Counting Vegetable Calories?

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  • crazymama2two
    crazymama2two Posts: 867
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    count them...youre only cheating yourself if you dont...
  • bethrs
    bethrs Posts: 664 Member
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    I say count them. vegetables do have calories and they add up. They are very healthy foods, but you can have too much of a good thing.
  • Tandksmommy11
    Tandksmommy11 Posts: 399 Member
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    I count everything that passes me lips. There are some veggies out there (like corn) that are more calories then you'd think, so it's always good to count those calories if you're really watching what you eat.
  • dchris1968
    dchris1968 Posts: 16 Member
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    If I have a whole serving of something....say a cup of broccoli, I will count it. But like last night, I had a wrap with a little bit of tomato and lettuce. I didn't bother with it. For one thing, I doubt I could even find an entry that would give the calorie count for a couple of tablespoons of lettuce, etc. I don't really fret about it. I guess from so long follwoing weight watchers where they tell you that nostarchy veggies are FREE.

    Ok, I have become convinced!! I will be counting my veggies from now on. However, I do agree with sbwood888 too!


    Thanks everyone!!!
    Doug
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    I certainly count veggies. I eat can easily eat a few hundred calories of veggies in one day....I don't see why that wouldn't count.
  • NotAllWhoWanderAreLost
    NotAllWhoWanderAreLost Posts: 615 Member
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    i count everything that goes in my mouth.... Eventually, if you use MFP long enough, you may delve into things beyond just calorie counting to get more information & tweak your food intake to acheive better all-around health. You will want information like fiber, potassium, vitamins, etc and not logging veggie info would not only throw off your calorie counts but it would also throw off this other info. Only by logging the veggies that you eat on a daily basis can you look back in retrospective analysis.

    Just one more reason to log it ALL :)
    :drinker:
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    If vegetable calories didn't matter, there would never be fat vegetarians... and I'm living proof people eating a plant-based diet can indeed get pretty darned big.

    Even with whole grains and limited white sugar.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    I count absolutely everything even my black no sugar decaf coffee. Quite often my vegetable intake is 300 calories so i'd be in trouble if i didnt count them
  • aflane
    aflane Posts: 625 Member
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    I count everything. It all adds up. Lettuce at only 10 cals + 2 C of broccoli @ 50 cals + carrots @ 60 add up to over 100 cals. I'm only allowed X amount per day and the vegs add up.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    Actually, vegetables are NOT calorie dense, that's why a lot of people/sites say it's not important to count them.

    I do count them. On a sandwich the tomato adds just a few calories so it's not like it takes a huge chunk out of my daily calories. I don't count things like onion, green chile, or anything else I consider a spice.

    i dont really count spices either, because i find it too fussy. i try to leave a buffer for inaccuracies anyways (100 calories or less), but that will probably change as i get closer to my goal and i dont need as many calories (but i still wont log spices, or ill get annoyed and quit).

    i do log veggies, but what im really working on is proportions of my food groups, and proportions in general.
  • healthyjen342
    healthyjen342 Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I count mine! If you bite it...write it (or type it, i guess!) :flowerforyou:
  • willimh
    willimh Posts: 227 Member
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    I count them. They add up.
  • TrainerRobin
    TrainerRobin Posts: 509 Member
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    I count everything
    I also use a food scale so that if I have a tomato slice I can know the grams

    Yay! Another person who WEIGHS their food for accuracy! Love it!!
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
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    Whatever works for you!
    I have to count it, since most of my food is really vegetables. Its something really - corn has some REAL cals haha... So, as you wish. Maybe if you hit some hard times you will try to count them too:) good luck!
  • callipygianchronicle
    callipygianchronicle Posts: 811 Member
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    I try to make sure vegetables take up at least half my plate at lunch and dinner. If I didn’t count them, I would be missing HUGE chunks of calories and nutrient information every day. My lunch today was quinoa salad. If I only logged the quinoa and black eyed peas in it, I would be mislead into thinking my nutrient breakdown was this:

    Calories 256
    Total Fat 3.2g
    Cholesterol 0mg
    Sodium 13mg
    Total Carbohydrates 49.5g
    Dietary Fiber 10.4g
    Sugars 0.7g
    Protein 13.5g
    Vitamin A 0%
    Vitamin C 0%
    Calcium 4%
    Iron 24%

    When I add in everything else, I get this:

    Calories 421
    Total Fat 16 g
    Saturated 2 g
    Cholesterol 0 mg
    Sodium 220 mg
    Total Carbs 63 g
    Dietary Fiber 13 g
    Sugars 4 g
    Protein 17 g
    Vitamin A 22%
    Calcium 6%
    Vitamin C 60%
    Iron 33%

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