Do you count your fruit and veg?

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  • LHWhite903
    LHWhite903 Posts: 208 Member
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    I'm on a Paleo-esque diet that I plan to stick to for life. I log everything including spices, extracts, tea and coffee. All matter has energy, after all.
  • Obnoxa
    Obnoxa Posts: 187 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Your body is a really shrewd accountant so yep, I log it all by weight.
    I also find it handy to look back on later, meal ideas and on the days I felt hungry again at night, things like that.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I do.

    However how many calories do you think you really eat in fruit in veggies on average? If you don't want to log them, drop your goal by that amount, and then don't.
  • DanBGVa
    DanBGVa Posts: 50 Member
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    Every single bite of food that goes into your body must be counted, I don't care if it is a piece of bubble gum.... why? Because it is not only tied to your calories, your food intake but your behavior. The minute you start saying on I don't need to log X, Y or Z.... What else will you say you don't need to log. EVERYTHING must be logged. Read the blogs of those who have had real success and they say that very fact. Log it all...
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    jackie12980 wrote: »
    I just started my fitness pal today..I used weight watchers a few months back fell off the wagon..with WW i was never hungry and lost 40 pounds but i felt i lost alot of muscle even heavy i was muscular..now between menopuse and the weight loss I have very little muscle..so with that said I decided to go back to beach body products which i used in 2007 loosing 49 pounds in 90 days and was buff..so i started body beast at age 50...lol ya I know..and it says eat alot more calories then i dare too..so found my fitness pal and thought i would use that for calorie intake..well i am half way through the day hungry and even though i have over 500 calories left I cannot even have fruit or veggie as it will put me over on my sugars..and I thought I ate healthy so far today I really need help to understand how to do this.. and make sure i manage my carbs, fats, sugars etc and still have enough at the end of the day

    Unless you have a medical condition, sugar does not impact your weight loss.
  • the2bobs
    the2bobs Posts: 1 Member
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    My husband told his doctor that he eats a lot of fruit. She said "ah, yes, nature's candy". Fruit has a lot of sugar, and even though it's natural, non-added sugar, it's still sugar.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited January 2016
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    the2bobs wrote: »
    My husband told his doctor that he eats a lot of fruit. She said "ah, yes, nature's candy". Fruit has a lot of sugar, and even though it's natural, non-added sugar, it's still sugar.

    yes, but the body's preferred fuel source is also carbohydrates, so... ?

    Eating fruit is an excellent way to get vitamins and minerals in your diet and is also accompanied with glorious fiber to allow for slower digestion. I'ts generally low in calories, high in water and nutrients, is easily digested, and easy/cheap to purchase. In a way, fruit is almost a perfect food, in my opinion.

    I wouldn't take what your husband's doctor said as some kind of serious recommendation considering most physicians receive VERY little to no nutritional training.
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Yes, I log it all. It helps me keep track of all the calories and I like also to make sure I am getting enough, or not too much of things like: sugar, protein, etc. listed at the bottom of the daily food diary. I occasionally disregard something like a leaf of lettuce on a sandwich when I am in a hurry. Recently I figured out calories in my typical salads and now just add the calories in as salad.

    Yesterday my husband opened a bag of flavored potato chips and I logged the 2 potato chips I ate in MFP.

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    NatalieThomas90 wrote: »
    I always have...and resented every calorie I have logged... its like being penalised for eating well!! (a little over dramatic I know)

    just wondering does everyone else log each and ever grape, apple, carrot, celery, tomato?

    When I am logging, I log fruit and veg, yes. I really like logging vegetables, since I feel good about eating them and it encourages me to eat even more than I otherwise do, as well as be able to look back and see what I was eating and that I was getting a good variety.

