Calorie counters - do you count veggies?

[Deleted]

I did Weightwatchers a few years ago and veggies were "free" so I have not been counting them. I do count potatoes, but that's really about it (maybe I would count butternut squash or parsnips... I think those are similar to potatoes nutritionally, yes?).

I just ate a big salad with cucumbers, spinach, and tomatoes and only counted the chicken, dressing, and cheese. I had carrots and asparagus for a snack earlier and didn't count that at all.

Am I sabotaging myself by not counting veggies? I just really don't want to deal with portion sizes for things like tomatoes, and honestly, I don't think I can live on 1240  calories a day if I don't stuff myself with veggies. 

[Deleted]

In other words, do carrots make you fat?

[nomad100]

I do because I also track my fiber and sugars. It also gets me in the habit of being accountable for everything I eat.

ETA:  They don't take up many cals (though carrots are probably higher than some other veg just because of the sugar) but it also helps me make sure I am getting my target amount of veg each day (I am trying to hit 3-5 servings of veg and 1-2 servings of fruit).

[shamrockshake]

I do, I easily eat 200 calories of veggies a day. That's a lot to not take into account IMO

[dancingirl21]

I always do, yes. I want to know the exact calorie amount. If I'm eating a ton of veggies, I want to make sure they are accounted for.

[oreos]

I do, although the accuracy to which I track them depends on how calorie rich they are.

For example, if I have a salad base of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, I'll just throw in a generic 50 calorie "salad" entry. If I am eating 1 pound of roasted carrots, though, I will make sure to add a full pound of raw carrots to my diary.

I try to be fairly accurate with all fruit, since it all contains a lot of sugar and not insignificant calories.

[steph96]

I do. If I didn't, then I would be eating my entire calorie allowance plus veggie calories. That could add up to a few hundred too many calories each day.

I think the biggest thing about counting calories is that it makes me have to decide what is worth it. Do I want a slice of 120 calorie cheese on my sandwich or do I want carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and maybe a piece of chocolate? It's all about picking the choices that are the most filling.

[Deleted]

Hmm. Maybe I should just plan to eat fewer calories than my target if I don't want to track.

Today (not counting veggies, but I did count the pineapple chunks I had as a snack) I'm about 240 calories short of goal with just what I've planned. I could easily eat another 240 calories of something (and would love to, actually, lol), but maybe I should NOT do that and just assume my veggies cover it?

I really don't want to make this overly tedious and time consuming or I know I won't stick to it Using a measuring cup for spinach or counting out the number of cherry tomatoes I'm putting on my salad just sounds annoying.

I'm not worried about fiber/sugar or getting enough fruits/veggies.

[nessness]

Yes, but I just guess portion sizes, since I figure I'll be within about 10 calories with a reasonable guess.

[dexteroni]

I do. Part of the reason I switched from WW to using My Fitness Pal was to get a more thorough picture of what I was eating - real calories instead of points, tracking my protein, carbs, and fiber intake, etc. So I include everything. One surprising result was seeing how few calories were in most vegetables; I never had a problem getting enough fruits and veggies, but seeing the numbers encouraged me to reach for them more than I used to.

[shamrockshake]

Jan 5, 2015 13:19:47 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Hmm. Maybe I should just plan to eat fewer calories than my target if I don't want to track.

Today (not counting veggies, but I did count the pineapple chunks I had as a snack) I'm about 240 calories short of goal with just what I've planned. I could easily eat another 240 calories of something (and would love to, actually, lol), but maybe I should NOT do that and just assume my veggies cover it?

I really don't want to make this overly tedious and time consuming or I know I won't stick to it Using a measuring cup for spinach or counting out the number of cherry tomatoes I'm putting on my salad just sounds annoying.

I'm not worried about fiber/sugar or getting enough fruits/veggies.

I just guesstimate some things - no way am I measuring my spinach, lettuce etc I figure one handful is a cup

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 13:03:15 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

I did Weightwatchers a few years ago and veggies were "free" so I have not been counting them. I do count potatoes, but that's really about it (maybe I would count butternut squash or parsnips... I think those are similar to potatoes nutritionally, yes?).

Yes, I would absolutely count starchy vegetables. And as for portion sizes, I eyeball them. Or you can measure once so you know what a cup of grape tomatoes or baby carrots looks like, then you can estimate it from there. And once you enter them once, they'll be in your list of favorites or recent or whatever your tracker offers. So it's not like you'll have to start from scratch every time you enter them.  And if you often use the same salad ingredients, or even base ingredients, you can set that as a meal or a recipe so that you can enter them with one click.

[cheezer]

Related story. Someone this weekend told me that carrots weren't actually that healthy because they have a lot of sugar in them. At that point I said I just give up if we're at the point where now there is such thing as too many carrots.

I would not count vegetables but any vegetable eaten by me is a complete win since I don't like them.

[IrishBelle]

I do track them because as others have said the calories do add up. I'm not hardcore about tracking them though. A small garden style salad is entered as whatever generic salad comes up in the search and I guesstimate the amounts that I'm eating.

I also like to look back at my food journals to get lunch and dinner ideas when I'm tired of eating the same things.

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 13:19:47 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

I'm about 240 calories short of goal with just what I've planned. I could easily eat another 240 calories of something (and would love to, actually, lol), but maybe I should NOT do that and just assume my veggies cover it?

I would not eat your full allotment if you aren't counting some foods. The reason for tracking is to make sure you don't go over. But if you eat your allotment of calories, plus eat some foods that you don't count, you're kind of ensuring that you go over. It wont be by a ton, since the foods you aren't counting are non-starchy veggies, but still. I think WW is set up to allow for not counting veggies, but other trackers aren't.

