To add fruit and veg or not...that's the question!

gilltaitt
gilltaitt Posts: 31
in Food and Nutrition
I was just wondering how many of you put the fruit and veg you eat throughout the day in to your diary? Any other eating plan I've done they have always been a "free" food.

If I have say a banana or white potatoes I would normally log these as I know they are more calorific but if I'm eating melon or berries or salad veg I don't normally enter these on my diary.
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Replies

  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
    Fruit has a ton of calories and is not considered a free food. You will def go over if u dont log fruit.
  • rjcelmer
    rjcelmer Posts: 431 Member
    I always enter them in. Although you don't need to count the natural sugars in fruit (if you track sugars at all), they have calories that add to your day. Vegetables are very low but I still add them because I want to be as disciplined as I can by not skipping anything.
  • bettyboolou
    bettyboolou Posts: 11
    I do add them...that way I'm being honest with everything I eat.

    I have been counting the sugar in fruit though...is that the wrong thing to do?
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Add it.
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member
    I add everything that crossed my lips...gotta be held accountable :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Add it...and the post about not including the sugar...TOTAL NONSENSE! Sugar is exactly the same inside your body whether it comes from fruit or cupcakes! Fruit just happens to have other health benefits!
  • khuntenburg
    khuntenburg Posts: 1 Member
    Logging your fruits and veggies will tell you how much fiber you are getting. This is a very helpful part of a healthy diet.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Add it...and the post about not including the sugar...TOTAL NONSENSE! Sugar is exactly the same inside your body whether it comes from fruit or cupcakes! Fruit just happens to have other health benefits!

    That is not true. There is a HUGE difference between natural and processed sugars (mainly, how well your body digests them). Do some research.
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
    add everything, if I eat or drink it I count it
  • phillieschic
    phillieschic Posts: 615
    I log everything but I am not at all concerned about natural sugars from fruits and veggies. I just don't worry about it...and I am a big fruit eater. Maybe at some point I will have to, but it's worked for me this long...
  • xXmimiXx
    xXmimiXx Posts: 564 Member
    I log them because of the cals. I do understand that Weightwatchers doesn't count them as it works out the value of food from how easily the nutrients are absorped by the body, which is why fruit is "free" on weight watchers as the whole way Weightwatchers works out your daily goals is different. I go by cals though as it's easier but I do understand the whole "free" thing. It's more complicated than that though so unless you're paying WW for the full picture, I'd add the cals!
  • casperuk
    casperuk Posts: 195 Member
    Always. It might be a free food on other 'diets' but this is about calories primarily, then macros secondary.

    No such thing as a free food doing this.

    2 oranges depending on size could add nearly 200 calories.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    Um, I did WW for about 6 months last year before I found MFP. I understand why they made fruits/veggies free foods - BUT they do have calories. I eat a ton of veggies (Try to avoid all the sugars in fruits) - but I log everything. A medium banana, for example, is 105 calories, 27g carbs, 3g fiber, and 14g sugars -- I think it'd be a big mistake to not log all the stuff you're eating because you're not getting a clear picture of your actual intake!
  • Bubs05
    Bubs05 Posts: 179 Member
    There is no such thing as "free" food (or negative calorie food). Weight watchers has the category of "free" foods because their system isn't straight calorie counting. In the MFP world you should log it, especially if you are tracking your macros.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    I log everything I eat. I just don't track sugar in fruit as it's natural not processed and if I did I would always go over my daily goal. :)
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Fruit and veg still have calories.
    If you eat 1000 calories worth of fruit and veg, you STILL eat 1000 calories.
  • floshideaway
    floshideaway Posts: 101 Member
    EVERYTHING should be added and accounted for, not logging one thing leads to another and so forth. Either you stick with the plan or you don't. It should become second nature. There are no such things as "free food" as advertize in other diet plans, being on MFP is not a diet, it is a very helpful tool to stick to a HEALTHY NEW lifestyle. A diet is temporary, a lifestyle is for the rest of your life.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    To have a true and correct calorie count...
    THAT IS THE ANSWER

    Of course you count it....:flowerforyou:
  • nmullins81
    nmullins81 Posts: 35 Member
    I put them in unless it is something like 2-3 grapes that my child leaves behind or a bite of banana.
  • Judas_Queen
    Judas_Queen Posts: 251 Member
    I was just wondering how many of you put the fruit and veg you eat throughout the day in to your diary? Any other eating plan I've done they have always been a "free" food.

