Not counting veggie calories?

corbyxo

Hey guys! So I want to start reducing calorie intake and tracking everything, yet was wondering, does it benefit me to not count vegetable calories? I love to always be snacking so I feel like I would be more at ease to munch on cucumbers, carrots and celery all day! Is this a bad idea? Thanks

Craigamears

I would count the calories. Not to be nasty but snacking all day is a bad habit. Some snackers have been known to get 30 pounds or so overweight because of their behavior. Perhaps tracking those snacks will prevent that from happening again. It is not hard to move from celery to nuts. From nuts to popcorn. From popcorn to M&M's. By tracking you can stay ahead of the curve and stop before the pound of nuts magically becomes missing after a stressful day.

Mokey41

If it crosses your lips it counts. It's pretty easy to eat several hundred calories a day by snacking on veggies.

Topher1978

Yes, you need to track them if you want to keep an eye on your true intake.

Sabine_Stroehm

I eat a LOT of vegetables. I count them all.

CharityGC

I count everything, even if it's just 15 from a cucumber. I also like to be able to see where I can improve my diet such as more fruits and veggies or lean proteins.

Ed98043

I weigh and count mine. They really do add up.

sandobr1

I ate veggies pretty much every day (along w/lots of not good things) and managed to become 80+ pounds overweight. I agree they should be logged.

xoemmytee

Why don't you pre-count the veggies (put a lot in a tupperware container) and snack on them. If you have some left over you can adjust at the end of the day.

benol1

Hi corbyxo

If you count it you are less likely to go over your calorie allocation and keep an eye on your macro-nutrients. I think its a good discipline to count everything and by doing so, have more control.
All the best,

Ben

shanmackie

If you cut out 100 calories a day you lose 10 lbs a year. it's EASY to eat 100 calories of veg in a day. and if you're not counting that, it's 10 lbs GAINED per year

megsmom2

This isn't Weight Watchers. On that program I hear you don't count veggies ot fruit. On MFP you count every bite, whatever it is. Both programs will work, but they aren't the same.

blu_meanie_ca

I can eat 200 or more calories, and up to 20some grams of carbs per meal just in veggies. If you're not watching, calories can really creep up.

nataliescalories

Why don't you pre-count the veggies (put a lot in a tupperware container) and snack on them. If you have some left over you can adjust at the end of the day.

This is a great idea; I do this too!

Moosycakes

Count all the calories! If you don't want the bother of logging every snack, you could pre log a whole lot of veggies to snack on the night before, and cut them all up and put them in a bowl or snack packs. Then you know that as long as you eat from the prepared veggies, you're inside your calorie limit

I would count the calories. Not to be nasty but snacking all day is a bad habit. Some snackers have been known to get 30 pounds or so overweight because of their behavior. Perhaps tracking those snacks will prevent that from happening again. It is not hard to move from celery to nuts. From nuts to popcorn. From popcorn to M&M's. By tracking you can stay ahead of the curve and stop before the pound of nuts magically becomes missing after a stressful day.

Snacking isn't inherantly a bad thing.
I've been a snacker all my life and have never been overweight. My BMI at it's highest was probably around 21 (and that's with puppy fat as an early teen).
I just have a small stomach, which means I eat all my calories spread out instead of all at once! Since I don't get hungry during the morning, I start my day off with a 100 to 200 calorie lunch, snack all day, and finish with a 200 to 300 calorie dinner.
Eating this way means I don't end up uncomfortably full. If I didn't snack, I'd be very underweight!

Different things work for different people, but I do agree with you that everything should be tracked if weight loss is the aim!

auntiebabs

For now track them... track EVERYTHING when you start out. After you do this a while you'll see patterns. and be able to make better judgment calls.

When I first started I was amazed at the things I misjudged. And how little things add up more quickly than you'd think. And what some of my trigger foods were. (Diet Coke may be calories, but it jacks up my appetite ridiculously and can never keep under my calories for the day)

Personally, I keep my diary locked, because I know I don't always make perfect choices, (much better than they used to be though) and No matter how well intentioned others are, I don't need to be slapped on the wrist. (It's okay for some folks, they find "accountability" essential. But me I dig my heels in an rebel.)

Use the notes section and go over things every few weeks and you'll see patters of when you do well and when you go off track.

And then you can develop better strategies. (One of my pet peeves is when, folks say they are never going to stress eat again.... yeah, right. I AM GOING TO STRESS IT. It happens, but when I track things and see patterns I can accommodate for it. My current plan is eating 50 calories less than my maintenance, so that when I have a bad day I have some wiggle room if I make a less than perfect choice )

spamantha57

Count everything. It's perfectly ok to snack throughout the day. One of the reasons I like to & don't mind is that I'm much less likely to overeat at my next "meal."

Besides calories, another good reason to count everything, even vegetables, is to see what kind of nutrients you are consuming & what you may need more or less of. For example, say in the late afternoon I feel like snacking on something & debating what to have. I might notice I'm low in fiber, or protein, or vitamin whatever that day. Then I'll choose a food that contains that nutrient.