How do you know how many calories are ACTUALLY in fruit and veg?
Options
Replies
-
You also need to weigh the veggies if you want to be accurate1
-
There is such a wide variety of sweetness to individual pieces of fruit I just assume a certain level of inaccuracy. Let's face it some gala apples are sweeter than other gala apples. My thoughts are the sweeter one has more sugar and therefore more calories. I don't know if that is right, but it makes sense to me.1
-
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.28
-
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
Vegetables have a widely varying amount of calories. Vegetables like corn and peas are well worth counting and even lower calorie vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli can contain enough calories to be worth considering especially for people with smaller deficits.
Telling someone they can eat vegetables "until they explode" isn't really accurate when you don't understand what vegetables they might be eating, how large their appetite is, and how large their deficit is.
For someone on a 250 calorie deficit, a head of cauliflower and an orange would typically be enough to cancel it out.18 -
AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
12 -
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
They definitely have an impact on my calories which is why I'm mindful of them and fit them in, just like any other food.2 -
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
Advice like this is why there are people who subject themselves to diets of nothing but chicken breast and copious amounts of fruit and vegatables and wonder why they're still not losing weight. Fruits and vegetables, even lower calorie ones, aren't free for alls.17 -
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
This is terrible advice. I eat roughly 3 pounds of vegetables a day and it can easily add up to 400+ calories depending on what I am eating.12 -
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
This doesn't make sense. Vegetables have calories just like all other foods and I eat several hundred calories of vegetables every day. If I didn't track them I would easily go over on calories.8 -
@ReneeKatz I believe I understand your point. When the differences are 20 or 30 calories either way I agree it's not the end of the world. That's the point I was trying to make by saying individual pieces of fruit or veggies are going to vary by that much anyway. That being said I don't think it's a good idea to go crazy. I try to be sensible and error on the high side. I'd rather guess- keep in mind without equipment to test the calories in everything we track, it is a guess. A well researched and informed guess but still a guess. So I will post 60 calories when it might have only been 30 and I'm ok with that because next time I'll post something as 60 and in reality its 90. As long as the number on the scale is going down0
-
One reason I weigh low calorie veggies is so I will eat more of them. I probably used to have 5 grams of lettuce on a sandwich; now I shoot for 28 g. I probably used to eat 70 g or less of broccoli; now I shoot for 100 g.13
-
I'd overestimate slightly and remind yourself that they are fruit and vegetables. Unless you're eating 16 avocados, I wouldn't worry terribly (especially if they are raw... if there is any truth to the whole they-take-more-energy-to-digest-than-cooked-veg thing). It's not like figuring accurate calories in a bacon cheeseburger... not to dog on accuracy.10
-
AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
I want to see your diary and understand how you're consuming 500 calories. I don't know, I suppose a lot of decent-sized fruit (bananas, apples, servings of grapes or berries) can easily be over 100 calories... so five of those would do it... on the vegetable side, though, I don't know. Some people have mentioned corn, and I think that's a grain (not a vegetable). Some people have mentioned potatoes, but I suppose that I personally prefer to classify them as a starch like rice than think of them as eating raw carrots and broccoli.7 -
JustinAnimal wrote: »AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
I want to see your diary and understand how you're consuming 500 calories. I don't know, I suppose a lot of decent-sized fruit (bananas, apples, servings of grapes or berries) can easily be over 100 calories... so five of those would do it... on the vegetable side, though, I don't know. Some people have mentioned corn, and I think that's a grain (not a vegetable). Some people have mentioned potatoes, but I suppose that I personally prefer to classify them as a starch like rice than think of them as eating raw carrots and broccoli.
Corn can be considered a vegetable and a grain.
It's not that difficult to consume 500 calories of fruits and vegetables, even if you eliminate corn and potatoes as vegetables. I've done it many days. It's more vegetables than many people eat, but the point is that vegetables do have calories and eating them "until you explode" (as suggested above) could have negative impacts on weight loss.8 -
JustinAnimal wrote: »AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
I want to see your diary and understand how you're consuming 500 calories. I don't know, I suppose a lot of decent-sized fruit (bananas, apples, servings of grapes or berries) can easily be over 100 calories... so five of those would do it... on the vegetable side, though, I don't know. Some people have mentioned corn, and I think that's a grain (not a vegetable). Some people have mentioned potatoes, but I suppose that I personally prefer to classify them as a starch like rice than think of them as eating raw carrots and broccoli.
There is technically no such classification as a vegetable if you want to be really precise.
