Do you add raw fruits to your calorie count?

2

Replies

  • vjessup
    vjessup Posts: 8 Member
    This is definitely a Weight Watchers thing...most fruits and veggies (but not all) are "free" foods. I was an avid Weight Watchers fan until I found MFP. MFP is free, but the fruits and veggies are not.
  • SabrinaLovesPandora
    SabrinaLovesPandora Posts: 33 Member
    I'll open it!

    I do eat dairy and eggs/
  • SabrinaLovesPandora
    SabrinaLovesPandora Posts: 33 Member
    (My diet is pretty bad still, don't just me too hard) LOL
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited March 2015
    Make sure your deficit isn't too high.
    Get enough fats into your diet.
    Get enough protein in your diet.

    Experiment with meal timing and meal sizes.

    How tall are you and how much weight do you have to lose?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Okay then add things like greek yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Phoenix_Down wrote: »
    Count everything.

    I can count to purple backwards.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    Merkavar wrote: »
    I think I have seen this question a few times now.

    Do you think they are former weight watchers? They don't allocate points to fruit and veggies do they?

    Seems odd question to me. Imagine counting anything but deciding not to count specific things.

    How many people are on the bus?
    20, so we can fit 6 more on.
    Yeah 20 but I didn't count the 5 people with red hair.

    Love it.
  • JenD1066
    JenD1066 Posts: 298 Member
    You can always snack on nuts and seeds.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited March 2015
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »
    I'll open it!

    I do eat dairy and eggs/

    I'm a vegetarian who eats eggs and dairy. I find paying attention to protein and fat are the keys to keeping me feeling less hungry.

    Feel free to look at my diary for how I distribute my macros. I eat full fat cottage cheese and 2% Greek yogurt for the fat content.

    I had been eating the lower fat versions of both of those, and wasn't feeling very satisfied. between meals. As soon as I started paying attention to upping my fat intake, that problem went away.

    Another thing I find helpful is to not eat breakfast too early. I used to always think that I had to eat breakfast right away, and it's not true. I like a cup of tea first thing, but that's it. I usually wait until ... gawd... today I got up at 4:30 and didn't eat until noon!

    For some people starting the day eating early means jump starting their hunger. For others, breakfast works. Play around and see what works best for you.

  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Okay, first piece of advice-- don't use anything in the database that says "homemade" or "generic" unless you have no choice.

    "Homemade peanut butter sandwich"-- how many pieces of what kind of bread? How much peanut butter? How much jelly and what kind? Etc.

    "Scrambled egg with spinach"-- how many eggs? How much milk? Oil? Butter? How much spinach?

    Instead, either use the recipe builder and enter what you actually ate, or enter each thing separately in your diary.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    Second piece of advice-- do your best to double the amount of protein you're eating.
  • SabrinaLovesPandora
    SabrinaLovesPandora Posts: 33 Member
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    Okay, first piece of advice-- don't use anything in the database that says "homemade" or "generic" unless you have no choice.

    "Homemade peanut butter sandwich"-- how many pieces of what kind of bread? How much peanut butter? How much jelly and what kind? Etc.

    "Scrambled egg with spinach"-- how many eggs? How much milk? Oil? Butter? How much spinach?

    Instead, either use the recipe builder and enter what you actually ate, or enter each thing separately in your diary.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    Second piece of advice-- do your best to double the amount of protein you're eating.



    Thank you for the help. Because, while I do use correct serving size, it'd be probably be easier to use the site you suggested.

    I'll definitely use the recipe builder.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Oh also-- use all your calories! If you're getting hungry then don't undershoot your calorie goal.
  • stevesgirl824
    stevesgirl824 Posts: 74 Member
    Yes, I count my fruits.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    This very same conversation is going on over on the Nutrition board! I was wondering where my previous reply went, then realised I posted on the other thread, not this one doh!
    As for counting fruit and veggies. I definitely do, even my 10 calories of spinach, because I also follow my macros.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    This very same conversation is going on over on the Nutrition board! I was wondering where my previous reply went, then realised I posted on the other thread, not this one doh!
    As for counting fruit and veggies. I definitely do, even my 10 calories of spinach, because I also follow my macros.

    Ah, that explains why I wasn't getting notifications on this version of the thread! I hate when the conversation gets split up between two posts.
  • runnrchic
    runnrchic Posts: 130 Member
    carolynmo1969 wrote: »
    I record everything. Today for example, I am over my daily sugar limit and I've had only fruit.

    Nothing wrong with that!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You add everything!
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    If staying full between meals is an issue, you might want to keep an eye on your fiber consumption, too. Which of course means you want to log fruits and vegetables to see their fiber content. A nut & cheese snack is high in protein, fat and fiber--all things that keep you full a long time.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »
    I'm confused if I should be adding the raw fruits/veggies to my daily food count.

    I know fruits have sugar, but aren't they the good sugars?

    So do I NEED to count them?

    IDK, I might just be looking for an excuse to snack and if I replace my snacks with fruits and veggies it might be better.

    Yes. For accurate calorie counting, you add anything with calories.

    It doesn't matter what you eat, if you eat more calorie than you burn you will gain weight.

    Weight loss is calories in/calories out.

    Health and nutrition comes from a balance of several different kinds of foods.
  • BruceHedtke
    BruceHedtke Posts: 358 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    You add everything!

    Yep because even if you don't log it...your body does. It's the best calorie counter ever created...it counts everything.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »
    Another question?

    (I'm vegetarian btw)

    What should I eat to not feel so hungry in between meals?

