I'm debating whether or not to stop counting fruits and vegg

Buttercupmcgee

My mom does Weight Watchers, and there are no points for fruits and veggies--a sneaky trick that motivates her to eat them with abandon. She stuffs herself full of them all day, and only counts other stuff, and has lost 35 lbs just fine.

The reason I ask is because I just took a half hour walk, came back and ate a banana only to feel discouraged that I'd eaten back my exercise calories! In a stupid banana! It was more mentally draining to learn this than anything else.

No one ever got fat eating a banana. I don't intend on eating 12 bananas in a day, but I'm wondering if it's perhaps more encouraging to consider fruits and veggies "free."

It certainly gives me a sense of relief to consider doing this, and it makes me want to go eat an apple instead of throw in the towel and start downing nuts as I have a tendency to do.

What say you on this topic, MFP?

twinshe

I think that is a good point that you aren't going to get fat from eating a banana after a workout. I think if you were to use their guidlines but only don't count 2-3 fruits and try not to eat too many sugary ones like mangos, grapes or pineapple I bet you would be just fine. When I see an increase I know its because I has too much chocolate not too much banana.

NOLA_Meg

calories are calories. You could try with certain veggies, but I would always count fruit.

secretlobster

It's VERY unlikely that you are eating an amount of vegetables that will make or break your calorie consumption; If you are looking to move away from calorie counting, I would eat veggies in abundance and not worry.

Fruits do add up faster in terms of calories, though. I would look at the overall picture and be honest with yourself about what your eating habits are. Do you feel comfortable that a piece of fruit every day isn't going to break your weight loss goals? Then don't worry about it.

Juawill

I don't think you should not count anything. The important thing to remember is that the only person to be fooled is you and you already know you ate the banana, so why hide it?

strawberrie_milk

I personally think you should count everything. It's hard to overeat on veggies because they're low calorie and filling, but you need to watch out for the fruit. That can add up quickly as they are high in sugars. If you eat 1000 calories of fruit and don't count it, you're going to end up gaining. Calories in/calories out.

DeanneLea

I think as long as you aren't going crazy with it, you'll be fine. Which is also true for those on the new ww points plus plan. Try it and see how it goes. I loot to goal on ww but the new plan wasn't for me. I didn't lose well due to the formula and I have less to lose. The free fruits and veggie aspect is something I really liked though.

yesthistime

I don't like the idea of any "free" foods. It gives me the same feeling as logging "cleaning" or "cooking" as exercise. I feel like I am trying to cheat reality.

pineapple1989

If you are on a calorie counting diet then you need to count EVERYTHING that you eat, even things with practically nothing in them.

If you dont want to do this then perhaps Weightwatchers or Slimming World would be a more suitable diet? Everybody is different and work different ways but if your calorie counting then its imperative you count everything, no matter how great it is for you.

shaycat

Bananas are pretty high in calories. I would still count those.
Maybe try doing free veggies and counting fruit.
I usually log a serving of carrots, but dont measure and just snack in them all afternoon.
If I didnt count fruit I probably would eat two bananas a day, at least!

MammaC66

I just lost 35 pounds on WW. The only problem I see in your plan is that WW takes a moderate portion of fruits and veggies into account when they figure your points just as they do your 49 extra points for the week. If you don't count it you will probably go over your calorie goal.

swissmiss8

I had success with the original WW points system where veggies were zero points and most fruits equalled 1 point. Then WW changed their point values (and the formula by which foods were converted into points). The change was frustrating!! I had to ditch my cookbooks (or reclaculate the point values), ditch the spreadsheet that we developed at work, and I no longer lost weight at the rate that I did under the old system. While the new system has zero point foods, other foods were given much higher point values, and frankly I found that my daily point allocation was leaving me hungry.

After feeling frustrated on WW, I found this site - the mobile app works great on my blackberry (the WW doesn't, and the computers at work don't seem to support WW online tools either), the reports are excellent, and the community is amazing. Stick with tracking your foods - all your foods! Nothing is free of calories.

