Do you think it's necessary to log vegetable intake?

chanel1twenty · May 2013

This may sound like a stupid question, but I'm wondering if whether or not it makes that big of a difference in daily calories to log how many veggies we eat. I can understand logging fruits because they are high in sugar and contain more calories, but I feel like it's a waste of time to log that I ate 'an orange pepper and some spinach' with my lunch when it only added about 50 calories to my diary. Again I'm only talking about the CALORIES (I know it's good to keep track of everything we put in our mouths so we can look back and see past meals etc). I'm really just thinking about logging any meat I eat daily, or how much coconut oil I use etc, as I find these make the biggest difference in calories if you're trying to eat a certain amount. Any thoughts?

Personally, it depends. Frozen/canned-yes, log. Raw-no, not usually. I will log sweeter vegetables like peppers, but raw broccoli or pea pods no I don't. For me it's because I hardly eat a whole serving, I'm always so below my recommended intake that the 20 calories I get from a half serving a pea pods is no big deal, and also because I don't truly need a log to remember or know what I've eaten because my brain/memory when it comes to such things is quite impressive.

Also, I know everything with most people is calories calories calories, but when it comes down to it, the nutrients you're getting from your vegetables make that not matter. Yes, the basic weight loss formula is burn more than you eat, but note the word"basic"...there's much more to healthfulness than that.
Think about it-professional athletes, the most fit and sexy people in the world, eat upwards of 5,000 calories a day. Weight loss is easy. Chop off your leg. Congrats! You just lost 10-15lbs! Losing BODY FAT is difficult, and THAT's what we're really all trying to lose.
Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day to stay alive and function. Every breath, twitch, and motion burns calories. The miniscule amount of cals you'll consume from vegetables will be burned by your body with you just being alive.

quiltlovinlisa · May 2013

I log, if no other reason it reminds me of portion sizes, especially for stuff like green salads, that can easily morph into something much larger then I intended.

Sililily115 · May 2013

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Sililily115 · May 2013

i just set my cals lower than I normally would, so I dont log them. Its because I'm lazy but I hope it works too!

carissar7 · May 2013

Vegetables have calories.

Yes..I know that. That wasn't my point- my point was whether or not it's really necessary to log the 7 or so calories from the cup of spinach I just ate. I know these add up over time if you're not careful, but I guess I'm just not like other MFP users. I just don't see the need to log the piece of gum I just chewed or the few pieces of basil I added to my chicken soup. Of course if it was starchier veggies like potatoes or something I would log it, especially if I ate a lot. If it was 50 calories worth of cookies then of course I would log that.

carissar7 · May 2013

Thanks everyone for your replies! Seems like it's a unanimous opinion that you should log pretty much everything that enters your mouth hole. I don't know if I'll go so far as logging gum, but I'll definitely try to log everything else I eat, even if it's just a few calories worth of lettuce or a few pieces of mushrooms. I don't think I will be as strict with it as some of you are, but I will try. I haven't logged a full day in over a month because of laziness to be honest. In the past when I would spend the time to make my 'meals' on here and see that something I used only had 10 calories, I thought "why bother even documenting it? It will make no difference." But I can see both sides of the coin on this one.

And to the people who say "well vegetables have calories, sooo.." I'm afraid you might have missed my point. I made it clear that I'm aware that vegetables have calories, and there is of course a big difference between the calories of a large sweet potato and the calories of an onion. My question was whether or not these tiny little fragments of consumed energy really make a difference in our MFP diary that we log every day. Now I understand that the answer to this question will be different for different people. Of course these 5 or 10 calories add up over time, but I guess my goals are just different. I lost all of the weight I had to without logging anything, but I'm sure it would have been easier if I did.

NatalieWinning · May 2013

Vegetables have calories.

Yes..I know that. That wasn't my point- my point was whether or not it's really necessary to log the 7 or so calories from the cup of spinach I just ate. I know these add up over time if you're not careful, but I guess I'm just not like other MFP users. I just don't see the need to log the piece of gum I just chewed or the few pieces of basil I added to my chicken soup. Of course if it was starchier veggies like potatoes or something I would log it, especially if I ate a lot. If it was 50 calories worth of cookies then of course I would log that.

I also use MFP to see how healthy i'm eating. It gives at least an overview of nutrition in my daily food. That little button at the end of your diary at the end of the day will let you see where you stand on all the micros, not just the macros.

The last motive I use is to fill my diary up with all the food I ate. Because even if it's 0 calorie herbal tea it looks like I ate plenty. I would like to feel sorry for myself and fake myself out saying "you clearly need to eat because look how little you ate" self pity can be turned around by the visual number of items on a diary list. The more vegetables and fresh fruits/whole grains I see the more I feel proud of my eating habits, which motivates me to continue and improve.

endoftheside · May 2013

For me, eating in a way that will get me to and keep me at a sustainable healthy weight requires emphasizing vegetables. When I see veggies on my list, it is reinforcement and encouragement. It does cross my mind that 10 cal of spinach is kinda piddly to be logging, but I NEED to see those veggies on there. I tend to naturally prioritize energy dense foods, so I have to pay much more attention to the "piddly" foods because they are important for reasons other than their calories.