Do you add salad and vegetables on your mfp food log??

sk2775 · May 2012

For sure...I track it all.

jamiesadler · May 2012

I record everything I put in my mouth except for water and black coffee.

prsusa38 · May 2012

You should count everything in the salad...it adds calories, however, they are good ones...

jennifer52484 · May 2012

Log all the food, even the calorie free ones, cause even some of those contain sugars, sodium etc... unless of course your goal is to lie to yourself. in that case, carry on not logging.

MindyG150 · May 2012

If I eat it...I count it! If I drink it....might not count it...LOL

fatboy235 · May 2012

log it all. I did WW and it worked to a point then they switched the program and it did nothing for me. So with that said track it no matter how few calories it is.

2bFitNTrim · May 2012

I do and not only just for counting the calories. It's a good way for me to monitor how many servings of fruits & vegetables I'm getting each day. I'll admit that I skip something like the leaf of lettuce on a sandwich, but for the most part, yes, I record them.

Raddichio · May 2012

Yes---for three reasons: (1) I'm pretty detail-oriented and it would drive me crazy to know I've consumed something and not enter it into my food diary. (2) I want an overall picture of what I'm eating each day to be sure I have a well balanced, healthy diet for the most part. (3) It makes a more accurate record of nutritional information, which is also useful.

I, too started with WW, and when I found MFP it seemed the perfect place to record my food intake accurately. Even then, I counted all fruits and vegetables, even if I discounted them from the overall point total for each day. After about two weeks of doing that, I dropped WW and simply used MFP. One reason is that, for me, the emphasis on points was not a good thing. It made me feel that so many perfectly acceptable foods were unacceptable because of the perceived high point value. However, logging food at MFP made me realize that I could incorporate foods that I formally thought wouldn't work with WW into my weekly diet and still eat healthy and continue to lose weight. I felt that, over time this way of eating would be far more sustainable than WW points. Also, why make more work for myself by having to figure out the NI, convert it into whatever WW's latest point formula is, and then record it? I feel I'm making better food choices by just using MFP. Finally, when I came here I discovered that, using WW points, I was consuming under 1000 calories each day, which I felt was neither healthy nor sustainable. I will trade a slower weight loss for a more healthy, sustainable weight loss; and, frankly, my rate of weigh loss has remained about the same with either method.

In no way is this meant as a criticism of WW. It worked for me while I was on it (never attended a meeting or joined online, I just followed their methods), and I know it has worked for many others. However, I've made the decision that, for me, MFP is simpler, more effective, and sustainable. But regardless of whether I stayed on WW or not, yes, I would record everything.

jazziesaj11 · May 2012

Oh yes, every veggie, ever single ingredient that goes into my mouth I track. You'd be amazed at how quick 15-30 cald adds up. ;D

thriftycupl · May 2012

I log everything I eat. I'm not great about logging coffee, creamer and water that I drink, but I try and log everything else. No other way to know what you are taking in.

tinana_RN · May 2012

I don't understand why you wouldn't- it's good to track everything you're eating so if you're plateauing you can go back and remember exactly what you're eating. You're not likely to plateau because of vegetables, but it's good to see that you're eating enough of them, too.

terrirz · May 2012

yep... Im with the others.. if eat it (or drink it), track it...

autumnk921 · May 2012

If it goes in my mouth I log it b/c every little bit adds up....

elmarko123 · May 2012

Well, if you eat a reasonable amount of veggies it could be between 50 and 150 calories a day extra - so worth logging.

SparklesPlenty · May 2012

I record it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I do too.. just for the simple fact that even though its low in calories, it still adds to the vitamins and nutrients in my log.. that way if I look back at my weekly logs (which I do to figure out where I went wrong or what worked/didn't work) it shows more accurately where my vitamin/nutrient overages and missed goals were.

It helps when I'm 'troubleshooting' my weight loss. I'm an engineer.. I do that.

^^This

TheReese1206 · May 2012

Yes. I log it ALL. The ONLY time I do not log is if I do not have access to mfp. Like a bad wifi connection or service.

nixirain · May 2012

I log everything. I did weight watcher before so I know where you are coming from. I don't mind logging them because the are usually minimal in calories. I track my macros (fat, protein, carbs) so I want to know what I am eating nutrition wise which is important to me. I think WW is a great way to start eating healthy, but I think MFP helps me eat healthy for life.

LilGiselle21 · May 2012

I track it all, down to the seasonings I use. I like to look at my nutrients for the day/week

^^^^this

It helps me see if there still thing I need to change like not eating enough vegetables.

em9371 · May 2012

Yes, everything has calories so needs to be logged. If you eat your allowance plus 500 cals of veg, you will still gain a pound the same as if you ate 500 cals of chocolate!

WW compensates for the 'free' fruit & veg by giving you a lower point / calorie allowance to begin with.

TrinaTW · May 2012

I was doing the WW points plus plan and was very successful on it and the fruits/veggies are 0 points. (I've lost 90 lbs so far) I have been experimenting with a comparable way to do that plan on MFP since the extra weekly points and the "free" fruits/veggies makes the WW plan very doable and encourages eating more of the healthy foods (which I generally do anyway). I was tracking my calories and points, comparing (I eat a lot of the same foods daily so it wouldn't change much) and for me, I discovered my daily WW points were very close to my daily MFP calories, not including the fruits/veggies, so personally, I don't count them on MFP. So far its working!! I'm trying to limit my fruit to 3 lower sugar fruits per day but if I had more I would track it, and I generally don't eat the higher carb type veggies but will track those when I do. I do eat a lot of veggies tho!! That's just what works for me I've found that not everything works the same for everyone. Finding what works best for you is what's important!! Good luck!!

treetop57 · May 2012

I log my salad, but I don't sweat the details since the salad greens have so few calories per ounce. I use the same entry in the same amount for the greens and veggies, even though I use different amounts of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, garlic, cucumber, etc. High calorie, high fat items like croutons and dressing, I log separately. Now that I think about it, I've been adding a couple slices of pickled beet for the last few days, and I probable ought to log that as well since they're pretty calorie dense compared to lettuce.

I just checked. My two slices of pickled beets are 10 calories. Probably down in the noise, but a 50% increase over the 20 calories or so in the rest of the salad.