Tracking veggies and fruits?

queen_ofjacks
queen_ofjacks Posts: 18
edited October 4 in Food and Nutrition
QUESTION: i have a friend who used MFP for a year and lost weight while on it, but she said she never tracked the calories of the fruits and veggies she ate, unless she was consuming a TON of one thing. i'd be interested in people's thoughts on this. sometimes i don't track the apple i just ate, or whatever, because it's one apple, i know how many calories it is, and i don't really think about it as "contributing" to my weight gain or loss.....green beans and corn i track a lot because they're starchy and i'd like to keep track of that, but things like grapes and carrots i don't always count....or black olives. which i don't eat a ton of, but which i love.

thoughts? opinions? thanks!
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Replies

  • RachelT14
    RachelT14 Posts: 266 Member
    I write it all down includign the big piles of lettuce which come in at 12-20 calories!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    calories add up regardless of where they come from, and you will not lose if you are not at a caloric deficit, even if all your calories come from fruits and veggies... track it all!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    corn is starchy and grapes are sugar. You can gain weight from healthy foods too
  • voluptuous_veggie
    voluptuous_veggie Posts: 476 Member
    I count it all, and you should definitely track your olives, because those contain a lot of fats in them.
  • jenfactor
    jenfactor Posts: 124
    I do track everything. I guess I am afraid it will become a slippery slope... one apple not tracked becomes just one bite of cheesecake not tracked.. if it can work for you, more power to you! I also like to get a true number of the calories I ate and fiber, etc. I've even started logging my 9-calorie flax seed oil capsule! Silly, I know, but I did the math and over the course of the year it added up to like 3,500 calories... so in theory one extra pound I could have lost if I had tracked it!
  • Suziq2you
    Suziq2you Posts: 396 Member
    I track everything.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i track everrrrrything. even the cough drops ive been using the past couple days.
    i use my food scale usually, especially for stuff like salads.
  • mystiloo
    mystiloo Posts: 16 Member
    Wellllll coming from someone who didn't log her own vegetables because she didn't eat ENOUGH, I'd say a calorie is a calorie. So it really depends on how strict you are on your calorie intake. I know that when I started counting all the Dove promises I ate but never counted, I was shocked :-) They are so tiny!
  • Shweedog
    Shweedog Posts: 883 Member
    If you're going to track calories then you need to actually track the calories. And black olives are calorie dense (for their size). An apple can be 150 cals. Those calories add up. If you just want to eat better and healthier and not track then that's understandable. But if you are going to take the time and energy to use a calorie tracking site then I would fully utilize it. Just my opinion.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    I count it all. If you eat 2 servings of fruit or veggies a day that can add up over the week and slow your loss.
  • godroxmysox
    godroxmysox Posts: 1,491 Member
    I count everything!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    You have to find what works for you. If you don't log those things and find you are having trouble losing, it could be because of what you aren't logging. If you are happy and losing, then keep doing what works.
  • kwest_4_fitness
    kwest_4_fitness Posts: 820 Member
    ...just one bite of cheesecake not tracked.

    Oh, you just had to bring up cheesecake.
  • Ruchell
    Ruchell Posts: 236 Member
    I track everything, even the 4 calories of garlic in my egg scramble this morning lol. I think its up to you, but you have to be honest with yourself about the calories you might be consuming and not accounting for. It probably won't make a huge difference if you don't log the piece of lettuce you put on your sandwich, but a cup of grapes is about 60 cals and eating too many things like that can push you over if you aren't counting them. Just my opinion.
  • nowornever47
    nowornever47 Posts: 333 Member
    I've got to agree with them, and it could be a personal preference, however the apple I just ate has 80 calories! (Honey Crisp, so yummy!!) But... add 30, 40 and 80 calories up during the day and I'm not sure about you but I'd forget that and be like woo hoo I have calories left for my skinny cow ice cream at the end of the day... when really I shouldn't because I didn't log everything. Yes, blk olives and little itty bitty sunflower seeds add fat & calories real fast, ha ha! Good luck but I like to add everything.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    There's got to be more to this - like, your friend had a lot to lose and used a 2 pound per week goal and/or was always under her net 1200 calories and/or didn't eat her exercise calories. Either that or she only ate something like a few berries per day. Honestly, I can see not tracking a few pieces of lettuce and slice of tomato on your sandwich but when you're talking about carrots and corn, apples and grapes, those have a lot of sugar and calories in them and will definitely add up.
  • kristilovescake
    kristilovescake Posts: 669 Member
    I track everything!

