Do you have to count fruit and veg in your calories
xx1chloe5xx
Posts: 44 Member
So I followed everyone’s advice and changed my goals to 0.5lbs loss a week and I’m allowed 1570 calories a day which is brill for me. However do I have to count fruit and veg as part of this? When I was on my 1200 calories a day I would eat 1200 food but fruit and veg on top of that but not class it as my calorie intake because it’s healthy and on slimming world it says you can eat as much fruit and veg as you want and it won’t affect weight loss?. Just wondering will not counting the cals in fruit and veg cause weight gain because if I added the calories then maybe today I’ve actaully eat like 1800 cals. I’m also drinking 4 litres of water a day is this good and could help promote weight loss?
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Replies
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Yep, I do. They have calories. Whether you count them or don’t, your body will.22
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But coz there healthy do they matter @L1zardQueen0
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It doesn't matter if they're healthy, they still contain calories.16
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The closer you get to your goal weight, the tighter your calorie counting needs to be. You don’t have to count them, but if your are not losing any weight I’d starting counting them.8
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Yup. I eat on average 400-700 calories in veg every day.7
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A calorie is a calorie. It’s a unit of measurement not an indicator of ‘healthfulness’.
As said, whether you count them or not, your body does. It doesn’t care if the calories it gets are from a serving of carrots or a chocolate eclair! If those calories are in excess of the calories you’re using by living, moving etc you will gain weight.
As a vegetarian I’d be in a right mess if I didn’t count the calories in vegetables or fruit, since the majority of my meals are foods classed as vegetables and fruit!
Oh and also, the amount of water you drink has zero effect on weight loss. Drink to remain adequately hydrated, that’s all you need, extra will only mean you burn a few extra calories walking to the bathroom more often! 😂20 -
A "healthy" calorie is still a calorie, so it counts. As you stated in your OP, if you count them it adds almost 200-300 calories above your 1570. In order to lose .5 lb/wk, you need a daily calorie deficit of at least 250 calories. If you didn't count them, you'd basically be eating away your calorie deficit in "free" food and not even know it because you didn't log them. That's why logging everything really does matter.11
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If you don’t want to count them, and are getting the results you want, then don’t count them. If you’re not getting your expected and realistic results, you might need to track more closely, including healthy fruits and veggies.7
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xx1chloe5xx wrote: »But coz there healthy do they matter @L1zardQueen
I had to or I would have continued to gained weight. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to see what you’re working with. You’d be surprised how many people are overweight eating “clean”.8 -
The thing about Slimming World’s “free foods” list is it’s idiotic. You can very easily eat a surplus and gain weight eating nothing but their free foods. In the real world, calories still count towards your daily intake.
A calorie is a unit of energy. Excess energy gets stored. This happens whether or not the food you eat is healthy. You can lose weight eating nothing but Twinkies (a researcher did this once) and you can gain weight eating nothing but vegetables.
Drinking too much water isn’t necessary and can even kill you by causing an imbalance of electrolytes. Drink enough water to not be thirsty and then stop.20 -
Health and weight loss are two different things. Peanut butter is very healthy, and loaded with calories. The fact that it's healthy doesn't take away any of its calories. But I think @lorrpb hit on the essential truth. If you're getting the results you want, then do whatever's working for you. If the results aren't quite what you want, then you have to track more carefully. I don't bother counting some vegetables like lettuce, tomato, celery, and sometimes I don't bother with carrots and the like. But I do that knowing they have calories - it's just that the amount of calories is below my threshold of caring about them.7
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Yes I count fruit and vegetables. The only vegetable I don’t count is spinach because I don’t eat so much spinach that it would impact my calories drastically. (Personal preference) Although fruits and veggies are usually high-volume, low-calorie foods, they def contain calories that add up. I also count olive oil and estimate it the best I can. That sucker creeps up and carries high calories and sometimes I forget!4
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I dont count vegetables. They are free to me, and I get 2000 cal a day and still loose weight.
But it works for me is not the same as it works for you
So if you dont count them and dont loose anything, you get too much somewhere.
But several dieticians and trainers I have used are in favor of this. Vegetables you can eat anything you want, especially the watery ones.2 -
Yes, a calorie is a calorie and 400 calories of fruit counts just as much as 400 calories of chocolate for weight loss.6
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Cyberbartender wrote: »I dont count vegetables. They are free to me, and I get 2000 cal a day and still loose weight.
But it works for me is not the same as it works for you
So if you dont count them and dont loose anything, you get too much somewhere.
But several dieticians and trainers I have used are in favor of this. Vegetables you can eat anything you want, especially the watery ones.
As a small, somewhat elder woman with sedentary maintenance calories of about 1750 let me say this: I eat a lot of fruit and veg. i can easily eat 300 calories of those per day. If I were to lose weight I would need to count them. Hey, a small deficit would bring me to 1500 calories. Not count my 300 calories of fruit and veg? Then I'd in fact eat 1800 calories. Oops. the smaller and more female you are, the less space you have for any logging error, really. Congratulations for being a man.18 -
"I’m also drinking 4 litres of water a day is this good and could help promote weight loss?"
