calories in fruit- to count or not to count?

thehappyghost
thehappyghost Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
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! :smile:
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Replies

  • InvidiaXII
    InvidiaXII Posts: 315 Member
    I count them, but would be curious to hear from the other side of things.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    Fruits have calories, so they need to be counted.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    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
    Cese27 Posts: 626 Member
    Whatever goes in my stomach gets counted.
  • moonlightturk
    moonlightturk Posts: 398
    I count fruits, but don't count greens.
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
    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
    gaylynn35 Posts: 854 Member
    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? :smile:
  • Karen5732
    Karen5732 Posts: 64 Member
    If you bite it then write it !!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    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
    TravisBurns Posts: 353 Member
    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
    tubaman58 Posts: 151
    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
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    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
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    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
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Whatever goes in my stomach gets counted.

    ^^
  • bubmaster
    bubmaster Posts: 90
    count them !
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    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
    Snail313 Posts: 214 Member
    I count anything that has calories.
  • carolemack
    carolemack Posts: 1,276 Member
    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
    2essie Posts: 2,847 Member
    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
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    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
    bethfartman Posts: 363 Member
    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
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    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
    Csitri Posts: 132 Member
    I count anything I eat.
  • BetterCrazyThanLazy
    BetterCrazyThanLazy Posts: 336
    If you bite it then write it !!

    If you lick it you write it down too! :tongue:
    Absolutely log every bite!
  • kzcortes
    kzcortes Posts: 208 Member
    Count them - they always add up
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    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
    somesuchsayer Posts: 20
    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
    BetterCrazyThanLazy Posts: 336
    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! :wink:
  • SerenaNatasha
    SerenaNatasha Posts: 246
    Yup. I count everything that goes in my mouth. :)
  • TrinaTW
    TrinaTW Posts: 88
    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.

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