    Cheese
    Eggs
    Nuts
    Legumes

    Just watch the calorie count of it all.

  • billiebutton
    billiebutton Posts: 49 Member
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »
    I'm confused if I should be adding the raw fruits/veggies to my daily food count.

    I know fruits have sugar, but aren't they the good sugars?

    So do I NEED to count them?

    IDK, I might just be looking for an excuse to snack and if I replace my snacks with fruits and veggies it might be better.

    Yep I log raw fruit.The only thing I don't always add is when I sprinkle on spices like lemon pepper, cayanne pepper ect or the lemon wedges I put in my Infuser water bottle.
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
    Merkavar wrote: »
    I think I have seen this question a few times now.

    Do you think they are former weight watchers? They don't allocate points to fruit and veggies do they?

    Seems odd question to me. Imagine counting anything but deciding not to count specific things.

    How many people are on the bus?
    20, so we can fit 6 more on.
    Yeah 20 but I didn't count the 5 people with red hair.

    This is a brilliant example. I followed slimming world for almost 2 years and lost almost 4 stone (it was a great plan for me at that time in my life) but the weight loss stopped once I got out of the obese bracket. All fruit, veg, lean meat, pasta and rice is free. For me that means a HUGE bowl of pasta with a tomato and veg sauce FOR FREE!! I ate huge amounts of pasta with everything!!

    I once counted the calories in a typical 'good' slimming world day and I was eating well over 2000 calories.

    Different things work at different stages of your life but MFP's ethos will worth at every stage
  • Becca_250
    Becca_250 Posts: 188 Member
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »
    Okay, first piece of advice-- don't use anything in the database that says "homemade" or "generic" unless you have no choice.

    "Homemade peanut butter sandwich"-- how many pieces of what kind of bread? How much peanut butter? How much jelly and what kind? Etc.

    "Scrambled egg with spinach"-- how many eggs? How much milk? Oil? Butter? How much spinach?

    Instead, either use the recipe builder and enter what you actually ate, or enter each thing separately in your diary.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    Second piece of advice-- do your best to double the amount of protein you're eating.

    Agree with this, it's definitely worth building your own recipes/meals and you can quick add them in future so it only takes longer to do the first time. It makes such a difference to the accuracy of your counting which to me is kind of the point in going to all the trouble of logging food in the first place!
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
    I'll go out on the limb and say that I don't always count all of my fruit. I'll grab a couple of grapes in the fridge or a couple of strawberries and not count them. I'm eating at about 800 under maintenance and 10-50 calories isn't going to stall my weight loss.
  • rebeccahunt718
    rebeccahunt718 Posts: 48 Member
    Count anything and everything that has calories, especially if you are trying to lose weight. I have found for me that every little bit counts!
  • chrisg676
    chrisg676 Posts: 39 Member
    I count everything I eat and drink now. Even fruit. A banana could have 100 calories.
  • Shanahoo
    Shanahoo Posts: 32 Member
    magerum wrote: »
    Phoenix_Down wrote: »
    Count everything.

    I can count to purple backwards.

    I can count to G!

    :)
  • jenniferinfl
    jenniferinfl Posts: 456 Member
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »
    Oh goodness! This is difficult, haha!

    I'm one of those people who grazes on snacks in between meals all day long, so this transition is a little difficult for me.

    I'm definitely going to continue counting them then. I can't say I'm not a bit bummed though. :\

    To save time, you can create a fruit and veggie platter and enter them all at once even though you graze on them all day. I'll make a 12 ounce bag of broccoli and just log the whole thing under 'breakfast' but I eat at it all day.

    Just estimate how many you need for snacking, weigh and log them all. At the same time, you can wash them, cut them or otherwise prepare them for easy snacking. I just have a bowl out on the counter for that purpose. If I'm not doing broccoli, I put together a pre-weighed bowl for the day.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    SabrinaLovesPandora wrote: »

    I don't really know if this is a Weight Watchers thing. This is my first time trying to diet.

    Good luck!!! It will work if you stick with it! Never be afraid to ask if you have questions.

    I also just want to offer this up to give some good perspective that will help you out a lot. Weight loss always comes down to eating fewer calories than you burn. Always. All the different diets out there (weight watchers, south beach, low carb, etc.) are just ways to get to a calorie deficit and only work when they reach that end. So it's simpler to just do what you'll learn here, which is to count all your calories and keep them below what you can burn.
    Also, with that in mind, calories from one type of food aren't any different from calories from another type of food. There is no "good sugar" or "bad sugar." There's just sugar. The only reason fruits get touted above candy is because fruits also offer fiber and vitamins. They don't have some special kind of sugar that's "better" than any other sugar.
    100 calories is 100 calories and 15 grams of sugar is 15 grams of sugar, whether it comes from an apple or from sour patch kids.

    For overall health (rather than just for fat loss) it's also good to shoot for getting enough protein, unsaturated fats and fiber. But again, to lose weight, focus on eating fewer calories than you burn and count them all because your body doesn't care where it came from.

    For staying full, it helps to increase protein and fiber since they don't digest as quickly as carbs. Also, it's good to find several low-calorie options so that you can eat a greater volume of food for the calories. This is where it becomes important to watch certain food items, not because they're bad for you or because they stop weight loss but rather because some foods are so calorie dense that it's difficult to maintain a caloric deficit while eating them in significant amounts (example: I had a poptart yesterday because I'd balanced out the rest of my day to be able to fit it in and I was fine. However, if I ate two or three of them a day it would be difficult for me to lower the rest of my food intake enough to maintain a deficit of calories).

    Keep asking questions, keep learning and keep with it!!!
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