Why 4 litres? No-one can tell if that appropriate for you but no forcing yourself to drink a lot of water doesn't promote weight loss and can be harmful if excessive.
4 litres could be just right (or not!) on a day I do a long bike ride, especially if the weather is warm. It could be more than I need if the weather was cool or I didn't ride far. I could also be getting lots of hydration from other drinks and my food - there are far too many variables to think one set amount is right for all people every day.11 -
I would definitely count fruits and higher starch/sugar veggies like carrots, but I vary on whether or not I include them in my calorie count. I mostly track them so I get "credit" for their nutritional value.
I believe the point in having some of those free foods is to encourage people to eat more of and fill up more on those kinds of foods. Obviously, a calorie from an apple or spinach is better for you than a protein bar, for example. Also, it's highly unlikely someone is going to gain weight or even not be able to lose weight from eating too much plain vegetables or fruit.1 -
xx1chloe5xx wrote: »But coz there healthy do they matter @L1zardQueen
Of course they matter. It's still energy and if you have an overabundance of it, you end up storing it. When you eat more than you need to, you gain weight. Simple mathematics.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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A lot of people think losing weight and getting healthy are the same thing and they are not. Technically you can lose weight eating only spoonfuls of sugar, as long as you didn’t go over your calorie limit. But you wouldn’t be healthy at all.
The nice thing about veggies is that they fill you up. Two cups of veggies would be the same calories as about three teaspoons of sugar and you would be fuller and more satisfied than if you ate junk.5 -
Speakeasy76 wrote: »I would definitely count fruits and higher starch/sugar veggies like carrots, but I vary on whether or not I include them in my calorie count. I mostly track them so I get "credit" for their nutritional value.
I believe the point in having some of those free foods is to encourage people to eat more of and fill up more on those kinds of foods. Obviously, a calorie from an apple or spinach is better for you than a protein bar, for example. Also, it's highly unlikely someone is going to gain weight or even not be able to lose weight from eating too much plain vegetables or fruit.
To the bolded, technically not obvious, perhaps even not true.
Probably the apple or spinach have fewer calories, but if you're consistently very short on protein, the protein bar might be better for you. (Spinach has some protein, but it's generally not very complete/balanced in terms of essential amino acids.)
Yes, I'm being pedantic. 🤷♀️
OP, I'm another person who eats hundreds of calories from vegetables and fruits on a typical day. They're good for a person, and most people would improve their nutrition if they ate more of them. But each calorie from them ends up adding to the daily calorie total, just like the calories from candy or cookies. That doesn't make them equal when it comes to nutrition, satiation, etc.
There's nothing you "have to" do: You don't have to count veggies/fruits, you don't have to calorie count, heck, in one sense, you don't even have to lose weight. It's all choices. The combinations of choices that get you to your goals, and don't injure yourself or others, are good choices.
I'd suggest that if you want to see whether a weight loss method works for you, you should take a couple of months and use that method in the way it intends for you to use it. If you're doing Slimming World, follow their rules. If you're using MFP, follow MFP's directions. If, at the start, you try to cherry pick the parts you like from a bunch of different approaches, you're greatly increasing your odds of spinning your wheels, getting nowhere.
Later, if you see results with a method, that's a better time to experiment with variations to make it easier or pleasanter. It'll be much easier to evaluate, then, whether the variations are neutral, helpful, or destructive when it comes to goal accomplishment.
Best wishes for success!16 -
misslizzierod wrote: »Yes I count fruit and vegetables. The only vegetable I don’t count is spinach because I don’t eat so much spinach that it would impact my calories drastically. (Personal preference) Although fruits and veggies are usually high-volume, low-calorie foods, they def contain calories that add up. I also count olive oil and estimate it the best I can. That sucker creeps up and carries high calories and sometimes I forget!
You're right, olive oil does have high calories - foods like this are especially important to track accurately.
I'm confused as to why you need to ESTIMATE oil. I weigh it just like I do everything else. Perhaps you don't use a food scale?5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »misslizzierod wrote: »Yes I count fruit and vegetables. The only vegetable I don’t count is spinach because I don’t eat so much spinach that it would impact my calories drastically. (Personal preference) Although fruits and veggies are usually high-volume, low-calorie foods, they def contain calories that add up. I also count olive oil and estimate it the best I can. That sucker creeps up and carries high calories and sometimes I forget!
You're right, olive oil does have high calories - foods like this are especially important to track accurately.
I'm confused as to why you need to ESTIMATE oil. I weigh it just like I do everything else. Perhaps you don't use a food scale?
This. Even the spray kind can be weighed. Put spray can on scale, tare (zero), spray the pan or food, put can back on scale, read the negative. That's the amount used. It adds up, fast.
