Kcal counting - vegetables

Sup guys.
Im on a bulk and a lot of people are telling me not to count vegetables to my calories because they aren't really used by the body,
What the hell does that mean ? Othe person told me that i should count them only if i eat them with meats and fats(longer to digest).
But whenever i eat vegetables they are mostly just as a side so i usually eat them with meats and fats.
So, what do i do now ? Count or don't ?

Replies

  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Count everything that has calories. Whomever is telling you not to count them unless you're also eating meat needs to return to wherever they went to school and get their money back.
  • Thanks for the answer!

    Here's a reply about the kcal's from vegetables:

    "Count the fats and carbs, but count off fiber values from carbs (your body doesn't use it). Protein is usually in small amounts and doesn't have a full aminogram. If you have a really tight diet then count the kcal in but not the protein."

    Is this some broscience ? It's basically bodybuilding forum full of guys saying so. (and when i look at most of their plans, they only eat rice and chicken lol or don't count anything else in)
    I would say it's really dumb, especially when i look at my todays bulking lunch:
    http://i.imgur.com/xgFxQau.jpg
    Kidney beans in hot sauce, lentils, white beans, corn and some other beans. ~1,5kg
    And if i wouldn't count that in then i don't know how much chicken/eggs i would need to eat more. (and i eat that meal every week)
  • Haha that reminds me of people I used to know who were "dieting" and used to eat as much fruit as they wanted and not count it because "fruit doesn't count because fruit is good for you". Needless to say they all complained of not losing weight and stopped dieting after like a few weeks.

    As said above just count everything, even if it's the smallest amount. If you don't count it's not accurate.
  • stoyanov
    stoyanov Posts: 16 Member
    Well, as the others already said, you count everything. 100%. A calorie is a calorie no matter the source.

    Now that being said, vegetables in general don't have a lot of calories, so in most cases it won't make much of a difference, especially, if you're bulking. I still count them, but I'm not as meticulous - for example, I might log one tomato, instead of x grams, because the actual value is so low.

    However, rice, corn and all types of beans, are a completely different story. They have a lot of carbs and a lot of calories, so you have to count them. If you're not sure, the safest approach is to just count everything until you get the hang of it. I logged just about every food, drink or snack I had for about one or two months. After a while, you have most of your standard meals memorized and it gets easier. I don't log everything any more, but it's because I already know how much calories it will add. The calories still count, it's just not worth the effort to enter the meals in mfp every time.

    Your friends are sort of right about not counting fiber (I posted about fiber before, I might look it up if you're interested).
    The part about counting vegetables only if you eat meat doesn't make any sense at all though.