Can I eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as I want to?

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  • FormerSuperHero
    FormerSuperHero Posts: 70 Member
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    I’ve always tended to believe the old school adage; you can eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you want. I thought it was because fruits and vegetables were packed with vitamins, natural sugar, and all the good and wholesome nutrients that God wanted you to live on. But really it’s because to get the equivalent calories of say a Baconator value meal (1820 calories) you would have to eat a whole wheelbarrow full of salad.

    Food Amount Calories
    Asparagus 32 spears 106
    Avocado 1/3 of the fruit 106
    Bell Pepper (green) 4 medium peppers 95
    Bell Pepper (red) 3 and 1/3 medium peppers 103
    Broccoli (raw) 10 (5-inch long spears) 105
    Carrots (baby) 28 98
    Cauliflower (raw) 30 flowerettes 98
    Celery 18 (8-inch stalks) 101
    Corn (sweet white) Kernels from two ears 118
    Cucumber 2 (8 1/4-inch cukes) 90
    Kale (cooked) 3 cups 109
    Lettuce (Romaine) 1 head 106
    Mushrooms (raw) 20 large 101
    Radishes (raw) 70 large 101
    Spinach (raw) 45 leaves 98
    Summer Squash (raw) 3 medium 94
    Tomato (Roma) 3 medium 105
    Zucchini 3 medium 94
    total 1828 calories

    And if you have a sweet tooth:

    Fruit Amount Calories
    Apples 2 extra small 105
    Bananas 1 medium 105
    Blueberries 125 berries (or 1 1/4 cup) 97
    Cantaloupe 2 cups, diced 106
    Clementines 3 whole 104
    Grapes, red or green 30 101
    Grapefruit, pink or white 1 1/4 whole 95
    Honeydew 1 3/4 cups, diced 98
    Mango 1 cup, sliced 107
    Nectarine 1 1/2 medium 94
    Orange 2 small 90
    Papaya 2 cups, cubed 109
    Peach 2 1/2 medium 96
    Pear 1 medium 96
    Pineapple 1 1/4 cups, chunks 103
    Strawberries 25 medium 96
    Tangerine 2 medium 100
    Watermelon 30 balls (or 2 cups, diced) 110
    total 1812 calories


    So can you eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you want? Sure you can, hang on…. I’ll get you a pitch fork.

    Food for thought:
    Depending on the individual, the digestive system may get as little as ½ of the calories from raw fruits and vegetables as it would from the Baconator. (So can I actually eat as much as double the calories from fresh fruit and vegetables?)


    fantastic xxx
  • nhradeuce
    nhradeuce Posts: 168 Member
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    But bacon.

    You could always wrap a piece of bacon around a banana.

    You might be on to something here. Can you deep fry a banana?
    Mmmmmm! Deep fried bacon banana!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    I’ve always tended to believe the old school adage; you can eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you want. I thought it was because fruits and vegetables were packed with vitamins, natural sugar, and all the good and wholesome nutrients that God wanted you to live on. But really it’s because to get the equivalent calories of say a Baconator value meal (1820 calories) you would have to eat a whole wheelbarrow full of salad.



    So can you eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as you want? Sure you can, hang on…. I’ll get you a pitch fork.

    We get hung up on "packaging".

    To our eyes, emotions, etc., etc. it's a sugar doughnut, it's yummy tofu, and on and on (there's even one category called "comfort food")

    Package it anyway you want it but once it gets over the lips, it's just an influx of carbs, proteins, and fats that our body uses as fuel.
  • benflando
    benflando Posts: 193
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    SO MANY CARBS
  • gautampai7
    gautampai7 Posts: 1
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    Good one
  • sofitheteacup
    sofitheteacup Posts: 397 Member
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    I'm good at eating - which means I can easily over-eat calorie wise if I choose higher calorie fruits and veg.

    same. limited bananas, avocados, etc for me.
  • sofitheteacup
    sofitheteacup Posts: 397 Member
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    But bacon.

    You could always wrap a piece of bacon around a banana.

    You might be on to something here. Can you deep fry a banana?

    You can deep fry anything if you try hard and believe in yourself.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    You can overeat fruits and veggies just like anything else. I definitely count them because the calories can add up quicker than you think. Let's say you eat a large banana, a medium apple and an avocado, that's pretty darm close to 500 calories and very little (if any) protein. That's almost a meal's worth of calories for many people. So, let's say you do that twice, that's 1000 calories. TO not count those calories at all simply because they're fruits/veggies isn't really all that wise, imho. If you're tlaking about a couple of cups of mixed greens here and there, ok, I get it, but other things, should be tracked. I mean, let's say you ate those 500 calories in fruits/veggies and didn't track them, but still ate your calorie allotment, plus maybe ate back some exercise calories, you'd be over, possibly at a maintenance level, and if this was a regular thing, at best you'd maintain, at worst, you'd start to gain.

    This is true. I only have a small deficit (300+), so I can't go wild with fruit. I could easily cancel out my deficit.

