Not counting fruits and veggies

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Ivanapoutine
Ivanapoutine Posts: 28 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I find when I track calories I seem to start avoiding fruits. My head says, “well, that banana is more calories than that chocolate smoothie bar so go for the tastier option.” . Not a great habit to get into. I try to stay within a 1200-1600 cal day (depending on exercise). I was thinking of combining the weight watchers portion of not counting fruits and veggies (but also eating fruit within reason aka 2-3 servings a day) and then tracking everything else and try to stay between 1200-1400 (again depending on exercise) plus fruits and veggies. My hope is that it will encourage me to lean towards them as snacks or veggies as a main instead of saving my calories for crappier options. Any thoughts?
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Well, it wouldn't work for me (I like to eat lots of fruits and vegetables) . . . but that doesn't mean it won't work for you.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Will you be lowering your calorie goal by 100-300, depending on your actual fruit and veggie intake?

    2-3 apples could easily be 150-300 calories.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Fruits and veggies still have calories, and those unaccounted for calories could become a problem. Whether or not they do... time will tell.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Well, it wouldn't work for me (I like to eat lots of fruits and vegetables) . . . but that doesn't mean it won't work for you.

    This.

    Although I did have a tendency to eat less fruit (not less veg) in the winter and so have been making a conscious effort to get around 3 servings lately, in addition to the veg I eat. That's the kind of approach that works for me. (I also have ideas about protein goals, the benefits of eating some nuts and seeds.) I don't tend to think of discretionary calories until those things are met.

    Not logging fruit and veg would drive me crazy, though, since so many of my calories are from them that they'd be way off. And plus I log in part for nutrition information (I do it at Cronometer, but even at MFP vegetables contribute some things that are tracked, like fiber and protein), and seeing how sad that would look without my veg and fruit would make me sad.

    But different things work for different people.
  • gamesandgains
    gamesandgains Posts: 640 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    I don't understand the reasoning behind not tracking fruit and veggies. It's food that you ate. It has calories. The goal of tracking is to understand how many calories you are eating. Why would you not track everything that has calories?

    Have to agree with this. Some fruits can be more dense in calories than others. IE - Banana vs Strawberries or Watermelon vs Grapes
  • jordanhillary
    jordanhillary Posts: 46 Member
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    Ivanapoutine wrote: »
    My hope is that it will encourage me to lean towards them as snacks or veggies as a main instead of saving my calories for crappier options.

    Can you elaborate on this?
  • Meelisv
    Meelisv Posts: 235 Member
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    Just as some others above have said, it would be totally impossible for me. If I didn't restrict myself knowingly by weighting and logging, I't wouldn't be a problem for me to eat at least extra 1000+ calories from fruit alone and not even notice it until it's shows up on scale :disappointed:
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 234 Member
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    I get what the OP is saying. How do I talk myself into eating the piece of fruit when what I want is the chocolate smoothie bar? Why not compromise and tell yourself you can have half a smoothie bar and half a piece of fruit, or mix some chopped fresh fruit into some chocolate yogurt or sugar-free chocolate pudding?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Personally I would advise that you continue to track calories for everything because that is just providing you data from which to evaluate what you want to do. Remember, you are in control here and information just keeps you informed...you can choose to eat more calories in order to include fruit, but to try to deprive yourself of data to pretend that somehow fruit doesn't contain calories...I don't see how that benefits you.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Do what works for you.
  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
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    I find that giving myself ultimatums don't work. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Today I feel stressed out and want ice cream, so I save some calories today for ice cream. Tomorrow might be more calm so I'll eat fruit instead. What's consistent is my awareness of what I'm eating, how much of it I'm eating, and hitting my calorie target every day.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Maybe if you try thinking in terms of satiety instead of calories you'll find yourself working more fruit and veggies into your diet?

    I mean... you could eat 2 Reeses Peanut Butter cups for 220 calories. Or almost 2 and a half medium-sized apples for the same amount of calories. Which one will keep you full for longer?

    Sure, calories are king when it comes to weight loss... but satiety and nutrition are just as important to consider.

  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    Sometimes I find that if I really want a chocolate bar it is better to eat the chocolate bar rather than eating other things and three hours (or days) later still eating the chocolate bar but fixating on it in the meantime. You can get small portions of sweets to fill that craving.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    Have you been counting then all along? I never quite understood the point of free fruit and vegetables, unless they are green leafy and or non starchy. It's hard to overeat on spinich leaves and kale, but easy on bananas, sweet potatoes, and corn. From what I have read it really comes down to consistently and what you have been doing all along for weight loss. Now maintenance, where 50 to 100 cals can matter, than yes I would. I do.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    I had to get out of the "chocolate has fewer calories than a banana" cycle by figuring out how full I wanted to feel. If I just want a treat, I go for the chocolate. If I'm hungry and need to feel full or satisfied or something, I go for the banana. Both are awesome depending on what your needs are.

    I also often check my macros if it's toward the end of the day and I'm deciding on a snack. Low on fat gives extra bonus points to the chocolate. Low on fiber gives extra bonus points to the banana.

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