Do I need to track my fruit and vegetables?

szirby

I'm wondering if I can still lose weight without tracking my fruit and vegetable intake. I know people have lots of success with weight watchers and these items are "free". I realize it all comes down to a calorie deficite, but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing. Any suggestions? Anyone done weight watchers and is now doing this? Thanks!

starrylioness

Fruit and vegetables still have calories. Log everything.

butlersoft

If it's water - it's free .....

Anything else is calories and they all add up.

Track 'em !!

RestartingAgain1

^This^

nomeejerome

Yes. You need to track your fruits and veggies. (they have calories)

One_Last_Time

Yes, log everything and be honest about it.

nineteentwenty

Fruits are crazy with sugars, and a lot of veggies are chock full of carbs. You'd be surprised at how it all adds up.

navyrigger46

Sure, while your at it, you should add pizza to the list of free items, since your just willy nilly deciding what foods do and do not have calories that count.

Rigger

Strokingdiction

So if your calories are all used up, you think you can then eat something with calories in it and not go over just because it's a fruit or a vegetable?

I'm really not understanding the logic of your question since you already seem to understand the concept of eating at a deficit. Do you think that someone giving you permission to not track your fruits and vegetables will magically make those no longer contain calories?

Want some fruit at the end of the day? Eat slightly less during the day.

samg135

Definatley log your fruit and veg, every calorie counts.

I try to have at least one veg at dinner as this helps to fill me up for the evening and means I am generally not hungry at the end of the day.

3dogsrunning

An avocado is a fruit and is 355 calories.

A banana is about 110 calories. An apple about the same.

That enough to erase a 500 calorie deficit right there.

Go_Mizzou99

Weight Watchers and their (stupid) Points Plus system skews the points to force the user towards "certain" foods.

If you do the math, one WW Points Plus point is between 35 and 45 calories - depending on their view of how good or nasty the food is.

Count everything...

spirit095

Fruits can have a ton of calories. I would definitely log them and not use them as a "free pass" to eat more.

feelin_gr_8

I have had weight loss success twice in my life-with weight watchers, and with calorie counting (here on MFP and on my own). While I count the vegetables, it depends on how strict you want to be. If 10 or 20 calories over your daily goal drives you batty, log them. If you're not that OCD like me and many others, I would suggest tracking them for a while just to get your head wrapped around what calorie content they have. Lettuce and other vegetables have so little that it's almost not worth counting. Avocados have a lot of calories. Fruit probably has more than you think. If you feel counting veggies is too much, maybe just ballpark them and still count the fruit?

Aaron_K123

I'd track everything. If you want to be lazy about it though you could probably get away with not tracking vegetables. Fruit you should definitely track though. It isn't that hard to eat several hundred calories worth of fruit in a day. It would be pretty hard to do that with vegetables though given their high fiber to calorie content.

Of course as soon as I say that someone is going to post nutrition information for a vegetable that has like 200 calories per serving but in general, like if we are talking salad, yeah you would be hard pressed to eat enough lettuce to put a dent in your daily intake.

ruffnstuff

....but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing.

No offense, but DERP! All of us who are/were overweight want this phenomenon. However, all calories do count ON A CALORIE COUNTING WEBSITE. Proceed how you wish but expect success/failure to fall in line with how you "count" calories.

emkayelle91

Fruits and vegetables have calories along with carbs and sugars. Log them!

rebbylicious

this- and I also find that people tend not to log beverages. Often that's why someone is not losing weight.

QuietBloom

So if your calories are all used up, you think you can then eat something with calories in it and not go over just because it's a fruit or a vegetable?

I'm really not understanding the logic of your question since you already seem to understand the concept of eating at a deficit. Do you think that someone giving you permission to not track your fruits and vegetables will magically make those no longer contain calories?

Want some fruit at the end of the day? Eat slightly less during the day.

I believe some diets (Weight Watchers comes to mind) has free vegetables. They go by a points system, not calories per se. That might be why OP is asking.

lemon629

....but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing.

No offense, but DERP! All of us who are/were overweight want this phenomenon. However, all calories do count ON A CALORIE COUNTING WEBSITE. Proceed how you wish but expect success/failure to fall in line with how you "count" calories.

Yes. You can't mix two different systems! If you want to use WW and count points, then do that. If you want to count calories, then do that. And even the WW people will tell you that the fruits & vegetables do count if you have more than just a few. It's not an excuse to over-eat.

If you count calories, but then don't count fruits & vegetables, then you will go far over your calories.

Both systems work, but you have to pick one.

cwolfman13

I'm wondering if I can still lose weight without tracking my fruit and vegetable intake. I know people have lots of success with weight watchers and these items are "free". I realize it all comes down to a calorie deficite, but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing. Any suggestions? Anyone done weight watchers and is now doing this? Thanks!

These items are "free" with weight watchers because other items have inflated points to make up for it. I would also add that, I believe, only one serving of fruit is "free" with WW...fruits can be extremely calorie dense. My apple today is around 100 calories...a banana can run you a good 110 - 120...don't really know why you wouldn't count that...calorie counting is about precision.

