Not counting fruits and veggies

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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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: 235 Member
    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
    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.
  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    Do what works for you.
  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    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: 2,383 Member
    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
    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: 4,099 Member
    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
    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.

  • areallycoolstory
    areallycoolstory Posts: 1,680 Member
    i totally get it. and the others who have said you should count your calories accurately are correct. can you work it out so you could have both a chocolate bar and a banana? sometimes i have extra servings of fruit and veg, but only count it as one. It is not the best practice, but you should do what works for you, so long as you are pleased with your progress.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    AudreyJDuke wrote: »
    Do what works for you.

    I agree. Give it a go. Different things work for different people because we all have different habits, different motivation, different ways of thinking. If you think this might work for you, give it a try. Weight Watchers obviously concluded that this rationale could work for some people. The main thing is that you are honest with yourself.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    In terms of weight loss, calories are calories. Doesn't matter if it comes from fruit or from a bowl of ice cream. Telling yourself that you can ignore calories from fruit because you want to eat more fruit is no different than telling yourself you can ignore calories from ice cream because you want to eat more ice cream. I get that fruit has more nutritive value than ice cream does but that doesn't mean you can just ignore the calories if your goal is weight loss.
  • Carolyn12457
    Carolyn12457 Posts: 3 Member
    Ivanapoutine have you considered Weight Watchers? Perhaps you're not aware that most fruits and vegetables are zero points, along with chicken breast, eggs etc. It might be worth your while to look into it. Of course the rules become a little more strict when it comes to points for other foods. It's a trade-off. My husband has done Weight Watchers over the years and this method works really well for him. He's lost 50 pounds on it.
  • Katerbels
    Katerbels Posts: 106 Member
    So...here's the thing. Both the banana and chocolate smoothie bar have their day in court, so to speak, and I think a lot of people fall into a trap of labeling foods as 'bad' or even 'unhealthy' and try to avoid them entirely when this isn't necessary. I do the same thing sometimes, I'll eat 2 small pieces of chocolate instead of an entire apple (or whatever) for the same calories...and honestly that's OK as long as my nutritional needs are still being met by the rest of my day. If you're consistently choosing chocolate over fruit, then I would focus on breaking that habit instead of not tracking the calories from fruit, maybe you need to save some calories for a chocolate treat so you're not depriving yourself? I eat between 1200-1500 a day, usually, and I eat fruit and veggies daily, plus a sweet 'treat' at the end of the day when I'm watching TV. I pre log my calories to make sure I know what I'm eating, and half the time I don't even eat the treat but knowing it's an option is a HUGE help.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    If you wanted to eat fruits and vegetables you could make a plan that included them and chocolate.
    Calorie counting isn't required for weight loss. Give not logging some foods a try. If it doesn't get you the results you want then start tracking everything.

    I have reasons other than weight loss why I want to track vegetables and fruits. I prefer a more complete record of my eating.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    At home, I track everything. But, for example, at my nephew's birthday party, my sister had out fruit platters and some veggie straws, pretzels, and popcorn. I kept a mental count of the veggie straws, but kept ambling over to the fruit and putting 4-5 grapes on my plate, then going back for more. I didn't have my scale. Taking a few at a time made eyeballing hard. I eventually logged it as 320 grams of grapes when I got home. (My typical breakfast includes one cup of grapes that I weigh out to around 160 grams on any given day. I figured I'd log two cups and call it even.) Could it have been 200? Sure. 400? Yep. But I was guessing.

    Mostly, though, I count fruits and veg because I'm trying to hit my iron RDA and 2% here, 6% there? It adds up.

    End of the day, I'm less meticulous about accurately logging non-fatty fruits and non-starchy veg, but I do try to be accurate when feasible—i.e. when I'm at home with my scale. When it's not feasible, I'm way more laid-back about grapes and melon than I am about caramel-coated popcorn, chips, or soft-bake chocolate chip cookies.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If the concern is making sure you don't skip fruit to make room for dessert, why not make a list (simple, not to freak about) of some personal nutritional rules for yourself. Be within 5 g or more of my protein goal, hit my fiber goal, have X amount of veg and at least one serving of fruit/piece of fruit, whatever. Then figure your room for treats on top of that. Basically, instead of trying to make yourself reach for fruit when you have room for a treat, why not plan to have some fruit as part of regular meals, if you want it to be in your diet, and then if you happen to have room some day have a treat.

    When I first started I was doing low calories (around 1250). Before I wised up and realized I could have more, I'd often choose between fruit and, say, some starchy side at dinner (or just have less of the side to make room for the fruit too). When I started eating more (realized I should use the exercise calories), I kept this habit, but would still often have room even so at the end of the day for some chocolate or ice cream.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    In terms of weight loss, calories are calories. Doesn't matter if it comes from fruit or from a bowl of ice cream. Telling yourself that you can ignore calories from fruit because you want to eat more fruit is no different than telling yourself you can ignore calories from ice cream because you want to eat more ice cream. I get that fruit has more nutritive value than ice cream does but that doesn't mean you can just ignore the calories if your goal is weight loss.

    She's not really "ignoring" the calories from fruit though, as she is reducing her daily calorie allowance to account for it. It's her way of ensuring that all of those calories do not come from chocolate or foods with a lower nutritional value. It's kind of backwards thinking to me too, but I do believe it can work for some people.
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    If the concern is making sure you don't skip fruit to make room for dessert, why not make a list (simple, not to freak about) of some personal nutritional rules for yourself. Be within 5 g or more of my protein goal, hit my fiber goal, have X amount of veg and at least one serving of fruit/piece of fruit, whatever. Then figure your room for treats on top of that. Basically, instead of trying to make yourself reach for fruit when you have room for a treat, why not plan to have some fruit as part of regular meals, if you want it to be in your diet, and then if you happen to have room some day have a treat.

    When I first started I was doing low calories (around 1250). Before I wised up and realized I could have more, I'd often choose between fruit and, say, some starchy side at dinner (or just have less of the side to make room for the fruit too). When I started eating more (realized I should use the exercise calories), I kept this habit, but would still often have room even so at the end of the day for some chocolate or ice cream.

    I do something similar. I have a mental list of my nutritional goals. One of them is hitting my protein goal at least 6 out of 7 days.

    It's definitely easier for me to plan that my meals will incorporate fruit and vegetables then I know they're covered and I count those calories and then if there's room at the end of the day I eat the treat.

    What works for me is to pre-log the kinds of foods and rough estimates of amounts that fit within my goal. For example I might log 200 g chicken, 200 g potato, 100 g green beans. And then I know I have calories for that amount but I might start making my plate and decide that's too much chicken or too many potatoes and not enough green beans and adjust it. Which frees up calories (since green beans are less calories than potatoes). Now I've covered my veg but also made room for some chocolate that I'm craving. I might decided to have 10g of chocolate and some strawberries instead of 30 g of chocolate. I can have both.

    Good luck finding what works for you!

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