Do I need to track my fruit and vegetables?

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.

jmv7117

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...

Before knocking Weight Watchers, it has been rated as the number 1 weight loss diet http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-weight-loss-diets so clearly it does work for many. There is the idea out there that counting calories is not effective AND one certainly cannot argue that counting calories is a natural way of eating. In fact and I do see a bit of irony in it, General Mills is running a series of commercials for a 'world without counting calories'. There is also the idea that counting calories can lead to and/or reinforce eating disorders. The point is, there are a vast number of diets out there ALL of which work on some level. At best, all you can say is that particular diet did not work for you.

susannamarie

Everything that goes into your mouth, track that.

Oh boy, that took my mind to inappropriate places.

Yeah, it's like Monica Lewinsky as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig -- after all, she's learned not to put things into her mouth that aren't good for her.

neandermagnon

you need to track everything that contains calories

the weight watchers system gives you a number of points assuming you're going to eat a certain amount of fruits and veg on top, and the number of points takes that into account

if you're counting calories and sticking to a calorie goal, you need to hit that goal (e.g. within 50 cals either way) to be sure you're losing weight at the desired rate. If you're not counting the calories from fruit or veg, then you don't know if you're hitting your calorie goal or not. Even if you aim to be under your goal because you know you're getting calories from the fruit and veg... well you still don't know if you're really hitting your goal or if you're under or over.... so that's why you need to log all the food you eat. Eating plenty of fruit and veg is good, and some veggies you can eat loads without the calories adding up to much, if you need to fill up on those or whatever works for you, but you still need to log them and know that you're hitting your calorie target.

MissBabyJane

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

Anything else is calories and they all add up.

Track 'em !!

Agree.

asciiqwerty

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

Anything else is calories and they all add up.

Track 'em !!

Agree.

fruit can be very sugary and high in calories, as can some carby veg, while some green leafy stuff can be very low
it can be really misleading to not count

if you want accuracy, long term steady progress, then you should log everything, as it will enable you to look back and see how you're doing

if you don't you risk filling up with unloggued fruit and veg carbs and sugar then turning round and going "but i'm under my calorie target why arenn't I making progress?"


my rule for myself: if you swallow it > you log it
when i'm on a loosing roll- then i sometimes guestimate the protion size of lettuces and other green leafys when I've weighed them recently but I always weight fruit and root veg and anything that I didn't weight earlier this week

mishtery

track everything. But wouldn't it be confusing and more work to track calories and also track WW's way?

RHachicho

Yeah you kinda do it surprised me too. Fruit and Veg is low in calories but it is not devoid of them. And fruit can actually be quite high.

Eoghann

Seems to me people are answering the question (you have to log them or calorie counting just doesn't work) but not addressing the issue at hand which is that you're hungry towards the end of the day.

If that's a regular thing for you, then it's probably a good idea to look at your general intake and see if you can tweak it to better balance the day. The point of a weight loss diet is not to be hungry, it's just to take in less calories.

guitargod2014

I am another one who would suggest that you do track fruit and vegetables. Apart from more accurately counting calories, and the fact that some contain quite a high calorie count, it is also useful if you look at your nutrition count over a day, week etc.

haylslade

On the subject of logging everything.... It's just got me thinking, (stupid question probably!) I put lemon and lime slices into my glass of water to flavour it, although I don't actually eat the slices should I be tracking them? I'm still getting the juice out of them alhough probably minimal but I've realised that's going towards my sugar intake at least?