WW =/.= Calorie Counting

Fruits and veg have calories...I eat roughly 200 - 300 calories worth of fruits and vegetables per day...why would you think those 200 - 300 calories wouldn't count towards my daily total?

WaterBunnie

If you feel you are regularly running out of calories before you are satisfied it could mean you are trying to lose too quickly. Try a lower deficit and log your extra healthy foods using your extra allowance so that you're keeping an accurate record would be my advice. By eating but not logging it you are effectively doing the same thing but not having the benefit of being able to track your macros.

cheripugh1

I'm wondering if I can still lose weight without tracking my fruit and vegetable intake. I know people have lots of success with weight watchers and these items are "free". I realize it all comes down to a calorie deficite, but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing. Any suggestions? Anyone done weight watchers and is now doing this? Thanks!

My Dr. (who specializes in diabetes) said when you are hungry eat any kind of lettuce you want... ok so plain doesn't sound so yummy but you can roll it some leaves up and a touch of mustard and it's not bad..... by the way a whole bag of store brand "salad" or lettuce is about 50 calories max (read the back and you'll see) You can also find very low or zero calorie dressing to put on it. You can eat celery too, have to watch the carrots but broccoli, cauliflower and many others that you can munch Look up your faves and find the calories and allot that number say 100 a day for just those "snacks" stay away from fruit it is high in a number of things not the best choices for wt. loss.

BTW many people on here use many different 'diets' so you can be on WW and be on here... you have control it is YOUR body and your choices as to what works for you.

starsandowls

I think you need to pick one or the other. Either you follow Weight Watchers rules or you don't. If you pick and choose, you'll sabotage yourself. Weight Watchers, and other diet plans where things are "free" or you only count some things, are set up around assuming you eat a certain number of calories worth of the "free" things. If you're doing MFP, you should log everything, because MFP is based on you logging everything.

beertrollruss

The answer depends on the objectives. Raw vegetables are pretty low in calories so maybe they could be skipped. I wouldn't feel like I cheated if I had some extra broccoli or celery on a given day.

As others have mentioned, fruits have more calories and sugar so they should be counted.

Personally, I want to know how I'm doing on all of the available counts on this website; carbs, protein, fats, sodium, potassium, sugar fiber and vitamins. I also like to look back and see how I ate during the times I was losing and how it compares to my current state. I'm a numbers geek so it's also a hobby.

If you try less diligent tracking and it works, great. If it doesn't work, then you know you'll need to do more work.

Strokingdiction

So if your calories are all used up, you think you can then eat something with calories in it and not go over just because it's a fruit or a vegetable?

I'm really not understanding the logic of your question since you already seem to understand the concept of eating at a deficit. Do you think that someone giving you permission to not track your fruits and vegetables will magically make those no longer contain calories?

Want some fruit at the end of the day? Eat slightly less during the day.

I believe some diets (Weight Watchers comes to mind) has free vegetables. They go by a points system, not calories per se. That might be why OP is asking.

You're right, OP mentioned weight watchers as her reason for hopefully getting to eat fruit and vegetables. That would be fine if she was using weight watchers and using their system. She shouldn't use the calorie counting method during the day and then make the switch to weight watchers when she runs out of calories in order to take advantage of the 'free' fruits and vegetables. It will do nothing but make her deficit smaller or negate it entirely and her weight loss hopes with it.

OP, pick one or the other, you can't have both and expect to see weight loss.

LassoOfTruth

Everything that goes into your mouth, track that.

Krikit34

I am currently using both. I started with WW, but also like to see my overall calories and the break down. I do log all fruits and veggies here, even if it puts me over a bit. (If I'm over on here, I'm usually over on WW points, too.) In the long run, if you are not losing, you will want to be able to see the whole picture.

Aaron_K123

Everything that goes into your mouth, track that.

Oh boy, that took my mind to inappropriate places.

3dogsrunning

Everything that goes into your mouth, track that.

Oh boy, that took my mind to inappropriate places.

It's in the database.

jmv7117

....but the idea of being able to eat something when I'm hungry and all my calories for the day are used up is really appealing.

No offense, but DERP! All of us who are/were overweight want this phenomenon. However, all calories do count ON A CALORIE COUNTING WEBSITE. Proceed how you wish but expect success/failure to fall in line with how you "count" calories.

It is NOT a 'calorie counting website', it is a fitness website with a calorie counting tool. MFP is meant to be used for fitness which may or may not include weight loss. The calorie counting tool may be used for weight loss, weight gain or weight maintenance OR it may be used simply to track one or more micros or macros.

OP, you are coming from WW which I understand does not count fruit and vegetables. If you are aiming for a calorie deficit and are using the calorie counting tool here then yes, count the calories in your fruits and vegetables. You would be surprised at the caloric value of some. At the same time, tracking the nutritional value will help pinpoint any deficiencies in your diet so you can correct them.