Unlimited Veggies?

officiallymrswhite
officiallymrswhite Posts: 423 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondering if you allow yourself to eat unlimited veggies? If so, which ones? There are times when I am hungry and it seems like veggies are the best bet to grab!

Replies

  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Calories in vegetables count.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Only till my bowels disagree.


    I know, I know....
  • Janie_May
    Janie_May Posts: 51 Member
    I weigh/track even low cal veggies, but they're definitely great for filling you up when you're still hungry.
    The USDA site is great for looking up nutrition data by weight:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list [go to Vegetables section]
    :smile:
  • athyraslove
    athyraslove Posts: 145
    I allow myself unlimited non starchy vegetables and herbs. Things like leafy greens/lettuce, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, leeks, onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, eggplant, green beans, kale, tomato, peas, mushrooms etc. They all have calories, but the plan I'm on allows unlimited non starchy vegetables. If you add butter, oil or dressings those have to be counted.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Since your ticker says you are at goal weight I'm wondering why this is even an issue since you are eating 950-1150 calories a day on the days you logged over the last month approx. You should be eating double that now! Am I reading this all wrongly? If so then sorry. Eat up, eat more of anything!
  • Markguns
    Markguns Posts: 554 Member
    Still carbohydrate calories. Just because they are vegetables doesn't make them "free of calories"... Excess carbohydrates get burned instead of FAT, so you wont lose any weight overeating on vegetables.
  • FitGuyWillDoIt
    FitGuyWillDoIt Posts: 111 Member
    Calories in vegetables count.
    They do. Log everything as you normally do. Best thing, on my calorie allotment anyway, is that I eat fruits and veggies without thinking about their calorie count. Makes my life easy.
  • cacleghorn
    cacleghorn Posts: 61 Member
    Calories in vegetables count, haha.

    However, if you have to overeat or have a cheat food, steaming 3 servings of brussels sprouts and 15 servings of spinach may put you at 500 calories, and thus not result in a "loss" for the day .... but they also contain no saturated fat, no trans fat, no cholesterol, minimal amounts of unsaturated fats and sodium, a decent amount of protein, and lots and lots of vitamins and minerals.

    So consider tracking the calories, but going overboard on raw/steamed veggies is only bad for your health in that consuming too many calories isn't good for your health. A salad may have the same caloric value as a hunk of cheese, but the entire foods will behave differently in your body.
  • beyondjupiter
    beyondjupiter Posts: 247 Member
    I allow myself unlimited non starchy vegetables and herbs. Things like leafy greens/lettuce, carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, leeks, onions, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, eggplant, green beans, kale, tomato, peas, mushrooms etc. They all have calories, but the plan I'm on allows unlimited non starchy vegetables. If you add butter, oil or dressings those have to be counted.

    I second this ^

    I buy bags of plain, no sauce, frozen steamers and use those. Or I will make a spinach salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. I often will make myself green smoothies with kale, cucumber, peaches, apples, and whatever else I feel adventorous enough to throw in there!

    The only suggestion is to limit starchy vegetables. Which are:
    Beans
    Beets
    Carrots
    Corn
    Green Peas
    Parsnips
    Plantain
    Pumpkin
    Sweet Potatoes
    Taro
    White Potatoes
    Winter Squash, such as acorn or butternut squash
    Yams

    If I am correct, the starches in these veggies only turn to sugar when cooked. So eating some raw carrots, not a huge deal. Each a lot of cooked carrots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc, then yes, that could pose a problem.

    Stick with some yummy leafy greens raw or cooked. And yes, eat as much as you want. I ate a whole half a head of steamed cabbage the other night. It ended up being like 50-60 calories and omg I was FULL and it was so good.

    Good luck!!

    Jen
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    Like all other foods, I log them. Since most vegetables are not calorie dense, you can eat lots of vegetables within almost any plan. They still aren't unlimited -- although as others have pointed out, your digestive track will probably say "enough" before you reach your caloric limit -- that's just a different kind of limit.
  • beyondjupiter
    beyondjupiter Posts: 247 Member
    However, if you have to overeat or have a cheat food, steaming 3 servings of brussels sprouts and 15 servings of spinach may put you at 500 calories, and thus not result in a "loss" for the day

    That is a lot. You'd have to eat 5 cups of Brussels sprouts and 20 cups of spinach to even hit 465 calories! I don't think OP is all going nuts over veggies or something. But if she is hungry eating a spinach salad (2 cups), with some tomatoes (5 cherry tomatoes), cucumbers (1 whole), red onion (half), and some steamed brocolli and cauliflower (2 cups), and even then some sweet potato (1 small and cooked) for the sweet tooth is going to put her at 235 calories. For all of that!!
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    All calories count but even if you've hot your calorie limit and you're still hungry, grab some spinach, celery, lettuce, any other leafy green to munch on. Log it, but you'll barely be over your limit. I doubt you can eat like 500 calories of leafy greens without feeling sick. Even my gigantic stomach couldn't do that.
  • beyondjupiter
    beyondjupiter Posts: 247 Member
    your digestive track will probably say "enough" before you reach your caloric limit -- that's just a different kind of limit.

