Do you log your veggies?

Options
13

Replies

  • EMTFreakGirl
    EMTFreakGirl Posts: 597 Member
    Options
    I try to log EVERYTHING that crosses my lips (except my coffee, actual; I log the add-ins, just not the coffee.)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    I log everything that has calories, except spices, as I have no idea how many calories they have and it's not written on the bottle...
  • robert5891
    Options
    Do you log the 3 slivers of red onion in your garden salad? How about the 1 carrot you eat with hummus? The lemon wedge in your water?

    That seems a bit excessive and OCD. I do track veggies, but only when they are of substantial quantities. Calorie counting isn't an exact science, so 3 slivers of red onion will not derail your daily diet or calorie allotment.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Options
    I do log veggies- but the only thing I eat "one serving of" is treats.

    which DO get logged.

    I eat a fair bit of veggies and typically in rather large portions- like 2 zucchini's- or 4 ears of corn (yes I will eat 4 for dinner)- so yeah- all that gets logged.

    If I take JUST ONE of something (like I took a broken half of a pretzel- where serving size is 28 grams/roughly 5 preztles for 100 calories- no I don't log the half broken pretzel- but more often than not- If I reach for a broken one- I'll just fish out 5 and log the serving size.

    oreos- if I can eat just one I'll log just one. (usually try to make room fro a whole serving)- or ice cream- I do log in weighed serving sizes.

    just safer.
  • DeeJayShank
    DeeJayShank Posts: 92 Member
    Options
    Do you log the 3 slivers of red onion in your garden salad? How about the 1 carrot you eat with hummus? The lemon wedge in your water?

    That seems a bit excessive and OCD. I do track veggies, but only when they are of substantial quantities. Calorie counting isn't an exact science, so 3 slivers of red onion will not derail your daily diet or calorie allotment.

    EXACTLY. I'd bet even people that log every single item are off 5%-10% on average in terms of expected vs actual calories.
  • TeamKovacs
    TeamKovacs Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    Every bit counts. I find it would be tough to log 3 onion slivers. However, with veggies that are higher in calories, like carrots, I wouldn't miss an entry on that. Even if it's just one little baby carrot.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    Options
    Yep.

    ETA: stuff like an onion slice I wouldn't (but I hate onions anyways). But anythign else gets thrown on the scale and logged.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
    Options
    Do you log the 3 slivers of red onion in your garden salad? How about the 1 carrot you eat with hummus? The lemon wedge in your water?

    I would think that would be a bit over the top...

    That said, I tried to log (I don't log anymore) as accurately as possible as much for the nutritional information as the calories. I never really ate like that though...three slivers of onion or whatever. For big salads and whatnot, I used the recipe builder to build my own and just used that entry when I had a garden salad or whatever...it wasn't exact by any means but better than not logging anything.

    Keep in mind also that veggies can add up throughout the day. I eat around 8 servings of fruit and veg daily...6 of which are usually veg and a couple servings of fruit. At the end of the day, I'm eating around 300 or so calories of fruit and veg daily and that's not counting more calorie laden things like avocados and legumes which I consume on almost a daily basis.
  • JeanCricket
    JeanCricket Posts: 167 Member
    Options
    Yes to logging veggies :-). No to lemon wedge in water ;-)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Options
    Do you log the 3 slivers of red onion in your garden salad? How about the 1 carrot you eat with hummus? The lemon wedge in your water?

    That seems a bit excessive and OCD. I do track veggies, but only when they are of substantial quantities. Calorie counting isn't an exact science, so 3 slivers of red onion will not derail your daily diet or calorie allotment.

    I weigh things when cooking, so my philosophy here is that making distinctions between what gets weighed and included and what does not would take more time and effort than just noting the onions when I chop and toss them on the salad or burger or whatever. But I also rarely eat such a small amount of something. Normally I would be doing a serving size of veggies.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Options
    I log everything.. even spices.
  • KTRXS
    KTRXS Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    I don't. No one ever got fat because they ate too many vegetables and no one is not losing weight for eating too many veggies.

