Vegetable calories seem too low?

wendybirdx
wendybirdx Posts: 7 Member
edited November 18 in Food and Nutrition
So I started using measuring cups today instead of eyeballing my food.

It made quite a difference - instead of the 1 cup per vegetable type I had estimated, turns out I used about 1/3 of a cup for each. I measured each one exactly (beets, chayote, pumpkin, tomato) and it filled over half my plate in total.

However, each vegetable on MFP amounted up to less than 20 calories. In the meanwhile, my visually equal portions of chicken and beans went over 100. Is this normal? Or am I underestimating my veggie portions? I did use measuring cups, so I found it quite strange...

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Because measuring cups are for measuring liquids, not solids.

    Buy a food scale.
  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
    Because vegetables have very few calories (but lots of micronutrients) per both weight and volume. A handful of mushrooms has less calories than a handful of yogurt has less calories than a handful of nuts.

    If you want more accuracy, you should consider a digital food scale like @Francl27 suggested, though. If you're losing weight as expected with measuring only, good for you.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    LiftAndBalance wrote: »
    Because vegetables have very few calories (but lots of micronutrients) per both weight and volume. A handful of mushrooms has less calories than a handful of yogurt has less calories than a handful of nuts.

    If you want more accuracy, you should consider a digital food scale like @Francl27 suggested, though. If you're losing weight as expected with measuring only, good for you.

    +1. I didn't need to do more than eyeball in the beginning--then my loss slowed down.

    And vegetables are mostly water so they're going to be less calorie-dense than, say, chicken. All foods are going to be unequal--that's why figuring out what foods give you the most bang for your caloric buck is going to be important for satiety.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Of course that's normal. Non starchy veggies have a lot fewer calories than beans or meat.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    Non-starchy vegetables are low in calories. That's one of the reasons a lot of people on reduced calorie diets like to eat them - you can eat a lot of volume for very few calories. But get a scale for more accuracy.
  • lisafrancis888
    lisafrancis888 Posts: 119 Member
    edited May 2015
    That's why so many of us have a plate of veggies :)
    I personally weigh mine with scales before cooking.
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