Not counting vegetables

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  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    ktrader wrote: »
    Yea I guess I just wondered if it really mattered. I just ate a plate full of green peppers,tomatoes, and some pickles I figure its like 100 calories if that . Im just starting so Im not exactly sure on where my calories need to be for loss and just focusing on eating that instead of something unhealthy is my main goal.

    I think if that's the way you want to do it that's perfectly valid. If you find you're not losing weight then you will need to reassess that.
  • kimberlynicole79
    kimberlynicole79 Posts: 52 Member
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    I really just dont want to be too obsessive. I mean have you ever heard of someone gaining weight from too much brocccoli...or brussel sprouts. With all the fiber in them It is probably really hard to over eat anything else.

    I do count the salad dressing etc. Right now I just had vinegar on them and an avocado so obviously i counted the avocado.
    Bascially the place im working bought subway. They had all the veggies on the side so since no one eats all the veggies I grabbed a plate and used vinegar instead of the italian they had. I also just ate the lunch meat from the sub and counted that.

    I could just estimate it was probably a half a cup of green peppers and tomatoes
  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
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    I log them but guess the weight, especially for things like broccoli, cabbage etc
  • kimberlynicole79
    kimberlynicole79 Posts: 52 Member
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    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    ktrader wrote: »
    Yea I guess I just wondered if it really mattered. I just ate a plate full of green peppers,tomatoes, and some pickles I figure its like 100 calories if that . Im just starting so Im not exactly sure on where my calories need to be for loss and just focusing on eating that instead of something unhealthy is my main goal.

    I think if that's the way you want to do it that's perfectly valid. If you find you're not losing weight then you will need to reassess that.

    Cool thanks for the supportive comment.

  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
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    maxit wrote: »
    ktrader wrote: »
    Anyone not count the non starchy veggies in their calories? I was thinking of doing this like WW where you don't need to track veggies.

    Weight Watchers DOES require tracking "starchy vegetables." And Phrick if you can eat several hundred calories worth of brussel sprouts (43 cals per 100 grams) more power to ya!



    I don't know about Phrick, but I regularly roast a pound of brussel sprouts and eat 3/4 of them (my wife eats the rest).
  • kimberlynicole79
    kimberlynicole79 Posts: 52 Member
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    Ang108 wrote: »
    ktrader wrote: »
    Anyone not count the non starchy veggies in their calories? I was thinking of doing this like WW where you don't need to track veggies.

    With all due respect, if you want to do it like WW, maybe you should follow their program and not do MFP. Mixing several program approaches because of feeling lazy towards logging almost never works.
    Even non-starchy vegetables have calories and if you eat the recommended amount each day, you might cheat yourself by not accounting for a couple of hundred calories each day....and that adds up during a month or more.
    Well Lets see MFP suggested I eat 900 calories. I calculated out my macros on iifiym's website and readjusted. My carb recommendation from that site is pretty high like 200 which I dont really ever reach unless I decided to have a beer or something like that.
  • kimberlynicole79
    kimberlynicole79 Posts: 52 Member
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    Tinabob777 wrote: »
    I track mine for two reasons-

    The calories
    And to make sure I'm eating enough veggies. This way I'm accountable

    Good point

  • kimberlynicole79
    kimberlynicole79 Posts: 52 Member
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    Also when I was getting ready for my figure shows a few years ago I basically was allowed onions(i sauteed them) and garlic I think for free foods. I didnt count them and lost weight still of course I was probably eating like 700-800 calories so not saying it was healthy by any means.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2015
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    (1) Vegetables have calories, sometimes lots of you eat lots of them, like I do.

    (2) I want to know my actual maintenance number, so that requires actual counting of everything, and plus trying to be accurate and watching macros and seeing how different combinations/timing affect me is part of what makes this fun, like a game, so not counting some stuff wouldn't be as fun. And veggies are the easiest thing to count since I chop them anyway and can just toss them on the scale.

    (3) Most important: I don't think it's as ideal to think of the log as just a way to keep calories down as to try to make sure that you get an overall balanced, nutritious diet. I like logging veggies and fruits since I can then see that I got a good variety of them in my day and week, etc.--it shows that this is not just about eating less, but eating well. At least, that's what works for me.

    Thus, I am strongly against the WW idea of not logging veggies, but everyone should do what works for them.
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
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    I won't count the slice of tomato or two lettuce leaves on my sandwich, stuff like that. But a whole serving of veggies I count.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    If you want to do that, I would suggest logging them for a few weeks and then taking an average of your daily non-starchy veggie calories and then subtract that number from your daily goal.

    I count all of mine but when we're talking about sandwich toppings, I tend to estimate. If I'm eating a full pepper or something like that, I try to be more exact.
  • twhaley1990
    twhaley1990 Posts: 140 Member
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    It doesn't work for me personally. Back when I didn't count fruits and veggies, I had lots of calories "leftover" that I would use on cookies and whatnot. I was losing 2 lbs a month eating on a 2 lb a week deficit. Once I counted the produce in and eating actually at my deficit, the pounds came off the way they were supposed to.
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
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    I typically don't weigh out greens. I might if I'm having a large portion but if it's a couple of tablespoons worth then I don't bother. I'm including lettuce, green beans, collard greens, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers...etc.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Everything counts.
  • orlandodenise
    orlandodenise Posts: 54 Member
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    I thinks its surprising just how many calories are in even " innocent veg " like a pack of stir fry veggies. Ive worked out how many calories in say a portion of mushrooms or courgette etc and dish up the same general amount each time and log but I dont weigh every time. I dont eat starchy veg - only low carb - so the margin for error is lower. I have most days 1000 left over work out calories I never eat so have a big buffer.
  • alicaramik2
    alicaramik2 Posts: 71 Member
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    Yes, I log them. As long as I'm logging, why leave the veggies out? It doesn't take that much more time or effort to put everything in.
  • Seahawks_Lover
    Seahawks_Lover Posts: 16 Member
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    I log everything I eat, including gum, vitamins, cough drops, etc. I guess I'm over obsessive that way, but then when I see a weird fluctuation in my weight I can review and see what happened. Calorie is a calorie, right :-)

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