    I do eat quite a lot of veg, but I'm careful with anything higher calorie. I have lost weight eating a lot of fruit before, but only because I wasn't eating much else! I've also done free fruit and veg diets (Slimming World), but I have had to avoid going overboard. Even with Slimming World, they are strict that the fruit must be raw and unprocessed. Once you start juicing, making smoothies, etc., you can get huge amounts of calories in very easily.

    These days, I don't always count low-cal fruit and veg (a couple of berries, cucumber, radish, lettuce, etc.), but I am very careful with the higher-calories stuff like apples, bananas, most fruit in fact.
  • BlondeBop
    BlondeBop Posts: 3
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    I don't count all the veg I eat, but I do count all the fruit. Mainly because it can push m over by even a couple of hundred, and I can soon spiral... Never happens with veg though. Maybe it's the sugar?
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,651 Member
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    But bacon.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    haha, love that

    Whatever happened to the classic "Five portions of fruit and veg a day"? I know it's only a guideline and you can go as over and as under as you like but I don't think people are going to go as far as to eat 1800 calories of fruit and/or veg a day. Has anyone out there every done that?

    About 25 years ago, I ate nothing but fruit for a solid week (no idea of the daily calorie consumption), started on the Saturday morning and finished on the following Friday night. I drank only water, no tea, coffee, soft drinks or alcohol.

    I lost 14lbs in that week, but of course, much goes back on once eating other food resumes.

    I did it as an experiment, not as a weightloss method lol.

    Was I hungry? yes. :laugh:
  • thamar123
    thamar123 Posts: 2 Member
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    I really like the portion intake! Thanks!:)
  • grimm1974
    grimm1974 Posts: 337 Member
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    But bacon.

    You could always wrap a piece of bacon around a banana.

    You might be on to something here. Can you deep fry a banana?

    I saw where a Texas State fair managed to deep fry Coke.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    Banana fritters used to be common, and they're just battered deep-fried bananas. Lots of things taste nice if battered, deepfried and served with something sugary or something salty. I used to make vegetable tempura a lot (battered deep-fried veg!).
  • alexandriapatton
    alexandriapatton Posts: 117 Member
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    Do you do that because of the sugar amount? Because that's what messes up my sugar limits every time. I mean 19 gr of sugar in 1 apple and I'm left with only 5 gr for the rest of the day. Or can that sugar be somewhat forgiven because it's natural? I don't want to feel bad for eating fruits.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    I don't count calories but I pretty much allow myself unlimited non-starchy veggies. As someone pointed out earlier, they take a long time to eat a lot of calories and, for me, they're crunchy and flavorful and satisfying. I'm more careful with fruits.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,715 Member
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    I'd have an issue with consuming that much fiber all the time............................I'd have to put a TV in my bathroom so I wouldn't miss any football.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • saschka7
    saschka7 Posts: 577 Member
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    But really it’s because to get the equivalent calories of say a Baconator value meal (1820 calories) you would have to eat a whole wheelbarrow full of salad.

    Honestly, I'd rather have the Baconator sandwich by itself and a dozen fries (not as combo meal with the large size fries and soda) and eat a reasonable amount of veggies/fruits and STILL be able to meet my goals. Everything in moderation, you know.

    While I do like fruit and veggies, I don't like them enough to eat the caloric equivalent of fast food of them. Geez! I would think it would take a person most of their waking hours to eat all that veg! Honestly, I would get bored eating that often. I have a life and need to get stuff done! :laugh:

    I like bacon.
  • jmarie1967
    jmarie1967 Posts: 51 Member
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    Avoid starchy vegetables, and avoid high sugar fruits, I look at the glycemic index, although the sugar in fruit is better for you than any other sugary food. I am following an Atkins type No wheat low carb diet, and it is really working for me. I have lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks eating healthy and added exercise too of course. Do not eat too LOW FAT! Your metabolism needs fats and proteins to burn the fat you are trying to lose. Do NOT listen to the FDA guidlelines, they are flawed like the rest of our government. Read "Wheat Belly" by Dr WIlliam Davis for an eye opening discussion on wheat....
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
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    But bacon.

    You could always wrap a piece of bacon around a banana.

    You might be on to something here. Can you deep fry a banana?
    Mmmmmm! Deep fried bacon banana!

    Can someone please try this so I know that it's possible?! I can't get on with my life without it and I'm too much of a chicken to do it myself.
  • A_Warrior_Princess
    A_Warrior_Princess Posts: 344 Member
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    On Weight Watchers Most fruits and vegetables are free, so you can eat all you want.

    I didn't know that.......that's interesting because I believe Weight Watchers point system must ultimately be based on counting calories (but they do it for you).

    When I was on Weight Watchers (several months ago) our leader cautioned us to eat fruits and vegetables in moderation even though most of them are "free" on their points system. I tried to make lunch and dinner the most colorful by using lots of different veggies and used fruits for my treats.

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