Debating unlimited fruits and veggies, like on WW. Thoughts???

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staceypunk
staceypunk Posts: 921 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When I found MFP and did research I chose to log all my fruits and vegetables and count them toward my daily calories goal. I was successful at losing weight (with regular Jillian Michaels workouts as well as staying within my macro goals). Now its a couple years later and I have gained back 15 of the 45 I lost. The reason for that is clear to me, lots of personal problems lots of alcohol intake and not being able to regularly workout.

Now I AM BACK IN IT! Eating good and working out regularly. I'd like to take a more intuitive approach. I'm not logging food everyday, not measuring and weighing everything I put in my mouth. Also, considering not sweating fruit and vegetable intake.

Thoughts???

and thanks!
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Replies

  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
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    Everything you eat (mostly) has calories, be it high calories or low calories, either way it all adds up in the course of 1 day.

    I personally can't eyeball food portions, and you can still gain weight eating too many calories of 'healthier' foods.

    I mean, do what you think would work for you. I just think that accountability and accuracy of what foods you ingest is important.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I think estimating non starchy veggies and fruit (if you are good at it, because fruit has more calories) is fine, although I weigh them (since I chop them and weighing adds no real time or effort), but I kind of feel like if you are logging it's best to log everything. (I brought a bunch of broccoli and cauliflower to supplement my lunch yesterday, and it was about 75 calories, so I'm glad I knew the real total and not just the total without the veggies.)

    One reason is that I think of logging NOT as primarily about keeping calories down but about me learning to understand what portions work for me and what calories I'm eating vs. what I think I'm eating. And I also think of it as a way to see how different ways of eating affect me (add more carbs, am I hungrier or not? add more protein to each meal, does that help? so on). As part of this second goal, I use it to see if I'm meeting my own personal nutritional goals, so logging veggies (and feeling good about it) is part of that--it's certainly not about calories primarily or about limiting them at all.

    So while I don't think you should limit your veggie or fruit consumption (unless you eat a really crazy amount of fruit, at least), I don't think logging but only including certain foods really makes sense. I've tried out more intuitive approaches by eating what I thought was reasonable calories and logging at the end of the day or eating for a week without logging and then logging again to see if I was basically eating within a reasonable calorie limit. Similarly, doing a looser form of logging for those items might be a compromise.

    But obviously you should do what works for you.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    It depends on your goals. If you're obese and eat a generally unhealthy diet, then WW's tactic of not counting fruits and veggies is probably great. It gets people into the habit of eating healthier and probably won't hinder weight loss.

    Now if you're already pretty healthy and lean, and just trying to get a bit leaner to look great in a swim suit than you should log everything.
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
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    A banana has on average 150 calories, Avocados are very high a few of those free fruits/veggies and you'll be putting on weight. Nothing is free it all has calories
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I eat 300-500 calories of fruits and vegetables every day. I wouldn't be able to log my food if I didn't count fruits and veg (like, how do you handle soups? homemade fritatas? things that are mostly veggie but lead you to eat more of non-veggies, like carrots in hummus?).

  • jigglyjessica
    jigglyjessica Posts: 58 Member
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    It's possible to gain weight eating too much "healthy" food.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    nooooo, you will still get fat.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Yeah that won't work. You can still eat unlimited veggies and fruit... you just got to log them. They are only free with WW because you have less points than you would if you counted them.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    They have calories...some more than others. If you are logging other food then I don't see the point in not logging fruits and vegetables as well.

    You could try it for a month with not logging food consistantly or logging any fruits and vegetables and see how your weight loss goes. If you aren't losing the way you want then go back to logging everything.

    I didn't lose weight not logging or only logging some things so I don't think that method would work for me.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,163 Member
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    If it works for you, that is good. I know for me it doesn't as I can eat huge amounts of veggies, and I still get hungry soon after. Yes, I know it is not really hunger, but it still feels like hunger.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I'm pretty sure fruit and vegetables have calories. It doesn't matter to your body where the calories comes from.
  • beachhouse758
    beachhouse758 Posts: 371 Member
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    ahamm002 wrote: »
    It depends on your goals. If you're obese and eat a generally unhealthy diet, then WW's tactic of not counting fruits and veggies is probably great. It gets people into the habit of eating healthier and probably won't hinder weight loss.

    Now if you're already pretty healthy and lean, and just trying to get a bit leaner to look great in a swim suit than you should log everything.

    I agree.

    Also, different approaches work for different people.

    I have to log everything. That's what works for me.
    For example I usually eat 1 avocado a day. I love them. Each avocado has about 200 calories and about 15-20 grams of fat.
    If I ate unlimited avocados, then I would not be able to maintain a deficit.
    But I eat one and I make my numbers work.
    I also eat a ton of raw veggies, but I log them because I still need to learn portion control as part of my long term health goals.

    I see a lot of the "Vegan Fitness Gurus" on IG and they don't count calories, they don't count portions and they have an enormous amounts of fruits and veggies everyday and they still manage to look like magical forest fairies. But since I love steak, bison, seafood etc..; so I have to make room in my diet for these things. And that means limiting my avocados.



  • chouflour
    chouflour Posts: 193 Member
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    If you're not going to track calories, or weigh and measure everything you eat, or worry about how many fruits and veggies you eat... What ARE you doing to lose weight?

    I completely understand not wanting to obsess - but to lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit somehow.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    I had a small cup of melon and strawberries yesterday for 130 calories. I have sugar free ice cream sandwiches that are 110 calories. Can I eat unlimited ice cream sandwiches?
  • JessieLMay
    JessieLMay Posts: 146 Member
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    I log everything usually. Except for instance, if I were to have tacos, Id only log thenheavynfoods, and not the veggie toppings. Or if I forget to log some fruits or veggies, I dont usually sweat it, or if I am too close to calorie goal and still hungry, Id opt fruits or veggies, and not mind that I went over, due to what I ate. If that makes sense lol. To me, it doesnt make much difference because its also what you put into your body to fuel it. To me, its not ALWAYS about calories. Im doing just fine doing so.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    jigglyjessica wrote: »
    It's possible to gain weight eating too much "healthy" food.
    I am the poster child for this statement.

    In addition to keeping track of calories, there are other reasons to "count" fruits and vegetables. We need them for health. They are a prime source of vitamins and fiber. Count fruits and vegetables so you are sure to get enough of them.

    The US govt recommends adults eat 2 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. The UK health service recommends 5 servings a day. The "Healthy Eating Plate" recommends 1/2 your plate be filled with fruits and vegetables, more than 1/2 of that vegetables.


  • sophayz
    sophayz Posts: 592 Member
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    if you are going to count calories ... count calories why trying to find ways to bypass that . eat unlimited amount of fruit and veggies if you want as long as you don't go over your calorie limit ( i don't suggest it though for obvious health reason since you will be lacking a lot of nutrient)
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
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    Intuitive eating has a lot of benefits. Listening to your body, feeding it what it needs, and eating only when hungry provides a great plan for some. The standard MFP CICO version doesn't look at that kind of eating plan as wise.

    If it works for you - go for it!
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Unlimited vegetables!!!

    stock-footage-cow-eats-grass.jpg
  • Angela26point2finisher
    Angela26point2finisher Posts: 105 Member
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    Eating a lot of fruits and veggies will definitely fill you up and keep you from eating junk food. You can eat a hell of a lot of veggies and hardly get any calories, which is awesome. I'm not ready to let go of the crutch of logging everything. I'm hoping to be to that point in a few months. Good Luck to you!

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