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

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  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
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    I do.

    There ARE calories, carbs, sugars, sodium, fiber and proteins. They all add up.

    You have to do what you feel is best but I write what I bite.

    Agreed!!
  • droneofvelvet
    droneofvelvet Posts: 290 Member
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    Yes it is necessary if you take counting calories seriously. Speaking for myself, I could easily eat hundreds of calories in vegetables a day.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    Some days I have 300 calories of vegetables. So yeah....
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
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    It depends on you and the reason you are logging.

    I am logging to track calories, as well as my average Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron consumption, among other things. My Vit A and Iron are usually low-ish, possibly because some foods in the database have N/A for micros. I have red meet when I crave it as it is probably my body saying I need iron. I don't think I've met my Vit A since I started. To use your example, oranges contain Vit C, pepper (I'm assuming capsicum?) contain Vit C, and spinach contains some iron (and calcium but not much of it is usable by the body). I've switched back to pineapple juice from orange juice, and my Vit C today mostly came from a 1/4 of a red capsicum.

    If I don't log almost everything, when I look back and see if I could (or need to) make a change the information I'm relying on isn't accurate. Combine that with my poor memory, and I wouldn't have a clue what to do and the logging would have been a waste of time other than to reach my current position - I wouldn't be able to use the past to do things differently in the future.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    Yes, I log everything.
  • mwbulechek
    mwbulechek Posts: 162 Member
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    Does not matter if it is cake or carrots, if I eat or drink it I log it.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Why not, unless it's like a pickle.
  • Xzombabe
    Xzombabe Posts: 7
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    I log it because I can visually see if I need more veggies that particular day.
  • Danieltenor
    Danieltenor Posts: 11 Member
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    It doesn't matter as long as you're consistent. Eat the same stuff and track your progress; even if you're not 100% accurate, you should be able to adjust your calories and adjust for the systemic error. I'd say don't count them because it's a pain in the butt to weigh your veggies and you don't want to do anything that discourages vegetable intake (the most bang for your back as far as calories are concerned).
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
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    All the little bits of this and that add up to a bunch of my meal or day's worth of calories allotted. If I don't keep track I inch up and overeat. It's also really easy to say "oh it's just ....." (whatever it is). That can sabotage me. I'm a good denier. Also measure and weigh things. It really does add up.

    Sometimes a cup of squash is over what I can have for the day. Depending on what vegetable you can or can't fit it in your lower calorie day sometimes.

    That said, I don't freak out if I'm within a hundred or 2 of my goal for the day. Especially when I'm set to cut calories and not maintain.
  • chanel1twenty
    chanel1twenty Posts: 161 Member
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    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
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    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
    Sililily115 Posts: 45
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    ..
  • Sililily115
    Sililily115 Posts: 45
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    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
    carissar7 Posts: 183 Member
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    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
    carissar7 Posts: 183 Member
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    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
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
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    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
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    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.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    LOG EVERYTHING or it's useless, you're just deluding yourself. If you are going to do it, do it right, or why bother?
  • JennKie1
    JennKie1 Posts: 200 Member
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    I log everything. 50 calories here and 50 calories there tend to add up pretty quickly.

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