calories in fruit- to count or not to count?

thehappyghost

I have heard that a lot of other diet plans say that you can eat as much fresh fruit as you want and not count the calories (Weight Watchers etc.). I have been wondering whether or not to count the calories from fruit on MFP or to just not log it.

So what do you think? Do the calories from fresh fruit and vegetables make into your log or do you just not count them? Are there any effects because of it?

I would love to hear from you and your opinions would be very helpful! Thanks!

InvidiaXII

I count them, but would be curious to hear from the other side of things.

YoungDoc2B

Fruits have calories, so they need to be counted.

yarwell

If you're calorie counting then you count them all. Otherwise you might miss the 300 calories of sugary fruit and not understand why you aren't losing weight (for example).

Cese27

Whatever goes in my stomach gets counted.

moonlightturk

I count fruits, but don't count greens.

MoonIite

Yes, I count fruits. I looked back at my food log and had 300+ calories coming from fruits alone. If I didn't log them I would be eating 300 extra calories, making my deficit smaller.

gaylynn35

If you really want to do this the right way you should log everything that you eat. Otherwise what's the point of counting your calories if you don't count all of them?

Karen5732

If you bite it then write it !!

Ready2Rock206

WW and other programs factor in the whole free fruit thing into your calorie count - if you want to take your favorite parts of various programs to create your own "special" program than don't be surprised when the weight doesn't come off. If you're doing MFP - then do MFP as intended and COUNT them!

TravisBurns

Its not the calories themselves that are the problem. It's the sugar and carbs that they tend to be a bit high in.

tubaman58

In WW you count points which are figured from calories and adjusted up or down for fiber and fat.
Roughly 50 calories for a point. There are a couple of vegetables (green beans in particular) for which 1 serving rounds off to zero points. (larger servings do not).

The point is that the calory totals are so low it doesn't matter.

Probably a better practice on this system to count them..... don't game the system

SueInAz

If you're counting calories, then you need to count them all. I know people who have tried weight watchers and found that if they ate too much fruit they didn't lose weight. Calories in fruit are calories and too many of them will cause you to gain weight.

Look at the banana. A medium banana has around 100 calories. That's really something that can't be ignored as if it didn't count.

Enigmatica

I've always counted them, and make room in my diet for them. What I don't bother about is trying to stay under in the sugar category when it comes to fruit.

JosieRawr

Whatever goes in my stomach gets counted.

^^

bubmaster

count them !

TheRealParisLove

I count everything. Even a dash of salt or a squeeze of lemon juice. I'm tracking a lot of different numbers such as sugar, fiber, sodium as well as the big 3 (carbs, fat, protein).

Leaving out fruits and vegs from your diary is like trying build a puzzle with 30% of the pieces missing.

Snail313

I count anything that has calories.

carolemack

I count them but I don't worry if their consumption makes me exceed my sugar goals...but you definitely have to account for the calories!

2essie

I went to Weight Watchers and was told that new tests had been done on fruits and because of the way the body processed them they didn't need to be counted. They could only be eaten within reason. I still count them on mfp just in case.

TheRealParisLove

WW and other programs factor in the whole free fruit thing into your calorie count - if you want to take your favorite parts of various programs to create your own "special" program than don't be surprised when the weight doesn't come off. If you're doing MFP - then do MFP as intended and COUNT them!

This! I tried to make "my way" work and went 3 months without losing any weight. Now I follow the plan and it is showing!

bethfartman

I count them, but I don't worry about going over my sugar budget. The only sugar I really count is from added sugars to foods. I wish there was a way to separate it in MFP. 60 Minutes just had a really interesting segment on sugar, I highly recommend it.

meeper123

I am curious so I count them all lol Note being cherries have so few calorie and are a great sweets craving kicker mmmm cherries

Csitri

I count anything I eat.

BetterCrazyThanLazy

If you bite it then write it !!

If you lick it you write it down too!
Absolutely log every bite!

kzcortes

Count them - they always add up

infamousmk

Its not the calories themselves that are the problem. It's the sugar and carbs that they tend to be a bit high in.

False.


Fruit can be really high in calories. If you eat say... six apples in a day, that's like 600 or more calories. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty large chunk of many women's calories on MFP (say, about a third). I guess you could eat apples for a third of your daily intake, but you're gonna miss out on other important nutrients.

Long story short: If you're counting calories, you need to count fruit.

somesuchsayer

I count everything. Even a dash of salt or a squeeze of lemon juice. I'm tracking a lot of different numbers such as sugar, fiber, sodium as well as the big 3 (carbs, fat, protein).

Leaving out fruits and vegs from your diary is like trying build a puzzle with 30% of the pieces missing.

^ Exactly why we should count fruit

BetterCrazyThanLazy

I am curious so I count them all lol Note being cherries have so few calorie and are a great sweets craving kicker mmmm cherries

Those sweet suckers are soo good but a cup is 75 calories, that's like a nice thick slice of cheese!

SerenaNatasha

Yup. I count everything that goes in my mouth.

TrinaTW

If you are doing the WW program they have the points set up to account for the extra calories consumed from the 0 point fruits/veggies if you consume in moderation as the plan was designed for. If you are counting calories though as on MFP, you need to account for the fruits and veggies or you most likely will not lose weight. Plus with fruit you need to track the sugar as well because it can really add up. I've done both plans with success. You just have to be consistent with each plan you are on.