Calories in veggies

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wizard818
wizard818 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone! What's everyone's opinion on counting the calories in veggies -- I.e. various veggies in a salad? Veggies are considered "free" on Weight Watchers and other plans. Dressings definitely need to be counted.

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  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Count them. But if I were aiming for a "lifestyle", I'd be saying "two cups mixed vegetables" in my salad then add the non veggies (nuts, legumes, protein, dressing).

    I wouldn't weight my lettuce, weigh my mushrooms etc.

    I'd approach starches differently, in part because they are often more calorie dense.


    I'm sure plenty of folks do weight their vegetables though.
  • Coley88
    Coley88 Posts: 114 Member
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    Weigh and count them.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    wizard818 wrote: »
    Hi Everyone! What's everyone's opinion on counting the calories in veggies -- I.e. various veggies in a salad? Veggies are considered "free" on Weight Watchers and other plans. Dressings definitely need to be counted.

    The first 5 servings of fruits and veggies are only free on Weight Watchers because your points goal is lower to account for them. This is not WW. Count your vegetables.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Weight Watchers gets away with it by setting their goals lower with the assumption that you'll load up on plenty of veggies to make up for it. MFP doesn't do that, so they count.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I count them. I can easily eat several hundred cals a day in veggies. Thats too many to ignore!
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    non starchy vegetables are free, my my opinion. I stuff myself with them all day long and rarely count them. Make sure you know which are non starchy. I am a believer that they take as many calories to chew and digest as they contribute. So i don't count them,
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Vegetables have calories, so you should log them. That said, you don't need to be as careful as with calorie dense items. When I roast cauliflower, for example, I will often use a guesstimate for the size of the cauliflower head, but I will carefully measure the oil that I toss it in before roasting.

    Fatty vegetables like artichokes are an exception. Starchy roots and tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes also need to be weighed. And fruits should generally be weighed, especially fatty ones like avocados.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    If you are counting calories then count them. If you're doing weight watchers then do that. I'm not saying don't experiment with what works for you along the way, but in the beginning it's best to pick a program and stick with it.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    i count them i can eat easily 500 calories in vegetables a day....that's a pound weight loss a week

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  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    I count everything. I counted everything when I was on weight watchers too. I can overeat anything.
  • sndrd49
    sndrd49 Posts: 234 Member
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    Some veg are higher in carbs, gotta count them.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
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    Log them. Don't get in the habit of not logging anything.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    Vegetables have calories. All calories count.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Weigh 'em and count 'em. I can eat at least 200 calories worth of veg per day. That's a decent dent in my calorie goal.
  • LessthanKris
    LessthanKris Posts: 607 Member
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    I log them but just estimate portion sizes of greens and low calorie veggies usually.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    If you're counting calories then everything counts.
  • inglysh731
    inglysh731 Posts: 42 Member
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    Ugh. Vegetables. Yuck.

    Don't eat them... way less hassle.

    ...and if you feel like you must use them, they should be a garnish on bloody mary's.

    *only trying to be funny because there is nothing more that needs to be said that hasn't been said already.
  • wizard818
    wizard818 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I've been logging everything, and it made sense to do so, but wanted to throw it out there. (Inglysh731, love your creative response

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