Calories in vegetables

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Replies

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    That is true, but WW does not have a goal of getting you to lose weight... it has a goal of selling you a product and a service. Tracking calories is free and has been successful for hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Which do you prefer? A free method that works, or a business model designed to gain and keep customers?

    I think that is a bit unfair - MFP may be free to use but it is also a business model aimed to gain and keep customers. Just that the income derived is from premium customers and ads and sponsors.

    Different model to direct customer payments but business model nevertheless

    WW is also a method that works for many people and has been successful for thousands, if not millions.

    It's not a who is best competition - both systems have pros/ cons and work for different people.

    In answer to OP - yes. But loosely.
    Meaning like other PPs, I log generic garden salads, estimate veggie weights etc. and don't bother logging things like a leaf of lettuce in a salad sandwich.
    But I do mostly include them in my logging.

  • netitheyeti
    netitheyeti Posts: 539 Member
    If I didn't count my vegetables and still aimed for my 1300 net kcal per day I'd probably be *actually* eating around 1600.. which is the difference between slow weight loss and maintenance for me
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    acmorris77 wrote: »
    I'm in maintenance and have been for a long time so I'm not as strict. I'm just hearing that some veggies like cucumber, lettuce, and celery are negative calories foods. So, I rarely count them. I know onions, carrots, etc. have a lot more calories.

    I wouldn't listen to wherever you are hearing that. I may be one of the few people that eats enough cucumbers in a sitting to see 50 calories recorded but they definitely count.

    I thought it was just me! I could (and have done so) eat a full sized English cucumber much as others eat an apple!
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    acmorris77 wrote: »
    I'm in maintenance and have been for a long time so I'm not as strict. I'm just hearing that some veggies like cucumber, lettuce, and celery are negative calories foods. So, I rarely count them. I know onions, carrots, etc. have a lot more calories.

    I'm fairly certain that there is no such thing as a negative calorie food. May I ask you to share the research that shows otherwise? Thanks.
  • kimondo666
    kimondo666 Posts: 194 Member
    edited August 2019
    i think raw celery is the closest to being negative calories, but not the other vegetables, and you need to eat it by mouth(and in small bites) not in some vegetable drink. Celery is not easily eaten, other vegetables are easy to eat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    acmorris77 wrote: »
    I'm in maintenance and have been for a long time so I'm not as strict. I'm just hearing that some veggies like cucumber, lettuce, and celery are negative calories foods. So, I rarely count them. I know onions, carrots, etc. have a lot more calories.

    I'm fairly certain that there is no such thing as a negative calorie food. May I ask you to share the research that shows otherwise? Thanks.

    Decades ago I'd heard the same about celery, etc. (Not from a reputable source.) The origin of "negative calorie foods" is probably a misinterpretation about Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).

    https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/negative-calorie-foods/
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    That is true, but WW does not have a goal of getting you to lose weight... it has a goal of selling you a product and a service. Tracking calories is free and has been successful for hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Which do you prefer? A free method that works, or a business model designed to gain and keep customers?

    I think that is a bit unfair - MFP may be free to use but it is also a business model aimed to gain and keep customers. Just that the income derived is from premium customers and ads and sponsors.

    Different model to direct customer payments but business model nevertheless

    WW is also a method that works for many people and has been successful for thousands, if not millions.

    It's not a who is best competition - both systems have pros/ cons and work for different people.

    In answer to OP - yes. But loosely.
    Meaning like other PPs, I log generic garden salads, estimate veggie weights etc. and don't bother logging things like a leaf of lettuce in a salad sandwich.
    But I do mostly include them in my logging.

    That post didnt mention MFP though, you can track calories without this website, or any website in fact.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    acmorris77 wrote: »
    I'm in maintenance and have been for a long time so I'm not as strict. I'm just hearing that some veggies like cucumber, lettuce, and celery are negative calories foods. So, I rarely count them. I know onions, carrots, etc. have a lot more calories.

    I'm fairly certain that there is no such thing as a negative calorie food. May I ask you to share the research that shows otherwise? Thanks.