2 -
JustinAnimal wrote: »AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
I want to see your diary and understand how you're consuming 500 calories. I don't know, I suppose a lot of decent-sized fruit (bananas, apples, servings of grapes or berries) can easily be over 100 calories... so five of those would do it... on the vegetable side, though, I don't know. Some people have mentioned corn, and I think that's a grain (not a vegetable). Some people have mentioned potatoes, but I suppose that I personally prefer to classify them as a starch like rice than think of them as eating raw carrots and broccoli.
Today:
-1 bag of CA blend steamer veggies (I add the whole bag to my rice bowl)
-afternoon green smoothie: kale, large banana, strawberries
-large, mixing bowl sized salad with supper: spinach, 1 whole tomato, mini-sweet peppers, broccoli, onion (and mushrooms if you want to count them as a veggie)
-medium sweet potato with supper. I'm following the DASH protocol and the NIH counts both sweet potatoes and white potatoes in the vegetable category.
-a serving of crushed pineapple after supper (mixed in with cottage cheese)
Also, I ate a serving of beans today which counts as a serving of vegetables, depending on what guideline you follow (NHS counts them etc).
eta: there's a DASH thread going in the food section and there's a few of us tracking servings of different foods right now. Looking through the past few days since I started tracking (started on the 18th in that thread)- for veg/fruit servings I'm averaging 7-11 servings a day, not counting beans (1-2 servings a day of those as well). So for me they definitely play a significant role in my calorie intake 6 -
In veggies? Nearly nothing. You can eat them until you explode. (this excludes white potatoes). Fruits, mostly the same, except certain ones like avocado and banana.
I ate nearly 600 calories in fruit and vegetables yesterday.
I have a feeling that made a big difference and was worth logging.11 -
I am eating 183 calories of yellow squash mixed with 78 calories of onions right now.10
-
JustinAnimal wrote: »AoifeFitzy wrote: »Honestly when it comes to fruit and veg I don't worry overly much. Cause most veg, especially, are pretty low in calories-by-weight overall so I don't mind if I'm off by a few cals. I figure, I just really strictly measure the high cal density foods, 'cause those are the ones where an unmeasured spoonful can really throw off your accuracy. Having your daily log be 20 or 30 cals off 'cause of veg estimates isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run, really.
There's some of us who eat a lot of veg/fruit though, and it definitely adds up in calories. Today I'll be over 500 calories just in veg/fruit, out of a 1,400 calorie allotment. That's a pretty significant chunk of my calories for the day. Not saying you have to weight out every spinach leaf, but just be aware that veg/fruit do have calories and it all counts
I want to see your diary and understand how you're consuming 500 calories. I don't know, I suppose a lot of decent-sized fruit (bananas, apples, servings of grapes or berries) can easily be over 100 calories... so five of those would do it... on the vegetable side, though, I don't know. Some people have mentioned corn, and I think that's a grain (not a vegetable). Some people have mentioned potatoes, but I suppose that I personally prefer to classify them as a starch like rice than think of them as eating raw carrots and broccoli.
Today:
-1 bag of CA blend steamer veggies (I add the whole bag to my rice bowl)
-afternoon green smoothie: kale, large banana, strawberries
-large, mixing bowl sized salad with supper: spinach, 1 whole tomato, mini-sweet peppers, broccoli, onion (and mushrooms if you want to count them as a veggie)
-medium sweet potato with supper. I'm following the DASH protocol and the NIH counts both sweet potatoes and white potatoes in the vegetable category.
-a serving of crushed pineapple after supper (mixed in with cottage cheese)
Also, I ate a serving of beans today which counts as a serving of vegetables, depending on what guideline you follow (NHS counts them etc).
eta: there's a DASH thread going in the food section and there's a few of us tracking servings of different foods right now. Looking through the past few days since I started tracking (started on the 18th in that thread)- for veg/fruit servings I'm averaging 7-11 servings a day, not counting beans (1-2 servings a day of those as well). So for me they definitely play a significant role in my calorie intake
If you count beans I am almost at 1000 calories today and since this is my weekly meatless day it has almost all been fruits and vegetables.
2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »One reason I weigh low calorie veggies is so I will eat more of them. I probably used to have 5 grams of lettuce on a sandwich; now I shoot for 28 g. I probably used to eat 70 g or less of broccoli; now I shoot for 100 g.
Yes, I log them for that reason. I weigh them because it's easier than guessing, but it also pushed my amounts in a meal up.2
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 937 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions