what about salad?

I count everything - all food has calories and they count.

Even vegetables are converted to energy in the body, as they have calories.

I think they should be counted. Salads can vary so much in calorie content..

this is not a diet but a change of lifestyle. You should be counting everything that goes in your mouth.

Should definitely measure first.

**** salad.

This x 9000.

I count everything.. I love to count salad because I can see my fiber going up when I log my salad.. and let's face it, who doesn't love all that fiber?

I think some programs will have salads be "free" to encourage people to eat more of them, but I think it's really unnecessary... especially when you log your salad and you see how low on calories it really is anyway, you'll WANT to choose to eat them!

I think salads should be counted because the toppings add up, especially the dressings!

A few years ago I did First Place weight loss with my sister. I think salads were a "free" food as long as they didn't have a bunch of crap on them. So far on this diet, I have counted them(calories, ect). Do we have to count them, or are they "free"? Thanks.

I count everything, but it all depends how specific you want to get. The veggies are fine, but if you add eggs, cheese, meat, croutons, dressing, etc. that stuff can really add up the calories. My typical homemade salad adds up to about 400 calories, so definitely keep in mind what you are putting into it.

I count it all - but with lettuce and cucumber I don't care about exact measurements because there's no point in obsessing over a difference of 3 or 4 calories.

There's so many different types of salads with differing ingredients. It's better to just count them.

Definitely count them! Too many people have a salad and think it's a total health food, even though it's loaded with all kinds of extra calories and fat.

This is not a diet, so you don't "have" to do anything. Find what works for you. I prefer to log everything. Certain items in a salad, such as lettuce and cucumber, will provide a very small amount of calories, so it wouldn't make a huge difference if you decide not to. I would log it all, see what it looks like in your diary and then make up your mind whether it's worth logging or not in the future.

I want to stress again that you need to do what's right for you. I don't think it's about being "serious" or "doing it right" - some people (including me) find it helpful to log absolutely everything, so you know exactly where you stand. Other people find it easier to be successful long-term when they take a more relaxed approach. The most important thing is: does it work for you? If you decide not to log salads, and find that you aren't losing weight as expected, then that's an area you could look at.

Not that I would eat a salad without a dressing with oil, but if you do have a salad like this:

Mixed greens, cucumber, onion, a tomato wedge, and lemon juice with herbs

It's pretty much up to you whether to log or not. That salad might be a total of 40 calories, but it probably isn't even that.

Then on the other hand if you are on a 1400 calorie a day it you might need to log every single calorie. My calorie goal is a bit higher nearly 2000 so I don't always log tomato slices and cucumbers.