Counting fruit/veg in total cals?

2

Replies

  • tammyandzach
    tammyandzach Posts: 922 Member
    That is why weight watchers didn't work for me. They didn't count fruit. I gained weight.
  • Shelgirl001
    Shelgirl001 Posts: 477 Member
    I always try to account for everything I eat. Occasionally I forget to put something in, but if I eat it it counts for my nutrition total and calorie count.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
    My opinion on this one is simple: Yes. :-) Every calorie, no matter what the source, should count toward your daily caloric goal. I DO believe some calories are better than others, but the bottom line for me is count calories: all of them.

    For me, however, this means that I would rather consume 3 bananas instead of a sugar donut. More volume, better nutrients, more fiber - but I still need to count those 'nana cals!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    count all food, period.

    This.
  • RaeN81
    RaeN81 Posts: 534 Member
    For sure but I am happy when I look back at my diary and see a whole bunch of fibre and nutrients from fruits and veggies. I even count diet pop because it contains sodium (which I am terrible for going over on). Log everything that goes into your mouth. You will still find that fruits and veggies are better than most foods!
  • marylynn85
    marylynn85 Posts: 496 Member
    I log everything I eat or drink.
  • StarkLark
    StarkLark Posts: 476 Member
    Another vote for logging everything. Sometimes I eat 500-600 calories in fruit and veggies... not logging that would be a step in the wrong direction.
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
    i don't count greens or peppers or celery, etc....super low veggies in calories. but i do count corn, peas, potatoes, etc and I always count fruit,
  • adriankhoo153
    adriankhoo153 Posts: 2
    I count cal for fruits too under categories snacks. Watermelon do take lots of calories. I love fruits and it take about 200-300 cal. And that is a lot under 1200cal diet. Damn!
  • jillianlovesyarn
    jillianlovesyarn Posts: 44 Member
    Maybe it's because I'm vegan but I couldn't imagine not counting them because they're a significant part of my consumption. Look at it this way. You're supposed to have a minimum of five servings of fruits/veggies a day. Let's pretend that you get that by eating one small banana, 1.5 cups of cooked greens and a cup of shredded romaine. That's potentially over 200 calories right there. Even if you weren't even eating any fruit you could still easily add more than 100 calories to your day. A lot of fruit and vegetables can be low calorie but many are far from no calorie.
  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
    I don't count pizza or Doritos. They're empty calories, so shouldn't count as anything.
  • barbielovesgym
    barbielovesgym Posts: 43
    I count and log every single thing!
  • AZDizzy
    AZDizzy Posts: 434 Member
    I count everything.
  • FITFORT
    FITFORT Posts: 85
    I am on the count it all train. There are a lot of fruits that surprisingly have high amount of calories. Apples 80-120 Bananas 80-120, Oranges 60-80

    I found that if I make excuses not to add certain things, the definition of what I should or should not add gets skewed and exaggerated very quickly, I strongly suggest you add it all.

    Totally Agree~
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    If you don't log them on MFP you're body won't use them right? right?
  • Le_Joy
    Le_Joy Posts: 549 Member
    I often have 4-500 cals from fruit & veg so I definitely count them. Besides i like to see how I am doing on vitamins & fiber. My #s would be pretty bad if I didn't add in any of the plant based foods I eat...
  • jenkidney
    jenkidney Posts: 149 Member
    Calories are calories. You need to count them or you are not keeping yourself accountable. I know SO many people who failed at the "new" Weight Watchers because of those "free" fruits and vegetables. Why? Because the calories still count! They don't magically go away because of the nutrients in them.

    ^This! My sister's roommate ended up gaining a bunch of weight on Weight Watchers because she would gorge on "free" foods and Cool Whip that she said was either 0 or 1 point.

    I list everything. Even things like herbs and such that have 0 calories. Keeps me honest!
  • 110lbs50kgs
    110lbs50kgs Posts: 14
    I always count them, raw or not.
  • neffesther
    neffesther Posts: 55
    I count the majority. If I'm having a burger and a slap a tomato or a pickle on I don't really bother but as a snack/meal definitley, calories are calories.

