Do you count them???

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19marie74
19marie74 Posts: 44
in Health and Weight Loss
I bought a new cookbook. Its by Taste of Home and its called Comfort Food. Its all diet food. It has a lot of self help things in it also to help a person get on track and stay on track. On one of the pages there is a free foods chart. It says you can have all you want of veggies. It says there is no need to count them because these veggies are fewer than 20 calories. So my question is do you count things like veggies if they are way under 20 calories or should I go ahead and count them since they are going into my body? Thanks.

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  • runningmom1977
    runningmom1977 Posts: 56
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    I count them because I'm tracking nutrients too, and because then I can look back and see whether or not I'm getting enough veggies.
  • Toddahlie
    Toddahlie Posts: 116 Member
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    i count them. first, they conteint calories, a few, but have it. And second, they have nutritious too.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    I'd count them just because it keeps you in habit as well.
  • carrie1128
    carrie1128 Posts: 267 Member
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    Yeah, I track them because I like to see what nutrients I'm missing at the end of the day. If I go over because of vegetables, I'm not going to be upset about it.
  • tweez8976
    tweez8976 Posts: 94 Member
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    I count them because I'm tracking nutrients too, and because then I can look back and see whether or not I'm getting enough veggies.

    Ditto!
  • SusanneWhittington
    SusanneWhittington Posts: 339 Member
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    I count them, and also there is a difference in how you prepare them, with oil, even vegetables have high calories, out of cans, the sodium is high.
  • pnieuw
    pnieuw Posts: 473
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    Yes, I need the iron, calcium and fiber numbers, not just the calories.

    If I eat it, I track it.
  • rupertgroves
    rupertgroves Posts: 4
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    Hiya, I count them too. I am a coach by profession and the danger in not counting them is that we can too easily engage in self-deception whereby at an unconscious level we can firstly convince ourselves that we have not had the calories in the first place and secondly we then convince ourselves that we can eat other stuff to max out our calorie allowance. What then happens is we consume over our limit, don't lose any weight and then blame 'myfitnesspal' for being ineffective or worse, we decide that we simply can't lose weight and that it must be 'the way I am'..............Count them, you know it makes sense!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    yep, its all cals, so should all be counted!
  • emmnat
    emmnat Posts: 3
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    Read it on here somewhere ....'If you bite it - write it'
  • hoosiermama1977
    hoosiermama1977 Posts: 43
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    I count them but sometimes I think I shouldn't because there are times I don't grab a veggie just because I don't like running to look it up/enter it etc.. (I don't have a phone with apps or anything like that - when I eat I have to log up the lap top and all that jazz). There are times I just go "ahh I'll have such and such instead because the calories are on the box". The best success I've EVER had in weight loss was when I did the weight watchers simply filling (core) plan with no counting at all though - so perhaps I'm just not a counter at heart...
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I count them because I'm tracking nutrients too, and because then I can look back and see whether or not I'm getting enough veggies.
  • PixiePickle
    PixiePickle Posts: 68 Member
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    If you eat or drink it, then really you should record it regardless of how small :bigsmile:
  • rygar23
    rygar23 Posts: 16 Member
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    I too count, though, I don't measure with any precision. Guesstimate on cucumbers for instance is all I really need to do.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    I count them but I also don't worry too much about measuring precisely. On the one hand I feel that I can eat as many veggies as I want (raw or steamed - if I'm feeling peckish between meals and snacks, then reaching for a handful of carrots is obviously a better idea than reaching for a cookie), but I still log them on here because that's the program. A friend of mine is seeing a nutritionist who has her on a special weight loss "diet." She is told exactly what she can and cannot eat and has no idea how many calories are in what foods. For her, raw or steamed vegetables are "free" foods, but she's not counting calories, so it makes sense to her.

    Someone on here (I can't remember who) once wrote in one of these forums, "if you bite it, write it." I think that's a great philosophy!
  • perceptualobfuscator
    perceptualobfuscator Posts: 159 Member
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    I absolutely count them. I eat a lot of veggies, and they add up after a while. Since I'm tracking not just my calories, but also nutrition, I like to know how much calcium, iron, fibre and vitamins I've consumed. Counting everything you eat is what lets you know whether or not you're eating a healthy diet. I could stay under my calories and eat McDonald's every day if calories were the only thing that determined health, but since they are not I track everything.

    Some veggies can also have unexpectedly high calories or sodium, such as when you eat canned veggies, corn, or peas. That's definitely worth tracking for!!

    One thing I will say is that I'm more comfortable with using flexible measurements with veggies, because of natural variability in nutrient content. I do my best, but know that if I'm off by a bit it only means 5 calories instead of 50.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    I actually put my vitamins on my tracker as well. I forget some days but a majority of the days they are on there anymore. I was shocked to find out they add 15 calories!
  • HappyLuna
    HappyLuna Posts: 112
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    Its a grey area. Yes it calories. But its not a bad thing to see some fruits and veggies as 'free foods'. When you're sat there thinking 'I just need something!' you are more than likely going choose the 'free food' than biscuits, crisps, chocolate, cake ect. Pyschological its not a bad idea. Yes it calories but tis better than the alternative. People become overweight by eatting too many junk foods and not understanding portion control, not by eating extra fruits and veggies :laugh:

    See if it works for you :smile:
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Yes I count them. Yes, one serving with 20 calories is low but 10x that is 200. Granted, it's healthy stuff but if you don't count it you might overindulge in 200 cals of bad stuff and then you're just fooling yourself. Plus I like to track nutrients.
  • 19marie74
    19marie74 Posts: 44
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    Thanks for all the advice. I think I will go ahead and count them. I think it would be better in the long run.

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