Counting veggies

weehah
weehah Posts: 81 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been counting veggie calories, but I'm starting to think that's ridiculous when it's a super healthy, non-starchy veggie like broccoli or kale or spinach or Brussels sprouts. I realize if I use olive oil I have to count THAT, but honestly . . . What do you all do? Thanks!

Replies

  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Vegetables have calories. They all count. It's a unit of measurement. Count'em.
  • amandaanderson2786
    amandaanderson2786 Posts: 95 Member
    I count everything:smile:
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    If something goes into my mouth and it has calories, I count it, period. Healthy or not.
  • skinnylynnie74
    skinnylynnie74 Posts: 154 Member
    Besides the fact that my serving of kale (for example) had 65 calories, I also track veggies because when I have a "good week" weight-loss/measurement-wise, I can go back in my diary and recreate some of my meals and hopefully, replicate my success! Otherwise, it wil look like I am only eating steak, eggs, cheese, and milk ( and overdosing on fruit!)
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    Vegetables have calories. They all count. It's a unit of measurement. Count'em.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    If something goes into my mouth and it has calories, I count it, period. Healthy or not.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    They have calories I count them! Plus I track my fiber and I need those veggies to get my numbers up!
  • dancerbyday
    dancerbyday Posts: 61
    Well, I am a vegetarian, so I kind of have to count my veggie calories! ;) Also, if you count everything then you get a more accurate reading. Veggies do, indeed, have calories, and even the little things like a handful of popcorn here and there slowly add up. But don't cut your veggies to cut your calories, because they are full of important vitamins and nutrients! :) Also, just a fun little tip: veggies, especially raw, satisfy your hunger better than any other food. Fruit, too. And almost all veggies and fruits are alkaline, which is important in keeping an alkaline pH to prevent getting sick. You can research that more if you want. It's all very interesting. Good luck!
  • Rossa59
    Rossa59 Posts: 20 Member
    And you do need that olive oil 'cos the vitamins in veggies are fat soluble. A vegan friend cut out nearly all the fat in her diet for years because she had high cholesterol. Result is she now has very dry, cracked skin (fat is good for skin) all over her body and internally (lady bits!) has osteoporosis and other health issues. She's now adding in more fat, in moderation, and trying to deal with the other problems.

    Cutting out one major food group can have a more detrimental effect that it first appears as your digestive system often needs stuff like fat to help it digest other things like protein and carbs. I view fat as the lubrication I need for my digestion. I just don't eat as much of it as I used to.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    I wouldn't not count them. I can eat hundreds of calories worth of veggies each day... if I didn't count them I could stall.

    I count everything... regardless of what it is. Personally I think if you don't count something you are cheating yourself. Sure, some veggies may not have a ton of calories but it has other nutrients that you should be tracking. I track everything to see where my vitamin and mineral levels sit at the end of the day so I know if I need to take a vitamin or not.

    I may not be as accurate in my tracking with things like lettuce, spinach, etc but I do track.
  • JudieJudes
    JudieJudes Posts: 174 Member
    I Count them ... they are all units of energy and essentially we all know we need to take in less than we use if we want to lose :)

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