And sadly, no matter what the label implies, the sprays are not zero calorie. Usually, the label calories are for something silly like "1/3 second spray", and labeling laws (US) allow anything under 5 calories to be listed as zero. Do you spray for only 1/3 second? I don't, very often.5 -
Okay but why did I think this was a joke at first until I read the post?! 😅
But yea I count everything that has calories, doesn't matter good or bad.2 -
All calories lol2
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Speakeasy76 wrote: »I would definitely count fruits and higher starch/sugar veggies like carrots, but I vary on whether or not I include them in my calorie count. I mostly track them so I get "credit" for their nutritional value.
I believe the point in having some of those free foods is to encourage people to eat more of and fill up more on those kinds of foods. Obviously, a calorie from an apple or spinach is better for you than a protein bar, for example. Also, it's highly unlikely someone is going to gain weight or even not be able to lose weight from eating too much plain vegetables or fruit.
To the bolded, technically not obvious, perhaps even not true.
Probably the apple or spinach have fewer calories, but if you're consistently very short on protein, the protein bar might be better for you. (Spinach has some protein, but it's generally not very complete/balanced in terms of essential amino acids.)
I should've compared fresh fruit or vegetables to something like fruit snacks. A fresh apple may have about the same amount of calories as a package of fruit snacks, but I'd hope most people would realize that an apple is the better nutritional choice. Also, while "protein" bars may technically be "better" for someone who needs more protein, they often have weird ingredients, sugar, and sometimes not even that much protein/calorie, depending on which one you buy. That's not to say I don't eat them from time to time out of convenience (and really, taste), and I do eat protein powder almost every day.
The point I was trying to make is that most people aren't overweight because they eat too many fresh fruit and vegetables. If I were looking to reduce the number of calories in my diet in order to lose weight, most fresh fruit would probably be the 2nd to last, fresh vegetables with lower calories (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc.) would be the last. In fact, when I initially embarked on my weight loss journey I tried to add more of those (along with healthy protein and some healthy fats). When I set out to lose weight for the very last time, and then again to lose another 8 pounds, I chose to view eating to lose/maintain weight synonymous to eating for overall health and well-being, just with a bit of a calorie deficit. Is it possible that by not counting the vegetables and fruits into daily count, someone may not lose? Absolutely.
To answer the OP"s original question, however, I do still count all fruits and vegetables (most of the time) in my daily counts, but I've never been religious about weighing/measuring them. In fact, I've never weighed anything (unless I need to for baking) and rarely measure (again, unless needed for a recipe), maybe just initially to get an idea or if I feel I need to be a bit more careful. I have a tendency to become obsessive with weight loss, and weighing/measuring everything for me stems that tendency. Having said that, I kept off the weight I lost in 2012. I then managed to lose another 8 pounds this spring/summer at age 44, and I wasn't overweight to being with. Granted, it was slow, but that was intentional. It really all comes down to personal preference and what works for you long term.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »misslizzierod wrote: »Yes I count fruit and vegetables. The only vegetable I don’t count is spinach because I don’t eat so much spinach that it would impact my calories drastically. (Personal preference) Although fruits and veggies are usually high-volume, low-calorie foods, they def contain calories that add up. I also count olive oil and estimate it the best I can. That sucker creeps up and carries high calories and sometimes I forget!
You're right, olive oil does have high calories - foods like this are especially important to track accurately.
I'm confused as to why you need to ESTIMATE oil. I weigh it just like I do everything else. Perhaps you don't use a food scale?
Well, I estimate when I make big batches of food which happens a lot with at home cooking. Of course I use the app recipe feature and scale. I often times dab a lot of excess oil regardless. I always estimate and assume I’m eating a little more oil than I’m tracking because since I’m in a calorie deficit I give myself a little room for error which can easily happen in big batch recipes and easily add up.
Also, sometimes not all parts of your meal are cooked at the same time and I often times miss a few things! But yes for the most part, I don’t always estimate.
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If you eat so few veg and fruit that the cals are irrelevant, you should probably eat more veg and fruit.
It's good to eat lots of veg and some fruit,for health reasons, but if you have a calorie-controlled diet and count cals, you should include them, as they have cals. The nice thing is non starchy veg are pretty low cal for the volume (and maybe how full they make you feel--I think they are filling but some don't and need more protein and/or fat) and same with fruit, to some degree. As Ann says, it's more important to have an overall balanced diet which means also having sufficient fiber (veg/fruit have fiber, but some other foods are even better sources, like beans/lentils), healthy fats, and of course protein, as well as whatever makes you feel happy and fulfilled.6 -
How do you cook your veggies with butter, oil, sauces while the veggies may not pack a huge punch those will.. and I agree that if you are lacking in protien but way over on the fruit and veg itvcould stall weight loss. All in all it is still food with calories that matters in the long run.
Lord Jesus guide 💙1 -
Of course you need to count them. I love bananas and literally can eat 4 of them in one day, which is usually over 400 calories. (I quit buying them because it is one of the foods I can't control). Fruit especially has a lot of calories.4
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you dont have to log it but your body WILL
fruits and veg have calories.7
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