    I think the problem is thinking that eating calories is a bad thing, period. It's good to try to eat appropriate calories and not to think that lower is always better. Also, when logging one thing I want to be able to figure out is my correct maintenance number, and since I eat a lot of veg and some fruit it would be way off if I ignored those.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    Yes I do. A apple can have almost as much calories as a candy bar or can of coke. Sure it's better for you but, it's not nothing. Plus I usually do frozen veggies so I am gonna put it in a microwave bowl in the first place. I might as well take the extra 5 seconds to put the bowl on the scale first.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Yeah, I chop vegetables when cooking, so it's as easy to put them on the scale as not.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    Yes. Weighed and logged.

    Not counting and logging fruit and veg calories is like putting in $11:50 worth of gas in the car and only expecting to pay for $10.
  • Editme12
    Editme12 Posts: 71 Member
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    It depends for me. I really don't eat many fruits and vegetables, so I try to get myself to eat more by not always logging them. However, if it is a "substantial amount" such as an apple/banana for a snack, or a side of veggies (so not just the half an onion I used in an entire dish) I log it roughly. To account for this though, days I do have a plant-snack and do not log, I don't eat all my calories for the day.

    It's really all about you though. For me this works, and I don't feel so obsessed with getting every gram correct. And if I ever stall out on weight loss, I know one place to start would be to count my plant calories better. For now, though, this is what I do to keep me on MFP and not feeling defeated by the healthy choices.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    i sure do
    approx 500 or over yesterday....that is when you dont log a pound of weight loss in 8 days!

    My body counts it, so do i.


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  • D_squareG
    D_squareG Posts: 361 Member
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    What you might try is the "old" weight watchers where low calorie vegetables were "free". That would be the lettuce, carrots, celery, cabbage, etc. Not the potatoes, yams, corn, peas. If it helps you lose weight, then it works for you!
  • gettingreallyfedupnow
    gettingreallyfedupnow Posts: 79 Member
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    I don't log mine, but I set my daily calories at 500 below the recommended level to compensate. As long as I average 500 calls per day on fruit and veg, it works out the same calorie wise but with much less effort tracking.
  • wishfuljune
    wishfuljune Posts: 2,577 Member
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    I log everything as well. I think it's better to be accurate than not, especially when you're first starting off. You can really see where all your calories are going. Logging fruits and veggies helps with understanding your macros, and if you're weary of sugars. For me, sugars matter a lot (diabetes runs in my family), and many fruits have an alarming amount of sugar in them (fructose), so logging those into MFP keeps me on track for my other nutrients I am tracking.
  • ChironomidPupa
    ChironomidPupa Posts: 2 Member
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    I log everything, preferably in grams. Volume measurements aren't very accurate (or useful) for me.
  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I think this is so dramatic.

    Penalized for eating well?

    Your body logs the calories you eat regardless of whether or not you log it in your diary. Whats even the point of logging your food if you aren't going to get an idea of how much you're eating?

    Don't even get me started on the fact that people prepare veggies and fruits by adding calories (oils, butters, sugars, and cheese!) and think they are being "healthy".

    At the end of the day, you don't get brownie points for not eating junk and opting for a fruit. It comes down to total calories, and refusing to log it because "it's healthy though!" is just plain silly. It's setting yourself up for failure.

    Seriously. Be a little humble man. We know you are a PhD at this.

    There s a time when everyone starts at A.

    OP, it's a habit, a lifestyle you have to build. Ask yourself a question "When was the last time I did this". If the answer is "Never" just keep doing and honestly you'll get good a it. But give it a time.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I think this is so dramatic.

    Penalized for eating well?

    Your body logs the calories you eat regardless of whether or not you log it in your diary. Whats even the point of logging your food if you aren't going to get an idea of how much you're eating?

    Don't even get me started on the fact that people prepare veggies and fruits by adding calories (oils, butters, sugars, and cheese!) and think they are being "healthy".

    At the end of the day, you don't get brownie points for not eating junk and opting for a fruit. It comes down to total calories, and refusing to log it because "it's healthy though!" is just plain silly. It's setting yourself up for failure.



    I see nothing wrong with butter, and oils. I don't like cheese and sugars...meh. As long as you log and account for them.

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