Counting veggies

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hartm380
hartm380 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone not count fresh veggies towards their calorie goal? My sister's dietician said to eat as many fresh veggies as she wants even while she's trying to lose weight. Wondering if this is accurate. I get that it would have to be in moderation (if I somehow ate 500 calories in carrots it's still 500 calories).

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    My body counts the calories in vegetables, so I count them too.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    I always count vegetables.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    My body counts the calories in vegetables, so I count them too.

    ^ this. They can certainly add up. And I can easily see folks not counting the stuff they load on them to make them more palatable.
  • Stacescotty
    Stacescotty Posts: 29 Member
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    I count them :)
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
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    When eating veggies as a dish on its own, I'll count it. When adding a slice of onion, lettuce and tomato to my burger, I won't bother.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    If you're counting calories then all calories count. If you're doing a different program where veggies are "free" then follow the rules of that program. In my opinion you can't mix and match your favorite parts of various programs and expect great results.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    LOL - I accidentally logged 11.25 bananas in my diary rather than 1.25. That's a lot of calories from something that your sister was advised to not count.

    I used to count each and every blueberry, etc. and lost weight without too much difficulty (CICO). Now that I am heading to maintenance, my logging is lazier and I won't necessarily log the lettuce on a sandwich or the carrots in my salad - though I will include all the mayo, meat, etc...

    I am very sad at that poor counsel from a dietitian. A gigantic bowl of fresh fruit salad at both breakfast and dessert would be "healthy" but add a large number of calories and jeopardize weight loss, especially if your sister is shorter and older (like me). Fifty year old, short women just don't have much wiggle room.
  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
    edited September 2015
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    spzjlb wrote: »
    LOL - I accidentally logged 11.25 bananas in my diary rather than 1.25. That's a lot of calories from something that your sister was advised to not count.

    I used to count each and every blueberry, etc. and lost weight without too much difficulty (CICO). Now that I am heading to maintenance, my logging is lazier and I won't necessarily log the lettuce on a sandwich or the carrots in my salad - though I will include all the mayo, meat, etc...

    I am very sad at that poor counsel from a dietitian. A gigantic bowl of fresh fruit salad at both breakfast and dessert would be "healthy" but add a large number of calories and jeopardize weight loss, especially if your sister is shorter and older (like me). Fifty year old, short women just don't have much wiggle room.

    But she didn't advise not counting fruit. Just veggies. Still calories there, yes, but much harder to go over with a bowl of, say, broccoli. I can see why some people push the "don't count veggies, they're free" approach. If a person has avoided veggies and only snacks on junk food, a dietician will be looking for a way to increase healthful eating. They're often not looking just at weight loss. I log my veggies, but I'm on MFP just to lose weight and don't have overall nutrition/health problems.

    (Edited for typos)
  • AdamImadA
    AdamImadA Posts: 74 Member
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    I don't unless they are roasted or cooked with some kind of fat. I log all high calorie foods.
  • fatbottomgirl930
    fatbottomgirl930 Posts: 4 Member
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    I logged my 4 cups of romaine I just had. All 32 calories of it. The other night I had 2 cups of brocolli which came out to 60ish calories. Veggies are great low calorie foods that fill you up, I don't think not counting them is that big of a deal but if you stop losing maybe start counting them.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Every thing has calories therefore I count every thing! :)

    I'm down to the last 8lbs to lose so I have to be extra, extra tight with my logging. When I first started the process, I weighed NOTHING and managed to lose weight. I think you just need to be aware, first and foremost - but to get that accurate number, weigh!
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    If I'm having something like cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, celery or cauliflower... It's not gonna make much of a difference if I log it or not, because I could eat the whole thing (raw or steamed) and it wouldn't count up to very many calories. But for accuracy's sake, I add even the lowest calorie veg to my diary.

    Well, sometimes I can't be bothered with adding lettuce... >:)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    melonaulait wrote: »
    If I'm having something like cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, celery or cauliflower... It's not gonna make much of a difference if I log it or not, because I could eat the whole thing (raw or steamed) and it wouldn't count up to very many calories. But for accuracy's sake, I add even the lowest calorie veg to my diary.

    Well, sometimes I can't be bothered with adding lettuce... >:)

    If you are eating very small servings of broccoli or other vegetables, this may be true. But I can easily have over 100 calories of broccoli or cauliflower at a time. If your deficit is small, this can add up. Or I may look at my log and think I have room for, say, a cup of ice cream -- when really I have just broken even for the day.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
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    7lenny7 wrote: »
    When eating veggies as a dish on its own, I'll count it. When adding a slice of onion, lettuce and tomato to my burger, I won't bother.

    I do this too. I also am more careful about high calorie veggies like carrots than low calorie one like celery of cucumber
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
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    I never thought veggies mattered until I started counting them and was amazed I eat 200-300 calories worth of veggies a day. It makes a difference especially if you have a low calorie allowance
  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
    edited September 2015
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    If she's eating true vegetables, not just fruits and grains that are considered vegetables, I would imaging she would be okay. If counting calories it makes sense to add them. It sounds like the dietician is getting her to focus on eating healthfully in general.

    *spelling

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