not record them, like Weight Watchers' zero point food list. Has anyone else tried this? How did it work and what foods were on your list?

nanastaci2020 · July 2020

No - but lower calorie stuff like lettuce/spinach/tomatoes/cucumbers/carrots: I may estimate without use of the food scale. I figure if its really 10 cals instead of 7, it does not make much of an impact.

breefoshee · July 2020

DecryingShame wrote: »

I'm thinking of compiling a list of food that is so low in calories and high in fiber that I will allow myself to eat as much of them as possible and not record them, like Weight Watchers' zero point food list. Has anyone else tried this? How did it work and what foods were on your list?

Something to keep in mind is that WW points are lowered so that people can have the "free" points. If you are going to have some freebies that you don't want to log, you may need to lower your calorie amounts.

I don't log: gum, hot sauce, spices. I eyeball ketchup. That's about it for me.

alexmose · July 2020

cherry tomatoes?

jclement2 · July 2020

It's not so much the calories, it's the sugar of any type and the carbs. Carbs turns to sugar in the body and that turns into fat. Eliminate all sugars including the fake ones, limit your carbs to under 50 grams and less if you can stand it. So no sugars, no grains of any type, (no bread, pasta, bagels, you get the picture) no potatoes. I eat lots of eggs, steak, pork, chicken, and salads with lime juice and olive oil. Also use only Extra virgin olive oil, butter or avocado oil and drink lots of water.

janejellyroll · July 2020

jclement2 wrote: »

It's not so much the calories, it's the sugar of any type and the carbs. Carbs turns to sugar in the body and that turns into fat. Eliminate all sugars including the fake ones, limit your carbs to under 50 grams and less if you can stand it. So no sugars, no grains of any type, (no bread, pasta, bagels, you get the picture) no potatoes. I eat lots of eggs, steak, pork, chicken, and salads with lime juice and olive oil. Also use only Extra virgin olive oil, butter or avocado oil and drink lots of water.

I lost weight getting 60% of my calories from carbohydrates and including artificial sweeteners, sugar, grains (including bread, pasta, and bagels), and potatoes. I never ate eggs, steak, pork, chicken, or butter.

I'm glad you found a way that worked for you, but there are many ways to eat in a calorie deficit (which is what creates weight loss).

nanastaci2020 · July 2020

Sugar does not make a person fat.

Nothing wrong with this way of eating if you like the way it makes you feel. But its not required for weight loss or general health, unless one has a medical condition that requires a limitation on sugar/carbs.

I cannot/will not give up bread, rice, potatoes.

jclement2 wrote: »

It's not so much the calories, it's the sugar of any type and the carbs. Carbs turns to sugar in the body and that turns into fat. Eliminate all sugars including the fake ones, limit your carbs to under 50 grams and less if you can stand it. So no sugars, no grains of any type, (no bread, pasta, bagels, you get the picture) no potatoes. I eat lots of eggs, steak, pork, chicken, and salads with lime juice and olive oil. Also use only Extra virgin olive oil, butter or avocado oil and drink lots of water.

Dogmom1978 · July 2020

jclement2 wrote: »

It's not so much the calories, it's the sugar of any type and the carbs. Carbs turns to sugar in the body and that turns into fat. Eliminate all sugars including the fake ones, limit your carbs to under 50 grams and less if you can stand it. So no sugars, no grains of any type, (no bread, pasta, bagels, you get the picture) no potatoes. I eat lots of eggs, steak, pork, chicken, and salads with lime juice and olive oil. Also use only Extra virgin olive oil, butter or avocado oil and drink lots of water.

So, I wouldn’t recommend a diet that like that to anyone ever. That said, if it works for you, ok.

I need sustainable long term changes to lose weight and I’m not about to live on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet for the rest of my life.

OP, I don’t count carrots. I weigh and count everything else. If I remember to get cucumbers this week to add to my snack foods, I won’t count those either.

cpnknight · July 2020

I count most calories but do not bother with the likes of margarine. Yes I know it is fat but I cannot be bothered with estimating the thin scrape that I put on the Ryvitas!

BarbaraHelen2013 · July 2020

Nope, no free foods for me!

My body absorbs the calories whether I count them or not, so to keep an accurate record of my intake I log everything. That even includes the 8g of lettuce I put in my folded flatbread!

corinasue1143 · July 2020

I don’t log vitamins, etc. I don’t log 4 almonds a day. I don’t log seasoning except in recipes.
I set my calorie goal for 50 less per day so I don’t have to log these things.

Jacq_qui · July 2020

I don't add rocket, garlic/onions/vegetable base in home made sauces. Nor the bit of oat milk in the few small cups of coffee I have. I'm always under my calorie goal anyway.

I don't really like the idea of WW's free foods though - all food has a calorie and nutrient content, and I want to learn about what I eat whilst losing weight. The first time I weighed my mayo I had a nasty shock! (not saying that anyone's free food is mayo of course). Personally for me, the concept of free foods wouldn't help me stay under my goal.

PAV8888 · July 2020

I enjoy the puzzle of maximizing what I can fit in whatever calories I decide I will allow myself at any which time. Not counting things would deprive me of the joy!

AnnPT77 · July 2020

There are a few things I don't log (like the maybe 1/16 slice of a lemon or lime I put in my daily matcha), but generally I weigh and log all the veggies, fruits, etc.

I don't think it's necessary for everyone to log everything, that, to lose weight. So, I think what you're considering can work. If it helps you get the right amounts of some nutrient-dense foods, that's a bonus. Sometimes people are able to loose-log the whole way through weight loss; some find they need to tighten up logging for the last 10 pounds or something because the wiggle room is less at that point. No reason not to try that approach, see if it works.

For me, there are 3 main reasons why I prefer to log everything:

1. One of the things I wanted out of the weight loss process was a solid, experience-based estimate of my maintenance calories. More precision in logging is needed, for that. The advantage of that knowledge is that if I change my eating style, I still know what my calorie budget needs to be. (I do eat really large amounts of veggies and fruits, often several hundred calories of them daily, sometimes hundreds just from the low-calorie, non-starchy ones. I can and still do eat a whole head of cauliflower or cabbage in one meal, for example. Lummesome veggies.)

2. I like having some idea where I am on macronutrients and micronutrients. Because of the crowd-sourced database, MFP has some inherent limitations in accuracy, especially for micros, but it's still a help to know what I might need to take a closer look at, to know whether I'm on target when it comes to good overall nutrition, on average.

3. This is super individual, but I make fewer mistakes when I just weigh and log everything, kind of on autopilot. It also is less annoying to me, because autopilot takes less cognitive bandwidth for me than thinking "do I weigh this or not, do I log this or not" continually. Other people will differ greatly, in which habits of mind are most congenial, but this is true for me.

My impression is that WW makes certain foods free in part to encourage people to eat more of them, which can be a worthy goal, if someone is inclined to lowball the nutrient dense foods WW has on the free list. That is not, and never has been, me. I got obese and stayed that way, getting quite adequate amounts . . . and then some! . . . of mostly nutrient-dense foods (not just the free ones, though).

Whatever works for you, to motivate you to get good well-rounded nutrition, and to hit appropriate calories so you can achieve your weight goals: That's a good practice. And I think it's good to experiment, during weight loss, to find the approach that fits your personality and needs the best.

Best wishes!

tuckerrj · July 2020

Black coffee, artificially sweetened beverages and the artificial sweetners themselves & most vitamins are all on my 'don't count' list. If I were FORCED to add actual foods, it would probably be lettuce & celery. But like @AnnPT77 I prefer to be honest and continue to adjust my maintenace calories, if necessary.