Are there any foods that you don't count?

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theseus82
theseus82 Posts: 255 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I used to be a member of WeightWatchers online. Back in 2006 they had 0 point foods. Things like carrots and celery.

I have adapted MFP to resemble WeightWatchers in many respects. I keep a running tally on how over-calories I am day-to-day on the notes section. I find it helps me to keep track of how I'm doing with my calorie allotment if I keep track of the overage calories in the "notes section".

Up until 2 weeks ago, I used to not count calories for certain foods. Things like sugar free Jello, a little dallop of soy milk in my coffee or tea, or celery or carrots. . .

I recently realized that these things were adding up. So I decided to start counting them. So now, I calorie count everything I eat. It's been working great so far.

Since I make use of the "notes section" in the food journal, I added another notation today that I'll use for a while:

Crypto calorie: a calorie that I previously wouldn't have counted. Today's total for crypto calories was 505. The highest yet. It's usually around 200 or so. But it is still significant because it adds up over the week.

Does anybody else have a "free" food that they use in moderation? If so, you may want to consider counting it if you end up hitting a plateau.
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Replies

  • spaghetti93
    spaghetti93 Posts: 140 Member
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    If I add a very small amount of vegetable to something like a slice of cucumber to my water I won't always add it. But if I add some cucumber, onions, pepper, and a slice of tomato all in one day to something, these start to add up so I make sure I count them.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
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    Pills.
    A baby carrot.
  • Guillotined
    Guillotined Posts: 115
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    Pills.
    A baby carrot.

    A baby carrot? Lol.
  • Guillotined
    Guillotined Posts: 115
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    Sorry, I just got a really funny visual of you placing a single baby carrot on a plate and going to town on it with a fork and knife.
  • VanessaHeartsMasr
    VanessaHeartsMasr Posts: 727
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    I don't count my fish oil pills. Or diet soda. That's about it. I used to not count cough drops until I found out they had 15 calories apiece. That adds up!
  • GnomeLover1984
    GnomeLover1984 Posts: 80
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    I had one M&M today. I did not count that.

    Also, yesterday I stole a tiny bit of shredded cheese from someone. Didn't count that.
  • annepage
    annepage Posts: 585 Member
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    No. I count everything.
  • VegetarianGoddess
    VegetarianGoddess Posts: 4
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    gum and coffee.
  • OneEyeUp
    OneEyeUp Posts: 373 Member
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    I don't usually count natural lemon juice or raw honey, because honey metabolizes VERY differently than sugar.. It actually eats away fat, rather than stores it, so it doesn't make sense to count it.
  • AskTheStorm
    AskTheStorm Posts: 11
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    I rarely count my veggies unless I have a ton of one kind (like carrots) and sometimes I don't count ketchup :D
  • goodgirlguns
    goodgirlguns Posts: 9
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    I don't count herbs/spices that I put in my food. Nor do I count plain tea or coffee or diet soda (however I don't have any of it as much, so it doesn't really matter.) Also gum and if I have one chewy sweet during the day.
  • Lifting_Knitter
    Lifting_Knitter Posts: 1,025
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    I don't count it if I taste my food while cooking or snag a little bite of something to try as long as I am not going crazy.
  • OneEyeUp
    OneEyeUp Posts: 373 Member
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    I rarely count my veggies unless I have a ton of one kind (like carrots) and sometimes I don't count ketchup :D

    You should definitely count ketchup, as that is just empty, unhealthy calories which do add up and work against your deficit.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    Sorry, I just got a really funny visual of you placing a single baby carrot on a plate and going to town on it with a fork and knife.

    That made me lol.

    The only thing I don't log is sugar-free gum.
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk Posts: 465 Member
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    Herbal teas, zero calories, vitamins
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
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    The past month I've tried to count pretty much everything I can. I used to not count pills & tea, but I do want to see how much I'm getting of a certain nutrient, & those can have iron, potassium, sodium, etc. in them.

    I used to not count garlic, but do now too. I don't count water because I know I don't drink enough & I'm always trying to consciously drink (not a naturally thirsty person, possibly due to low sodium intake.) Some days I try really hard for my 8 glasses so I'll count (usually can only make it to 6 or 7.)

    If I grab a few peanuts or a bite off someone's food, sometimes I don't log, sometimes I'll guesstimate quick add calories if it might be significant (50+.)
  • linsey0689
    linsey0689 Posts: 753 Member
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    I log everything no matter if it has 0 calories or even a small amount. Diet pop that only has a little bit of sodium gets logged, salt, pepper just everything for me it is just easier that way if I just always log everything. Plus normally those low calories thing I eat a lot so they are near the top of my recent anyway.
  • k_saenz
    k_saenz Posts: 126
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    I usually count everything. Especially the bites of food my bf gives me. They add up if you're not careful
  • RingSize8
    RingSize8 Posts: 175 Member
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    Lemons. I drink hot water with lemon every morning and every night. ...and I frequently get lemon in my water at restaurants and stuff. It's the only thing I don't count.
  • lady_bug_canada
    lady_bug_canada Posts: 1 Member
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    I'll have 1 packet of crystal light in a day and I don't count it. I'll count the milk in my tea but not the sweetener.

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