    I learned that in my thread the only day. I ate 2 cups of cabbage, a cup of bok choy, and I had drank a kale smoothie for lunch. I felt uncomfortably full and bloated. Other users pointed out too many veggies from the Brassicaceae family. So as long as you mix it up, I think your digestive track would be happy with all that yummy goodness and fiber. Just drink drink drink that water! I had to learn that too. It helps push that stuff right on through.
  • MizAngie
    MizAngie Posts: 113 Member
    I eat a lot of veggies...
    But I do love zukes, celery, mushrooms, broccoli. I usually chop them all up and add some herb...garlic, cumin, cilantro
    steam it all and its all yummy.
  • FearAndTrembling
    FearAndTrembling Posts: 54
    I think many leafy greens may cause problems if you really go overboard on them because they have a lot of oxalates. If you're eating like two large spinach salads every day for example. Could cause kidney stones and inhibit absorption of minerals.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Vegetables have calories so you should count them...very very possible to gain weight eating vegetables if you go over on your calories. I'm vegetarian...you can imagine how that would go if I didn't count vegetables...
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Track and log everything even veggies as if you have a problem and want to look back and check your intake it won't be accurate if you leave some out. All calories matter the only person you will be kidding is yourself.
  • timberowl
    timberowl Posts: 331 Member
    Weight Watchers allows unlimited veggies.

    If you're having a cheat day, or willing to go over, try to find more water-based veggies, like cucumbers with some salt and pepper, tomatos and green peppers.

    Ultimately, though, a calorie is a calorie.
  • Pearlyladybug
    Pearlyladybug Posts: 882 Member
    Since your ticker says you are at goal weight I'm wondering why this is even an issue since you are eating 950-1150 calories a day on the days you logged over the last month approx. You should be eating double that now! Am I reading this all wrongly? If so then sorry. Eat up, eat more of anything!

    I don't think that was the question.

    I log all my vegs but i'm not to fussy on weight size etc etc eg eat about 1 cup of cucumber slices but only logged it as half!
  • MoRiv1986
    MoRiv1986 Posts: 379 Member
    I just eat whatever the Koreans are eating. Their diets consist mostly of vegetables and rice, and very little meat. I pile up on the kimchi, greens, and seaweed soup.
  • mamosh81
    mamosh81 Posts: 409 Member
    ever seen a skinny cow? Veggie calories are still calories but most of the time you can eat much more veggie then pasta for example
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    I eat all the veggies I want to eat and then some. I love them, but they are a pain to prepare sometimes. If I am lazy I start grabbing cans and drain the salt off. So, basically a lazy meal will be a pasta dish with a ton of veggies piled on. No cheese, but sometimes nutritional yeast. If I need protein I add black beans. Tada fast cheap easy.
  • BluePHX
    BluePHX Posts: 184 Member
    I gained a few pounds from gettin' crazy with the Lemon glazed brussels sprouts once. I'd say, it depends on how/if they are cooked, and what they are. Avocado is a definite NO. Lots of good fats, but also very fattening in large quantities.
  • HoosierBecky
    HoosierBecky Posts: 60 Member
    Logging veggies and fruit is something I had to remind myself to do as I'm a former Weight Watcher. On their program veggies (non starchy) and fruits were "free". They did stress that free did not mean you could eat them till the cows come home but only to satisfaction. I think that's why I struggled with it toward the end by going overboard on fruit.

    I would track them just to see approximately how many calories a day you are consuming. If it turns out to be minimal then you could probably get away with not tracking.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Since your ticker says you are at goal weight I'm wondering why this is even an issue since you are eating 950-1150 calories a day on the days you logged over the last month approx. You should be eating double that now! Am I reading this all wrongly? If so then sorry. Eat up, eat more of anything!

    Yep. You should eat more veggies, more protein, and more fats. Maybe even have a cookie once in awhile.

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