Counting calories in fruits and veggies

[zoebartlett]

First, before I get to my question, I wanted to share. I''m so excited, although I''m not sure how accurate the results are. I just weighed myself and it appears that I''ve lost 6 pounds in the last week and a half. That''s never happened, and I''m not sure what to think. Still, the numbers on the scale made me smile.

My husband had created a weight lose database similar to SparkPeople''s nutrition food tracker a number of years ago, and he was successful in losing a lot of weight. He''s since gained much of it back, but now he''s serious about changing things again. We both are. My husband considers fruits and veggies free foods, and he doesn''t enter the nutritional information of them. I think that if you''re going to be entering your daily food intake and you have fruit or veggies, that info. needs to be entered also, along with everything else you''ve tracked. Which thought is correct?

The same goes for condiments -- mustard, pickles, olives, olive oil (when cooking) and even salad dressing, among the things we''ve discussed. We disagree on this, and I''m afraid that my charts aren''t accurate because I haven''t tracked fruit and veggie intake.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[golden]

I do not count calories when it comes to veggies, but I do when it comes to fruit, but I eat a lot of fruit. I will make quite a large strawberry banana and blueberry smoothie (pure fruit smoothie- no yogurt,sorbet,milk). Although my smoothie may be just under 200 calories, it's still 200 calories to count.

 

[absolut_blonde]

I would count fruit. Your DH may be able to ''get away'' with not doing it, but it''s typically easier for men in general to lose weight (for a # of reasons -- they are heavier to begin with, they have more muscle mass, hormones, etc).

While fruit is great for you, it does still have calories. If you don''t count fruit, 3 servings could put you over your target calorie range for the day.

As for vegetables, it depends. You should always count starchy vegetables IMO -- things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. Whether you count fibrous vegetables is a bit more optional. Broccoli, green beans, asparagus, spinach, etc. Those aren''t highly caloric. If you put anything on them, though, like oil or other toppings, then I''d count that.

And yes, absolutely count condiments as well as caloric drinks (wine, milk). A calorie is a calorie. Some calories are better for you nutritionally, but ultimately a calorie is simply a measure of energy so it''s important to make sure you''re getting the whole picture when you count.

 

[AsscherGirl]

Congrats on the weight loss and the commitment from both you & hubby!

Although there are not a lot of calories in veggies, I still count them. Some are higher calorie than others (onions vs. celery or something to that nature). Most fruits are around 100 calories per serving (give or take), so if you have 3 apples per day, that''s still 300 calories extra. That''s pretty significant in my book since I try to stay between 1250-1500 calories per day.

I would absolutely count things like olive oil and salad dressings as well! 1 tablespoon of olive oil is 130 calories and 14 grams of fat (for me, that''s almost half of my daily intake of fat!). If you are sauteeing vegetables and measure 1 tablespoon of olive oil, that''s about enough to cover a 12" skillet, but if you didn''t measure, you may end up with 2 tablespoons. It really adds up fast.

Hope that helps!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I think your husband is thinking in terms of the recommendation to eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can a day. Meat, dairy, carbohydrates, there are recommendations as to the maximum amount to eat each day, but fruits and veggies are "as much as you can."

Still, though, you are right that if you are counting calories, then yes, you should count everything you eat. Just keep in mind that fruits and veggies tend to be very low in calories and high in bulk, so it''s a good goal to just eat as much of them as you want/can. They fill you up and stave off hunger for the stuff that really is high in calories (and help to keep you regular and all that), so in that sense they''re "free." But no, you''re right, a calorie is still a calorie.

Congrats on the six pounds!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks so much for the recommendations and thoughts. It''s hard to ignore the cravings that I get but it hasn''t been horrible so far.

 

[choro72]

Fruit should be counted. I used to eat one piece of fruit a day, and I realized that I was sweating and jittery from all the sugar. I've since then rearranged it to buying maybe one piece of orange, and cook it together with 5 pieces of chicken, and I eat 1 piece per meal.

The way I don't count it by having a designated Tupperware for each meal. I eat only the amount that I can fit in that certain container. Little bit of rice, put in the chicken, and dump in veggies until it's full. The trick for me was to find the right size of container that doesn't make me starve for the entire day.

 

[Skippy123]

Okay, since I do weight watchers certain foods I don't count and others I do depending on the WW list. I count fruit, some veggies, and don't count condiments unless it is mayo or salad dressing or oils which is packed with calories and some good fat.
The veggies I do count calories in are potatoes, corn, avacados, sweet pototoes (more starchy veggies).
The ones I don't are spinach, lettuce, tomatoes (in small amounts), cucumbers, pickles, jicama, celery, radish, bellpeppers, small amounts of baby carrots. I can pull out my list if you like?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 7/31/2008 5:30:51 PM
Author: Skippy123
Okay, since I do weight watchers certain foods I don''t count and others I do depending on the WW list. I count fruit, some veggies, and don''t count condiments unless it is mayo or salad dressing or oils which is packed with calories and some good fat.
The veggies I do count calories in are potatoes, corn, avacados, sweet pototoes (more starchy veggies).
The ones I don''t are spinach, lettuce, tomatoes (in small amounts), cucumbers, pickles, jicama, celery, radish, bellpeppers, small amounts of baby carrots. I can pull out my list if you like?

Okay, so I''m on the right track. Cool.


About avacados -- I love them. I also know they''re full of fat. Even thought it''s the healthy kind of fat (right?), an avacado isn''t something that one should have often, correct? I guess the same thing would apply to other "healthy fat" foods. This may seem like a no brainer, but I just wanted to check. I had great guacamole last night and I''m craving it again.

 

[littlelysser]

Hey Zoe!

Avocados are my favorite thing in the whole entire world. Well, darn near it.

As far as I know, so long as you count the fat...eat as many avocados as you want!

They are the good kind of fat, that actually raises your good cholesterol.

So go for it! I don''t think there is really any down side to an avocado a day!

 

[zoebartlett]

Thanks LL! I''m glad to know avacados are okay. I''ll just watch how often I have them, since they do have a lot of fat. I eat a pretty low fat diet, so I think giving in to the temptation once in a while won''t hurt.

 

[icekid]

I definitely count fruit, as it is not insignificant calories. Veggies depend- like Romaine, I mean it''s not worth the effort

Since I weigh most of my foods when cal-counting, it does take some effort. So I don''t necessarily always bother w/ broc, green beans, etc. They''re just flat out healthy and low cal. Your hubby can probably get away w/ not counting fruit because guys have it sooo much easier w/ weight loss and if I remember correctly your hubby is also a faily tall guy.

Re: avocados- they are high cal, but in a healthy way! I wouldn''t eat two of them everyday, but I definitely think you can work them into your eating plan.

Sounds like you''re on the right track, Zoe!!

 

[marcy]

I don''t count raw veggies or ketchup and mustard. I do count dressings (unless it''s no fat). I count fruit and cooked veggies.

 

[noelwr]

some fruits contain a lot of sugar. I''ve heard that if you eat too many grapes it can induce diabetes.

however, fruits are healthy and should be part of a regular diet, but I wouldn''t go for "all you can eat". opt for citrus fruit - they contain less sugar and a lot of healthy vitamins. my fave is grapefruit.