    I sure wish Pizza was negative calorie food! ;)

    No kidding! 😁
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    nooboots wrote: »
    That is true, but WW does not have a goal of getting you to lose weight... it has a goal of selling you a product and a service. Tracking calories is free and has been successful for hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Which do you prefer? A free method that works, or a business model designed to gain and keep customers?

    I think that is a bit unfair - MFP may be free to use but it is also a business model aimed to gain and keep customers. Just that the income derived is from premium customers and ads and sponsors.

    Different model to direct customer payments but business model nevertheless

    WW is also a method that works for many people and has been successful for thousands, if not millions.

    It's not a who is best competition - both systems have pros/ cons and work for different people.

    In answer to OP - yes. But loosely.
    Meaning like other PPs, I log generic garden salads, estimate veggie weights etc. and don't bother logging things like a leaf of lettuce in a salad sandwich.
    But I do mostly include them in my logging.

    That post didnt mention MFP though, you can track calories without this website, or any website in fact.


    Yes of course you can.

    But given the question was on an MFP forum about logging calories, it seems fair to assume the free site the poster was comparing WW to is MFP. ;)

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    DEBOO7 wrote: »
    It's simple...... log everything that you consume! Making exceptions leads to more exceptions and dilutes achieving goals.

    I disagree with this.

    I think the aim is not to diligently log to nth degree of accuracy everything you consume - it is to find the happy medium of accuracy and accountability that works for you.

    I dont log, let alone weigh, every single lettuce leaf or cherry tomato or slice of onion - this hasnt lead to a slippery slope of more and more exceptions - it has lead to an easy manageable system that works for me.

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I can see both sides of the coin working. Really depends on the person and where they are in their journey.
  • FireyChimera
    FireyChimera Posts: 155 Member
    I’m a vegetarian and probably 60% of my calories come from vegetables in one form or another! I’d be in a right pickle if I didn’t log them!

    what's the other 40%?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Yeah, for the most part. I'm gonna be honest, I'm not terribly concerned about how much lettuce,onion,or cucumber I eat. If a vegetable normally only has a few calories per serving, I'm not super strict about weighing and logging it. I may log a rough estimate, if anything. But there are plenty of other fruits and vegetables that have a measurable number of calories, and I make sure to log them. A calorie from a vegetable counts just as much as a calorie from anything else.

    I’ve bolded ‘onion’ in this because I’m often upset and surprised how little onion you get for your calories! For a veg that seems to have such a lot of water in it, much like cucumber and lettuce, it has a surprising amount of calories in my book.


    Really?? Onion has a surprising amount of calories???

    the data base entries all seem to agree on about 40 calories per 100 g or one medium onion ( I just weighed an onion from my pantry that looked medium size and, yes, weighed 105 g)

    Perhaps you are eating a lot more onion than me - but the 1/4 or so of onion I eat at a time wouldnt need to be logged too accurately.

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    I can see both sides of the coin working. Really depends on the person and where they are in their journey.

    Yes thats right - thats why I said the happy medium for you.

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    I’m a vegetarian and probably 60% of my calories come from vegetables in one form or another! I’d be in a right pickle if I didn’t log them!

    what's the other 40%?

    fruit, grains, rice,eggs, dairy etc, I would think.

    Being a vegetarian doesnt mean you eat only vegetables, it just means you dont eat meat.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    edited August 2019
    I’m a vegetarian and probably 60% of my calories come from vegetables in one form or another! I’d be in a right pickle if I didn’t log them!

    what's the other 40%?

    fruit, grains, rice,eggs, dairy etc, I would think.

    Being a vegetarian doesnt mean you eat only vegetables, it just means you dont eat meat.

    Yeah. And maybe this is just my weird idiosyncrasy, but I don't call vegetable-based "processed" foods vegetables, either: Things like tempeh, tofu, chickpea pasta, etc. Or nuts and seeds.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    edited August 2019
    I’m a vegetarian and probably 60% of my calories come from vegetables in one form or another! I’d be in a right pickle if I didn’t log them!

    what's the other 40%?

    Crikey! I’m slightly stunned at this question.

