FRUIT and VEGGIES = CALORIES?!

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PlayDoh1234
PlayDoh1234 Posts: 86 Member
in Food and Nutrition
To try to keep my calories down I try to eat a lot of fruit and veggies but I always get frustrated because it's 100 calories here and there and eventually they add up. Is there any "free" food that doesn't have calories? I know WW allows you to eat fruit and veggies for no points. I'm tempted to not include fruits and veggies in my tracking... Does anyone do that?
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Replies

  • Bumdrahp
    Bumdrahp Posts: 1,314 Member
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    I would love to know too.. veggies and fruits seem to take a good portion of my cals too.
  • Meg_78
    Meg_78 Posts: 998 Member
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    I'd guess the fruit would have a higher calorie count cause of the natural sugars, but I think veggies have very low calorie counts, at least form what i have seen in my diary, esp the green veggies, potato, and sweet potato would probably count higher though.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,620 Member
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    Water doesn't have calories. :smile:

    If you're going to count calories, you need to count the calories in fruits and vegetables because they exist and, like you said, they do add up. You're just cheating yourself if you don't count them.

    I was on weight watchers (before they stopped counting fruits as points) and I'm convinced they keep your initial calories low so those extra foods won't do much damage. Plus you're only allowed 5 "free" foods until you have to start counting them as points.
  • Bumdrahp
    Bumdrahp Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Water doesn't have calories. :smile:

    If you're going to count calories, you need to count the calories in fruits and vegetables because they exist and, like you said, they do add up. You're just cheating yourself if you don't count them.

    I was on weight watchers (before they stopped counting fruits as points) and I'm convinced they keep your initial calories low so those extra foods won't do much damage. Plus you're only allowed 5 "free" foods until you have to start counting them as points.

    Yeha, I have been counting all my fruits and veggies but I always hear " you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want".. not so true.. damn calories!
  • nitrogen_widget
    nitrogen_widget Posts: 92 Member
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    Steamed broccoli, cauliflower, & carrots, I have a tough time eating over 100 cals of those with 6 to 8 Oz. of chicken.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    If you eat enough fruits and veggies (hard to do) to go over your maintenance you'll still gain weight.

    What makes them nice is that they're a lot fewer calories per bite than everything else.
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
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    I ate about a cup of celery sticks today and it was 8 calories. If you must dip it in something, use the low-cal Kraft Italian dressing, which is 5 calories per tbsp. Not 100% free (what is?) but it's as close as I can do.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    You could probably find some gum with no calories...
  • tig_ol_bitties
    tig_ol_bitties Posts: 561 Member
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    <<----Overweight vegan right here. My diet is about 95% fruits and vegetables. I'm proof that you should count each and every one because yes, they DO add up.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
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    4.5oz of baby carrots = 53 cals and is rather filling

    241g of steamed FRESH broccoli = 82 cals and VERY filling

    181g of gala apple = 57 cals and pretty filling

    100g celery = 14 cals
  • Bumdrahp
    Bumdrahp Posts: 1,314 Member
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    If you eat enough fruits and veggies (hard to do) to go over your maintenance you'll still gain weight.

    What makes them nice is that they're a lot fewer calories per bite than everything else.

    Wow I have honestly never in my life heard of any one eating too many veggies and gaining weight from it LOL ever! learn something new every day...
  • muwchck
    muwchck Posts: 261 Member
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    Fruit and veggies may still have calories, but haven't you noticed that you can eat a lot more fruit or veggies for 100 calories than you can chips? I'd much rather have 100 calories of something healthy that would more than fill me up,than 100 calories of chips that make me just want more.
  • PlayDoh1234
    PlayDoh1234 Posts: 86 Member
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    Water doesn't have calories. :smile:

    If you're going to count calories, you need to count the calories in fruits and vegetables because they exist and, like you said, they do add up. You're just cheating yourself if you don't count them.

    I was on weight watchers (before they stopped counting fruits as points) and I'm convinced they keep your initial calories low so those extra foods won't do much damage. Plus you're only allowed 5 "free" foods until you have to start counting them as points.

    Yeha, I have been counting all my fruits and veggies but I always hear " you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want".. not so true.. damn calories!

    That's what I was thinking.. You really can't eat ALL the fruits and veggies you want. They still count. I guess I'm stuck with drinking more water!
  • BeautEvilKells
    BeautEvilKells Posts: 27 Member
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    Check it out -
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/280209-fruits-vegetables-with-little-or-no-calories/
  • Meliklotz
    Meliklotz Posts: 66 Member
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    No free foods.......but......watermelon season is upon us and that is super low in calories.........47 calories per cup.
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
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    7 oz. of broccoli is less than 70 calories. That's a LOT of broccoli.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    The best way, is to log everything. However some veggies have nearly negligible calories, like celery, spinach, brocolli. You would need to eat a LOT of those for it to hurt your progress. I don't log my vitamins even though they have calories because I honestly won't take them if I have to log them. I'm an awful vitamin taker to begin with... so leaving them off makes sense. I like to log my veggies because I like to see how I'm doing with eating them, but it is your diary, you could just not log veggies and leave 100 cal at the end of the day. You should log fruit. They have sugar and they have enough calories to make a difference. Three servings a day would prob give you 200 cals you wouldn't be counting, depending on which fruits you choose.
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
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    Non-starch veggies are the way to go to be full and satiated on minimal calories. I steam and blend 8 oz. each kale and broccoli each day for lunch, with 1/2 oz. brazil nuts and 10 oz. water for a soup. It keeps me full for 4 hours and is only 268 calories.
  • ElPumaMex
    ElPumaMex Posts: 367 Member
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    As others pointed out here, fruits and vegetables do have calories and should be counted.

    They are really nice to eat, because they have plenty of nutritious ingredients, and also they can fill you with a relatively low calorie count.
    This is specially true with certain fruits. For example Watermelon, where you can eat one pound of it for 136 calories !!
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
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    I don't consider any food free, but some fruit and veggie choices are better than others.

    berries tend to have fewer cals than tropical fruits and grapes are defiantly not free and have more sugar than most fruits.

    leafy greens are virtually free when eaten raw but thing like carrots can add up

    I sugguest trying to go for a short walk on a break or at lunch if you veggies are taking you over your cals.

    Good luck!

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