Tracking veggies and fruits?

queen_ofjacks

QUESTION: i have a friend who used MFP for a year and lost weight while on it, but she said she never tracked the calories of the fruits and veggies she ate, unless she was consuming a TON of one thing. i'd be interested in people's thoughts on this. sometimes i don't track the apple i just ate, or whatever, because it's one apple, i know how many calories it is, and i don't really think about it as "contributing" to my weight gain or loss.....green beans and corn i track a lot because they're starchy and i'd like to keep track of that, but things like grapes and carrots i don't always count....or black olives. which i don't eat a ton of, but which i love.

thoughts? opinions? thanks!

RachelT14

I write it all down includign the big piles of lettuce which come in at 12-20 calories!

MissFit0101

calories add up regardless of where they come from, and you will not lose if you are not at a caloric deficit, even if all your calories come from fruits and veggies... track it all!

SergeantSunshine_reused

corn is starchy and grapes are sugar. You can gain weight from healthy foods too

voluptuous_veggie

I count it all, and you should definitely track your olives, because those contain a lot of fats in them.

jenfactor

I do track everything. I guess I am afraid it will become a slippery slope... one apple not tracked becomes just one bite of cheesecake not tracked.. if it can work for you, more power to you! I also like to get a true number of the calories I ate and fiber, etc. I've even started logging my 9-calorie flax seed oil capsule! Silly, I know, but I did the math and over the course of the year it added up to like 3,500 calories... so in theory one extra pound I could have lost if I had tracked it!

Suziq2you

I track everything.

rockerbabyy

i track everrrrrything. even the cough drops ive been using the past couple days.
i use my food scale usually, especially for stuff like salads.

mystiloo

Wellllll coming from someone who didn't log her own vegetables because she didn't eat ENOUGH, I'd say a calorie is a calorie. So it really depends on how strict you are on your calorie intake. I know that when I started counting all the Dove promises I ate but never counted, I was shocked :-) They are so tiny!

Shweedog

If you're going to track calories then you need to actually track the calories. And black olives are calorie dense (for their size). An apple can be 150 cals. Those calories add up. If you just want to eat better and healthier and not track then that's understandable. But if you are going to take the time and energy to use a calorie tracking site then I would fully utilize it. Just my opinion.

ladybug1620

I count it all. If you eat 2 servings of fruit or veggies a day that can add up over the week and slow your loss.

godroxmysox

I count everything!

vim_n_vigor

You have to find what works for you. If you don't log those things and find you are having trouble losing, it could be because of what you aren't logging. If you are happy and losing, then keep doing what works.

kwest_4_fitness

...just one bite of cheesecake not tracked.

Oh, you just had to bring up cheesecake.

Ruchell

I track everything, even the 4 calories of garlic in my egg scramble this morning lol. I think its up to you, but you have to be honest with yourself about the calories you might be consuming and not accounting for. It probably won't make a huge difference if you don't log the piece of lettuce you put on your sandwich, but a cup of grapes is about 60 cals and eating too many things like that can push you over if you aren't counting them. Just my opinion.

nowornever47

I've got to agree with them, and it could be a personal preference, however the apple I just ate has 80 calories! (Honey Crisp, so yummy!!) But... add 30, 40 and 80 calories up during the day and I'm not sure about you but I'd forget that and be like woo hoo I have calories left for my skinny cow ice cream at the end of the day... when really I shouldn't because I didn't log everything. Yes, blk olives and little itty bitty sunflower seeds add fat & calories real fast, ha ha! Good luck but I like to add everything.

MinnieInMaine

There's got to be more to this - like, your friend had a lot to lose and used a 2 pound per week goal and/or was always under her net 1200 calories and/or didn't eat her exercise calories. Either that or she only ate something like a few berries per day. Honestly, I can see not tracking a few pieces of lettuce and slice of tomato on your sandwich but when you're talking about carrots and corn, apples and grapes, those have a lot of sugar and calories in them and will definitely add up.

kristilovescake

I track everything!

I think it's important because it helps us be more mindful of what we're putting in our mouths and why

pnieuw

Track 'em. I eat 2 apples and one banana a day, and that's 270 calories, or 1/8th of my food for the day. Add veggies for dinner and a good percentage of my day's calories are fruit and veg. If I didn't track, I'd have a false sense that I could eat more, and reach for the chips.

MrsWagz

I track everything but sometimes I low ball fruits and veggies.. I've never noticed a negative impact on weight loss from doing this

virginiejaubin

I track all of it! We all have daily goal and every cals adds up. For example an apple is betweem 60 and 100 cald depending on the weight of it... i would not avoid tracking it