    Umm, let me think...how about eggs, yoghurt, cheese in its many glorious forms, pasta, rice, quinoa, bread, crackers, noodles, gram flour, nutritional yeast, marmite, quorn (ok, that’s mushroom based, sort of, but I don’t think of it as vegetable, per se), nuts, seeds, coconut, fruit, oats, bulgur wheat, soy products, beans (yes, vegetables to some, if you’re thinking baked beans from a can...but to me they’re a protein source/carb), lentils...need I go on!
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    edited August 2019
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Yeah, for the most part. I'm gonna be honest, I'm not terribly concerned about how much lettuce,onion,or cucumber I eat. If a vegetable normally only has a few calories per serving, I'm not super strict about weighing and logging it. I may log a rough estimate, if anything. But there are plenty of other fruits and vegetables that have a measurable number of calories, and I make sure to log them. A calorie from a vegetable counts just as much as a calorie from anything else.

    I’ve bolded ‘onion’ in this because I’m often upset and surprised how little onion you get for your calories! For a veg that seems to have such a lot of water in it, much like cucumber and lettuce, it has a surprising amount of calories in my book.

    Perhaps you are eating a lot more onion than me - but the 1/4 or so of onion I eat at a time wouldnt need to be logged too accurately.

    Yep, I think I’m eating a lot more onion than you are! Go figure!

    Whilst that’s true, I’d eat a lot more than a quarter of an average onion, it’s also that if you compare to cucumber at 16cals per 100g it’s always surprising to me how onion adds up I suppose.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    DEBOO7 wrote: »
    It's simple...... log everything that you consume! Making exceptions leads to more exceptions and dilutes achieving goals.

    I disagree with this.

    I think the aim is not to diligently log to nth degree of accuracy everything you consume - it is to find the happy medium of accuracy and accountability that works for you.

    I dont log, let alone weigh, every single lettuce leaf or cherry tomato or slice of onion - this hasnt lead to a slippery slope of more and more exceptions - it has lead to an easy manageable system that works for me.

    Agree. I encourage people to start by being super diligent. Log everything that passes their lips that has calories - including supplements. After a short period of making sure you get everything and recognize every calorie then find a balance that works for you. Knowing every calorie will tell you what doesn't add up to enough to spend time logging or what can be close enough. I know that yellow squash is very low calorie so when I buy 8 oz of it pre-cut from the store that is how I log it. I am not concerned about the 20 grams it is likely off.

    I still return to full detailed logging periodically to practice and to check for any mistakes. I assume that I may have to do it when I get down to my last few pounds anyway.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Yeah, for the most part. I'm gonna be honest, I'm not terribly concerned about how much lettuce,onion,or cucumber I eat. If a vegetable normally only has a few calories per serving, I'm not super strict about weighing and logging it. I may log a rough estimate, if anything. But there are plenty of other fruits and vegetables that have a measurable number of calories, and I make sure to log them. A calorie from a vegetable counts just as much as a calorie from anything else.

    I’ve bolded ‘onion’ in this because I’m often upset and surprised how little onion you get for your calories! For a veg that seems to have such a lot of water in it, much like cucumber and lettuce, it has a surprising amount of calories in my book.

    Perhaps you are eating a lot more onion than me - but the 1/4 or so of onion I eat at a time wouldnt need to be logged too accurately.

    Yep, I think I’m eating a lot more onion than you are! Go figure!

    Whilst that’s true, I’d eat a lot more than a quarter of an average onion, it’s also that if you compare to cucumber at 16cals per 100g it’s always surprising to me how onion adds up I suppose.


    yes you must be. I would eat, at most, 1/4 onion in any given day, often none.

    That's fine, other people can eat more or less of something than me.

    Have never tried comparing cucumber calories to onion calories ( I dislike cucumbers and I don't eat any more that the tiniest slivers in salads made by other people)
  • vickysanimalrescue
    vickysanimalrescue Posts: 56 Member
    acmorris77 wrote: »
    My friend was saying how in WW most veggies are zero points.

    Considering my attempt at WW's a while back, the points system was a complete failure for me. I could never lose more than 4 lbs over the course of 5 months and I stuck with the correct amount of points for myself the entire time.

    I eventually gave up and quit WW.