    ^^This is generally what I do. Unless the bulk of my meal is veggies, I don't count the 2 flowers of broccoli that I put on my potato (which I always count potatoes, btw). Or, If I know a fruit or vegetable is really high in calories (potatoes, avocados, apples, oranges, etc) I always count it, even just one bite.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    This is actually quite a common question. My answer is its crazy not too. I eat loads of veggies and salad and they often amount to around 1\3 of my calories. I rarely eat fruit and if do it berries, melon or grapes generally as they are better carbs and I stick to one portion. I track my sugar. Sugar makes you fat, doesn't matter what source its from. If your finding it hard to stick to your calories, increase them rather than not putting them on and kidding yourself. Remember a sugar is a sugar! X
  • LexyDB
    LexyDB Posts: 261
    What do you guys think about counting fruits and vegetables towards intake? I know fruit can have a lot of sugars but I can't believe that eating them would make someone gain weight.

    Eating food would make you gain weight? Really? When did this happen?

    No sugar in fruit so you can eat as much as you want without ruining your diet. The carbohydrates in fruit actually make you slim and svelte.
  • AnastassiaV
    AnastassiaV Posts: 3 Member
    You should definitely count fruits and, if you do want to achieve good results and are serious about your diet plans, dont' eat some fruits after ca 5pm in case you activity level is low in the evenings. Fruits do contain natural sugars, easy example: sweet cherries - 3g sugars in 20g of cherries; 5g of sugars in 30g of kiwi etc etc.
    Regarding the veggies: green ones are usually the lowest calories, but if you want to be disciplined and have certain goals in your diet, count all veggies as well. Then you'll know if you get enough nutrition, cause it's not only the simple kcal number you should be controlling then dieting, but also the proportion of carbs/fat/protein. And this you can control only if logging everything you eat.
  • pocketsizedfun
    pocketsizedfun Posts: 2
    If you don't log them on MFP you're body won't use them right? right?

    Haha no need to be rude. Were you to look, you could see that I currently DO log my fruits/veg. I'm just wondering what other people do.

    PS Thanks for the (relatively polite) feedback, guys!
  • katamus
    katamus Posts: 2,363 Member
    I also count everything because I want to make sure I'm getting the proper nutrients I need (instead of taking a multi-vitamin--better to eat healthier).
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    I count them. I would count air if it had calories. Lol I'm not THAT obsessive but I do think it's important to count everything, in my personal case.
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
    I don't count pizza or Doritos. They're empty calories, so shouldn't count as anything.

    :laugh:
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    If you bite it - write it.

    One of the best things I ever read on the forums when I started out.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I count them, every kcal counts. I like to look back at the end of the day and make sure I got at least 5 servings of them, it helps me keep track.

    Same here - I count 'em - even beansprouts!
  • MessyLittlePanda
    MessyLittlePanda Posts: 213 Member
    my dietitian told me that I should count fruit because of the sugar, and stick to low fructose/fructan fruit (which are usually lower in calories) like citrus fruit, canteloupe melon, berries, bananas, kiwi fruit and green grapes. Bananas are higher in calories so they tend to be my pre-workout food or I take them on bike rides.

    She didn't want me to log veggies because she didn't want me to restrict calories from those - I'm a recently diagnosed celiac and have had problems with vitamin deficiencies. But I do log them, because I want to see if I am eating enough nutrients and fibre. I wouldn't be happy with myself if I went over because I pigged out on chocolate, but if I ate too much salad I don't think I'd worry!
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    What do you guys think about counting fruits and vegetables towards intake? I know fruit can have a lot of sugars but I can't believe that eating them would make someone gain weight.

    They contain calories, you should include them in your logging.

    Veg are not high in calories however, some fruit, if eaten numerous times during the day, will add up and could put you over your daily calorie allowance. Large oranges = 70 calories each, some apples are 70 to 80 calories each, grapes can add up too.

    If you include them all, you will have nothing to worry about, however, if you are just trying to avoid logging them in the hope that this means their calories will not count, it will not work, because they count whether you log them or not.

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