    I think it's important because it helps us be more mindful of what we're putting in our mouths and why :)
  • pnieuw
    pnieuw Posts: 473
    Track 'em. I eat 2 apples and one banana a day, and that's 270 calories, or 1/8th of my food for the day. Add veggies for dinner and a good percentage of my day's calories are fruit and veg. If I didn't track, I'd have a false sense that I could eat more, and reach for the chips.
  • MrsWagz
    MrsWagz Posts: 41
    I track everything but sometimes I low ball fruits and veggies.. I've never noticed a negative impact on weight loss from doing this
  • virginiejaubin
    virginiejaubin Posts: 497 Member
    I track all of it! We all have daily goal and every cals adds up. For example an apple is betweem 60 and 100 cald depending on the weight of it... i would not avoid tracking it
  • bedoozled
    bedoozled Posts: 189 Member
    Yep, I agree with the other posters, I still record things (especially black olives! which I also love, but aren't exactly cal free :D ) - it adds maybe 20 seconds to the whole process if I'm recording another meal or more heavy-duty calorie loads, and I think it just encourages good "honesty" habits with the whole process!
  • ninpiggy
    ninpiggy Posts: 228 Member
    Track it all....
  • Melmade
    Melmade Posts: 349 Member
    .....green beans and corn i track a lot because they're starchy and i'd like to keep track of that, but things like grapes and carrots i don't always count....or black olives. which i don't eat a ton of, but which i love.

    thoughts? opinions? thanks!

    ^^green beans are very low starch, corn high starch. Grapes and carrots both have sugar--grapes have a higher glycemic index, as does corn. Depends on what veggies and fruits you eat, and what your overall diet plan is. If you do low carb or low glycemic index diets, then not tracking some things might be more doable than others, for example.

    Ultimately, if you end up with a healthy calorie deficit, you will lose weight.
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
    I used to have a bite or two of something and then not track it. And my loss was barely creeping down. And then it started creeping up. And now I track every damn bite of everything. I mess up occasionally on weekends, but during the week, I track 100% and I would say 95% on the weekends. And wouldn't you know it, I'm losing weight again.
  • tasnim81
    tasnim81 Posts: 91 Member
    I track everything. Even fruits can have lots of calories (like bananas for example), so if you eat a lot of it, you might have a higher calorie intake than you think.
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
    I track it all, but mostly because I want to see how I am doing nutritionally. Calories are important to me, but not as important as knowing if I hit my marks for fiber, protein, sodium, fats, or if I go over on sugar. Watching my glucose so while apple is my favoraite fruit it is high in sugar and I nned to track it.
    Keep trying different things and you'll find what works. The best thing about logging it all is that after a bit you can start to reconcile what you are eating with how you feel and how your body is responding and then you can start to adjust accordingly.
  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
    I always track mine...you are welcome to check my diary, its primarily fruits and vegetables.
  • millionsofpeaches
    millionsofpeaches Posts: 372
    A banana can have over a hundred calories in it depending on the size... Plus the sugar and carbs.

    Why wouldn't you log it?
  • edmondskm
    edmondskm Posts: 22
    I log everything.
    That apple could have the last bit of fiber I needed for that day.
    That banana (most being 100 calories) could have been what brought me over my calories.

    I'd rather either 500 calories of fruits and veggies and have that within my log then not counting it, think I have more than what I should and still logging 1200 calories without fruit
  • aolani
    aolani Posts: 80 Member
    I track everything. You would be surprised how many calories some fruits can have.
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