    If I have say a banana or white potatoes I would normally log these as I know they are more calorific but if I'm eating melon or berries or salad veg I don't normally enter these on my diary.

    I can see where you're coming from. I used to follow Slimming World and free foods on that eating plan are just that, free foods i.e. you can eat as much as you want. And yes, before anyone says anything you can lose weight this way. I still buy Slimming World Magazine and in a recent issue a guy followed the plan, did light exercise to begin with and ramped it up later, and lost something insane like 17 stone over all. (incredible).

    However, it depends what you're using your diary for. If you're using it just to track what you've eaten to go along with your WW/SW whatever plan then great, still log them but pay no attention to the calories.

    IF however you are now tracking the macros, you will probably find it very beneficial to log your fruit and vegetables. As obviously they are not a bad thing, but putting it into perspective, seeing actually that you may not have had enough (in your own estimates). I know that when I started tracking food on MFP that i noticed how little fruit and veg i was eating, even though i thought it was a lot.

    As somone above said, it keeps you accountable :)

    Good luck x
    edited to say: you will see from my diary that i have not logged ANY food for a long time. I am in a transition, and hence why it only says i've lost 1lb.. i had lost 13 at one stage. So as soon as i know what i'm doing long term.. back to the food tracking i go!
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    I log everything, if I don´t I know I will start slipping.
    Fruits I eat during the day when ever I find I´m getting hungr
    Vegetable I eat with dinner or lunch or both.
    The more you eat of fruits and vegetable every day it counts together and become big figures.
  • msgremmy
    msgremmy Posts: 88
    I log fruits and veggies, and as other posters said, I don't concern myself with the sugar from fruit. I don't track sugar at all, actually. I do consider cucumber and celery "free foods," but I still log them and have never gone over calories because of them. More so, I use those two as snacks I can have anytime and not feel bad at all.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Foods in nature exist in combination with the vitamins and minerals your body needs to digest them. When these components are removed such as is the case with refined white sugar and other refined foods (white flour, polished rice, etc) then not only do these food fail to provide nutrition, they have a negative nutritive value since your body must diminish stored vitamins and minerals in order to digest them. They are not the same food. However, for people tracking sugar consumption for health concerns the net effect on blood sugar levels is very similar regardless of the source of sugar. High sugar fruits cause a blood sugar spike just like a doughnut.

    I track everything, to me nothing is "free" except water.
  • phillieschic
    phillieschic Posts: 615
    I log everything I eat. I just don't track sugar in fruit as it's natural not processed and if I did I would always go over my daily goal. :)

    Exactly. Of course I count the calories, but the blueberries I had for breakfast put me right over my sugar allowance for the day...and I still have cherries and an apple to eat!

    Natural sugars are processed and absorbed differently, plus the added bonus of fiber (and other nutrients) in fruit and veggies is far too crucial to me to stop eating them when I reach my allowable sugar intake for the day.

    It's the high sugar processed foods and man-made artificial sweeteners that I find to be an issue...and the sugar found in cupcakes is NOT the same as the sugar found in my delicious fruit. :drinker:
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
    MFP is not really a diet as much as it is a tool in changing your eating patterns. It is all about setting daily caloric limits and provides you with a personal diary so you can keep track of what you are eating. It even lets you track specific things like if you are watching your sodium intake or are worried about cholesterol, etc. Some people will count everything they put into their mouth (ie vitamins) but I only put down items that actually contain calories and there are calories in both fruits and vegetables. MFP will not be very effective for you if you are not counting your calories correctly.
  • cavegrl140
    cavegrl140 Posts: 19
    If I have say a banana or white potatoes I would normally log these as I know they are more calorific but if I'm eating melon or berries or salad veg I don't normally enter these on my diary.

    Melons are the most sugar filled fruits and have the highest glycemic index rating. Berries are your best bet for lower cals and sugar content.
  • ShirleyFed5
    ShirleyFed5 Posts: 35 Member
    Even though fruit and vegetables are a "free" food on Weight Watcher's, you still track them. You should track them on MFP too.
  • tizzie_14
    tizzie_14 Posts: 72
    I log EVERYTHING!
  • rebeccasedwards
    rebeccasedwards Posts: 208
    I add them. It has calories.
  • Dwamma
    Dwamma Posts: 289 Member
    I log everything that I put in my mouth....that way I know for sure where I stand... Best of luck!

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