Buttercupmcgee

Well, I don't think this is about somehow cheating or fooling myself, it's about being realistic about what will and won't put on weight, and how exactly things impact me emotionally.

I'd rather mindlessly nibble on blueberries while watching TV, than gorge on chips. Allowing for freedom in this one area seems to be relaxing me so far. I just ate a handful of red grapes and half an apple with this gleeful feeling of 'this is my free food, I don't have to walk 20 minutes to burn off an apple." Even though it was 55 calories. No one ever got fat eating an apple. It's more of a state of mind thing.

Just as I don't rely on the scale, I rely on the mirror and my "fighting weight" jeans to tell me if I feel and look good--I would consider my ideal diet an "eat right, don't obsess over 50 calories worth of pineapple" one. So, that being the case, maybe this will work for a while. Especially since I don't eat 89 pieces of fruit in a day, but I'd rather reach for a peach when I need a snack than a cookie.

victoria4321

I give a little leeway with vegetables except for high sugar and starchy ones (like carrots and potatoes). Fruits definitely add up fast though. If you're not someone who eats a lot of fruit then it probably won't hurt to not count it if you're exact everywhere else. I know I can probably eat 500 cals in fruits easily.

Buttercupmcgee

I just lost 35 pounds on WW. The only problem I see in your plan is that WW takes a moderate portion of fruits and veggies into account when they figure your points just as they do your 49 extra points for the week. If you don't count it you will probably go over your calorie goal.

Oh! Mom didn't mention this. Definitely something to consider.

Buttercupmcgee

I think that is a good point that you aren't going to get fat from eating a banana after a workout. I think if you were to use their guidlines but only don't count 2-3 fruits and try not to eat too many sugary ones like mangos, grapes or pineapple I bet you would be just fine. When I see an increase I know its because I has too much chocolate not too much banana.

Haha, yep. I'm pretty sure my weight gain this fall had everything to do with all the mac and cheese I was eating, and nothing to do with all the oranges I wasn't eating :-)

em435

bump!
I've definitely been wondering about this.

fitby38

I don't think you should not count anything. The important thing to remember is that the only person to be fooled is you and you already know you ate the banana, so why hide it?

i agree with this^^^^ a LARGE banana only has about 120 calories ... so im not understanding what the big deal is ... and just because you dont log the banana doesnt mean the calories dont count toward your daily calorie intake ... just like ^^^ said ... you are only fooling yourself

Buttercupmcgee

Bananas are pretty high in calories. I would still count those.
Maybe try doing free veggies and counting fruit.
I usually log a serving of carrots, but dont measure and just snack in them all afternoon.
If I didnt count fruit I probably would eat two bananas a day, at least!

Good outlook--I think carefully measuring out carrot sticks and the like is what had me going bananas (pun intended, what up-)

Buttercupmcgee

I don't think you should not count anything. The important thing to remember is that the only person to be fooled is you and you already know you ate the banana, so why hide it?

i agree with this^^^^ a LARGE banana only has about 120 calories ... so im not understanding what the big deal is ... and just because you dont log the banana doesnt mean the calories dont count toward your daily calorie intake ... just like ^^^ said ... you are only fooling yourself

It's not about pretending I didn't eat it, it's about having the mentality that a banana is a good thing for me to reach for, not a guilt-laden calorie filled thing that will make me gain weight, which is how I felt after my walk when I had to log it. Crazy talk!

