Do you count/measure your fruits and veggies

mhotch

I am a WW lifetimer for 4 years now. I do log {here} my fruit and veggies. But I do not get OC about the amount. I log fruit as a med or lge, veggies as 1 serving, but rarely ever measure it. Fruits and veggies did not get me overweight so I don't obsess about amounts, as I do cookies, meats, sweets, and pasta, ect... Those I measure!

rbeatty63

I log everything, it helps me realize just how much I really eat. I have deluded myself long enough, now I am paying the price for years of careless indulgence.

ElPumaMex

Fruits are great food, but they do have a significant amount of calories (at least 40 to 60, with many above 100 calories per fruit)
You have to include them.

As for vegetables, they may be low in cals, but it is good to log them since you may also want to watch your intake of fiber, etc.
And many times you eat them in salads, that have sodium, and other things that definitively you want to monitor.

KC4800

I definately count fruit accurately.

The veggies...I just guess at.

The non veggie stuff that comes on the salad, thats what I measure. The dressing, the chicken, the croutons, the cheese, etc.

vjrose

Depends, I log pretty much everything but I eat lots of different fruits and veggies in a day so if I skipped them I would be missing half my calories. If you are talking about walking by and grabbing a strawberry or two, well that's up to you if its trivial. I have to be brutal or I'll start qualifying to myself, oh it's only 20,50, etc calories I can eat it and not log it. You however have to decide for yourself what you need to log, if you are only chasing the big picture then tailor your logging to your needs, that's what is great about MFP there are no hard and fast rules. Most folks will tell you everything MUST be logged, lol. If you have a nibbling issue maybe you do need it, if you eat a discrete number of meals with little snacking then you are likely pretty safe not logging the veggies you feel should be "free". But if your weight loss stalls out then consider tracking those "free" calories. One small strawberry (0.2 oz) only has 2 calories and .5 g carbs, but 10 of those same have 5 grams of carbs so perhaps if you were trying to balance your nutrients you would add them for the carbs not the calories. It may be calories in calories out but many of us are trying to eat a balanced diet also and 5 grams of carbs would affect my eating decisions. Lol, sorry for rambling.

airlily

I do. I eat a LOT of fruits and veggies, and they add up. Especially the fruit.

^^^ This.

Bentley2718

This isn't weight watchers, if you want weight watchers, you are free to use it again. Also, if you were so successful with it, why change? I'm not being snarky here, when it comes to things like dieting, I stick with what works for me, with only small experiments here and there.

Also, while weight watchers let you eat the whole bag of carrots for "free" unless you are eating a really big bag of carrots, it's only going to set you back what, 150 calories? Also, your body digests everything, nothing is "free" to it.

Personally, I log pretty much everything. I'm more careful about portion sizes for some things though. For example, I weigh nuts to make sure the serving size is correct, celery, I just eyeball, if I'm off by 50%, I don't consider it a big deal. And as other people have mentioned, when you eat a lot of veggies, and especially fruit, it does add up.

shine_

I log everything! Especially fruit is important to log because of the sugar content. Maybe not for everyone but with PCOS I have to make sure I track it.

muwchck

I am in the habit of logging ever thing I eat or drink. I eat a good bit of fruit and veggies every day, and I would be way over my goal if I didn't log every thing. Plus, as others have said, it shows you how much you really are eating and can let you see what helps and harms you. A calorie is a calorie, not matter where it comes from.

IronmanPanda

I log everything and try to be as accurate as possible.

UpEarly

I *like* logging fruits and veggies. They're loaded with vitamins and fiber, plus they're typically low in calories and sodium. I'm always pleased with myself when I see a day in my diary packed with fruits and veggies.

And honestly... no one is requiring you to log anything. MFP is not a set program for weight loss. There are people here who do South Beach or Atkins. There are Paleo eaters. There are vegans and folks that take diet pills. I'm sure you're not the only person here who has used (and liked) Weight Watchers. MFP is just food/exercise logging software with a calorie guideline built-in. You can still follow Weight Watchers principles and use MFP to keep track of things.

MFP is pretty flexible! Just use it in a way that meets your needs. :-)

Puddykat1026

Nothing is FREE in my book, other than water. I log it all... fruit, veggies, gum, vitamins, even medications if they come up in the log. You never know what has sodium, sugar, cals, etc unless you plug it in. Now, if I've logged it before & it shows nothing I will sometimes not add it to my diary, but I try to log everything just to build the habit.

sherryd527

The WW plan uses a very complicated system for creating points based on your stats that allows you to eat as much fruit and veggies as necessary and, if you stay within the points, you WILL lose weight. The difference is that WW "weighs" carbs and processed foods so that if you fill up on those first you will use up all your points and be forced to eat only healthy things if you want to stay on plan for the day.

My son is on WW right now and is doing GREAT. I'm on MFP because it's free and I just do better if I don't have anything that is "free". I can't always tell when I'm full and I don't know when to stop eating so counting calories works for me.

If the WW plans works then I say stick with what works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! But if you're going to do the calories in/calories out method (MFP), then you should log everything that passes your lips and be realistic about portion sizes.

Cris725

I count absolutely everything because those "healthy" fruits and veggies still have calories and sugars and carbs. I like MFP because I'm totally OCD. I have to know what I'm putting in my body. I think that if you are going to go on a diet, than do it right. The only thing that is "free" is water.

hbrittingham

I log all of my fruits. I log almost all of my veggies. If I have a salad and use green onion on it, I don't log the green onion. If I have a cucumber on it, I don't log the cucumber. If I have a tomato on it, I DO log the tomato. All other veggies get logged.

juliecookies

I often don't bother with the low-calorie vegetables. Or if I do it's just a guess.
For all the vegetables I eat, 50 calories here or there doesn't matter to me.

I log fruits, though.

That's kinda what I do too. It is really hard to count or measure it all, especially when you're not eating at home.

BaconMD

I ONLY log fruit and vegetables! Meats, oils, and chocolates are FREE!!! They're basically negative calories.

lmcenin

I log everything primarily for the nutritional value. I don't have a lot to lose, but the nutrition is where we all tend to get hung up. The more you track the "good" calories, the better you can manage your overall health.

robot_potato

I do, they add up. And seeing in my log how much fruit & veg I do or don't eat has helped me to make better food choices.

swisspea

I agree with everyone here, log your veggies and fruits, because they all do have calories! My dinner tonight consisted of peas and broccoli- but peas were much more calorific than broccolli- so I ate more broccoli Also, tracking veggies helps you keep better track of calcium, fibre and carbs.