    A MAJOR pet peeve of mine is when someone says they can only eat one handful of carrots or celery because it's too many calories. Believe me. Eat at much celery, broccoli, onion, and carrots as you want. That's not the problem if you're not losing weight.

    This is why I don't log fruits or veggies. I want all the yummy rabbit food! No calorie amount will stop me!

    (this pertains to undressed, raw fruits and vegetables straight from the produce isle and into my mouth. Yum!.)
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Options
    I log everything, except seasoning and water. I log gum, condiments, half a strawberry. Small stuff adds up quick, and it can very well throw you over your calorie limit. The goal is to eat as close to the calories that MFP or TDEE tells you to. If you forget or don't log that serving of ketchup, then you could very well go over your calorie limit.

    It's ok to go over your calorie limit by a serving of ketchup, methinks

    1 or 2x sure, but all of that adds up. And then you will see post asking "why am I not losing weight?" It's because they aren't logging everything properly. Stalls in weightless are completely avoidable.
  • Sendyk
    Sendyk Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    I try. I seriously do. But I find myself "cleaning" off the spoon when I'm finished dishing out portions for the kids and think "CRAP! How the hell am I gonna log that?" I usually don't unless I realize I've done it again. Then I'll try to guesstimate as best as I can.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    I try. I seriously do. But I find myself "cleaning" off the spoon when I'm finished dishing out portions for the kids and think "CRAP! How the hell am I gonna log that?" I usually don't unless I realize I've done it again. Then I'll try to guesstimate as best as I can.

    Do you account for food you already weighed that is still on the plate uneaten when you are finished?

    I think that will balance out the tad on the spoon.

    Weigh a plate before cleaning and after if you really want to see what the total is.
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
    Options
    I did in the beggining but 5 cals? Jeez, I can burn that with a sneeze.

    I've had a garden salad from subway so I use that as my guide, if it's a pretty big salad then it's 50 cals (only lettuce,spinach,onions,tomatoes), if I put that on a bread I might log a 0.2 of the 50 cals. It only takes 30 seconds so if I feel like it I do it.

    I usually add veggies and low amounts of certain foods for the sake of keeping track of my macros. One gummy bear might only be 10 cals but it's all sugar so I count. A slice of onion? Not so much.
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
    Options
    I set up a standard salad that I use under recipes and adjust through the serving size-you might want to set up several. Can also use a variety of salad options from the website. Logging each veggie each time gets to time-consuming.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    Options
    I log everything except chewing gum (I figure my munching burns the 2 calories anyway) and my daily fish oil tablet. I suppose I could add 12 calories to my TDEE if I wanted to start logging this stuff, but they're a constant so I eliminate them. I do log, however, 30 grams of spinach (7 calories) but then that helps me track fibre and micros.
  • chsa22
    chsa22 Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    I don't. No one ever got fat because they ate too many vegetables and no one is not losing weight for eating too many veggies.

    A MAJOR pet peeve of mine is when someone says they can only eat one handful of carrots or celery because it's too many calories. Believe me. Eat at much celery, broccoli, onion, and carrots as you want. That's not the problem if you're not losing weight.

    Agreed. I don't really log my veggies unless it is the main part of my meal, or soaked in olive oil :) If all you eat are potatoes, corn, etc. that have more carbs, then it's probably a good idea to track those. I'm talking about all the green veggies, onions, etc. Not necessary in my opinion. Veggies are not the culprit here.
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
    Options
    I'm honestly surprised people don't realize fish oil has calories. Any kind of oil is going to have calories because it's fat. Fish oil is not a vitamin, it's (mostly) omega 3 fat.

    Also, I've learned that just because a package says something is 0 calories doesn't mean it actually has no calories. Anything less than 5 calories a serving is allowed to list 0 calories (in the U.S. at least). So tea and coffee do have calories, but very minuscule amounts.

    But I log even small things mostly to better track potassium, iron, fiber, and other nutrients. I agree it isn't going to make much difference in calories.