I don't want anything discouraging me from eating fruits and veggies. As I said to someone else on this thread---I'm pretty sure it was all the mac and cheese I've been eating, and not all the oranges I (haven't been) eating, that made me gain the 15 lbs I've gained.

elisabej

I did WW for a year and religiously counted my points but never thought about the fruits & veg because they were 0 points. Since then I have quit WW and now only do MFP and log everything. I have found that even though the fruits & veg are not as many calories as everything else, they still count. As a result I have lost 15 lbs on MFP vs the 5lbs on WW.

flyingwrite

Fruits and vegetables make up 90% of what I eat. If I didn't log them, my diary would be practically empty and would give me a false perception of what I intake. That said, each person has to find what works for them.

toque88

I just lost 35 pounds on WW. The only problem I see in your plan is that WW takes a moderate portion of fruits and veggies into account when they figure your points just as they do your 49 extra points for the week. If you don't count it you will probably go over your calorie goal.

This is a good lessons learned about WW. So, I will keep counting my fruit.

bcattoes

Clearly doing this would have a positive influence on your diet so why not try it? If it doesn't work you can always go back to logging everything. I am a big fan of tricks as long as they are heatlhy and tricking yourself into eating more fruits and veggies is definitely healthy.

AfroZulu

I agree with every one else: don't count the veggies - but count the fruit!

ladyfingers39

I've been thinking about this myself. I think personally if I did that I would lower my overall calories. Say, instead of 1700 cals a day, do 1400 to 1500 and eat more fruits and veggies and don't count them.

I know on the Biggest Loser, Bob has always said to not count veggies, but I find myself counting them here because i have a open diary and I don't want it to look like I don't eat any! haha... They add up very slowly anyway.

I ate 30 blackberries today and was shocked it was only 64 calories. YUM!

I would do whatever you feel like doing, you are going to anyway!

Sweet_Potato

Fruits and vegetables make up 90% of what I eat. If I didn't log them, my diary would be practically empty and would give me a false perception of what I intake. That said, each person has to find what works for them.

Same here. They do add up... especially fruits, avocados, and root vegetables.

Thesis_gut

Back in the day I went through a phase of eating up to 8 apples a day and it didn't seem to matter to the scales if I counted them towards my total or not. I did that for several months and it really helped keep hunger at bay. Not sure how scientifically valid that is, but in any case you're not going to get fat from eating too much fresh fruit and veg. Ironically bananas may be an exception, because they're quite high in calories (relatively speaking). Grapes have got a lot of sugar, but other than that I think it's fair to be a bit slack with fruit. Or maybe add a generic 100 cals per day and eat as much of the green (red, yellow, orange) stuff as you like?

LaurenAOK

I don't count them if it's in small quantities. For example, when I make baked spaghetti I chop up some veggies and throw them in there... but it seriously ends up being like a single slice of onion, 1/8 of a zucchini, 1/12 of a bell pepper, etc. That stuff is so low-cal that I don't bother logging it.

If I eat larger things I do log it, though; for example I would log a banana. They're around 100 calories so that's a decent chunk of my daily goal.

deksgrl

Consider the banana as healthy fuel for your workout.

MFP calculates your weight loss on diet alone without exercising, so when you do exercise, it allows you more calories.

Say your MFP calorie goal is 1,500 a day. Then you take your walk and burn 120. MFP now gives you 1,620 to eat for today. You ate the banana. Now your calorie goal is still 1,500 for the rest of the day.

montana_girl

As someone who has and is still doing WW (and works as WW receptionist), that the idea behind the "zero point" fruits and vegetables is to get people to consider healhier options. Instead of using 2 or 3 points on a 100 calorie snack pack, they are hoping people will consider having an apple, grapes, or carrots instead.

Now, on a personal note (and the reason I use MFP for tracking food and not WW E-Tools) is because I had a hard time losing and then maintaining with the zero point fruits... because I was eating more fruit than I was aware of and once I started figuring out the calories/points for what I was eating, I was bit shocked.

I've noticed that people who have quite a bit of weight to lose, the zero points fruits and veggies works great, but people close to goal or maintaining have a hard time with it.

My suggestions would be to try it, but if you notice your weight is stalled or you are gaining, then you may want to track the fruits and veggies.