But I also wouldn't just undereat by a random number of calories and hope you've got it right. Counting everything seems like a better, and honestly easier, way to ensure you reach your goal than guessing and hoping. You don't have to track it to the exact gram of spinach, but IMO at least a general estimate is worth the small effort.

[Deleted]

Jan 5, 2015 13:33:54 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Jan 5, 2015 13:19:47 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

I'm about 240 calories short of goal with just what I've planned. I could easily eat another 240 calories of something (and would love to, actually, lol), but maybe I should NOT do that and just assume my veggies cover it?

I would not eat your full allotment if you aren't counting some foods. The reason for tracking is to make sure you don't go over. But if you eat your allotment of calories, plus eat some foods that you don't count, you're kind of ensuring that you go over. It wont be by a ton, since the foods you aren't counting are non-starchy veggies, but still. I think WW is set up to allow for not counting veggies, but other trackers aren't.

But I also wouldn't just undereat by a random number of calories and hope you've got it right. Counting everything seems like a better, and honestly easier, way to ensure you reach your goal than guessing and hoping. You don't have to track it to the exact gram of spinach, but IMO at least a general estimate is worth the small effort.

Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I'll just start ballparking it so I'm accounting for something. I don't want to undereat either, since I know that's not a great strategy for weight loss (or health, for that matter). Plus I'm hungry lol.

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 13:27:11 GMT -5 cheezer said:

Related story. Someone this weekend told me that carrots weren't actually that healthy because they have a lot of sugar in them. At that point I said I just give up if we're at the point where now there is such thing as too many carrots.

I would not count vegetables but any vegetable eaten by me is a complete win since I don't like them.

This is an example of dieting being relative. For people who don't like vegetables, and rarely eat them, eating carrots instead of, say, potato chips is a huge win. For people who are already eating super healthy, or even pretty healthy, and want to hone their nutrient balance even further, then they might like to know that carrots are higher in sugar than, say, green peppers. It's valid information, just not applicable for everyone's situation.

[nomad100]

Jan 5, 2015 13:28:47 GMT -5 @vicmo said:

When I use mfp, I create "recipes" that are pretty much my average salad, including veggie toppings. Then I can just add one salad to my food for the day. But if I substituted mushrooms for tomatoes one day, I'd assume they were close enough to each other.

I do this too.  

And last year, I did notice that my weight loss stalled or I gained when I didn't track.  I have a kitchen scale that lives on the kitchen counter so weighing and measuring is now just second nature.

[emilyinchile]

Step 1. Track everything you consume.

Step 2. Eat more than 1240 calories per day.

There is TONS of info about how this idea of eating 1200 calories/day to lose weight is pretty much BS, so unless you have a specific reason for choosing that number (like, a good nutritionist gave it to you, not that MFP told you to), I would go higher. And ditto @vicmo about making recipes in MFP for typical foods and just adjusting a bit as needed if it's a minor tweak.

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 13:39:29 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Plus I'm hungry lol.

Exactly! lol. A stir fry full of spinach, celery, peppers, bok choy, etc. can give you a ton of food for hardly any calories.

Plus I think using a tracker how it's intended is a way of taking better care of yourself, in a way. Like, if you're going to use it, use it correctly. One of the perks of using WW is that you don't have to count veggies, but a drawback is that you aren't really given the full info about what you're eating. One of the perks of using a different tracker is that it gives you better info, but you have to track everything. There are just pros and cons to each method.

And either way, it sounds like you're still doing great!

[nomad100]

Jan 5, 2015 13:39:55 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Jan 5, 2015 13:27:11 GMT -5 cheezer said:

Related story. Someone this weekend told me that carrots weren't actually that healthy because they have a lot of sugar in them. At that point I said I just give up if we're at the point where now there is such thing as too many carrots.

I would not count vegetables but any vegetable eaten by me is a complete win since I don't like them.

This is an example of dieting being relative. For people who don't like vegetables, and rarely eat them, eating carrots instead of, say, potato chips is a huge win. For people who are already eating super healthy, or even pretty healthy, and want to hone their nutrient balance even further, then they might like to know that carrots are higher in sugar than, say, green peppers. It's valid information, just not applicable for everyone's situation.

I was going to say too that tracking everything you eat can also help to ID any triggers.  Like for me I have learned that if I have over a certain amount of sugar in a day (natural or otherwise) it is more likely to trigger a carb-y binge.  Like today, because I had 2 pears, I know I need to avoid sugary veggies.  So it will be cucumbers and green beans for my veg tonight instead of carrots and red peppers. 

[Deleted]

Jan 5, 2015 13:44:23 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Step 1. Track everything you consume.

Step 2. Eat more than 1240 calories per day.

There is TONS of info about how this idea of eating 1200 calories/day to lose weight is pretty much BS, so unless you have a specific reason for choosing that number (like, a good nutritionist gave it to you, not that MFP told you to), I would go higher. And ditto @vicmo about making recipes in MFP for typical foods and just adjusting a bit as needed if it's a minor tweak.

 I think that's way too little too! I'm 5'9 and about 60lbs over my "healthy weight". It seems like 1240 is starvation range for my size.

However. I joined the dietbet and MFP told me to lose 2 lbs a week (which won't get me to 4% weight loss in 4 weeks anyway) I need to eat 1240 a day. I do plan to exercise but I can't every day so some days I'm going to have to eat less. Even when I do exercise that's only 200-300 calories at this point.

I may not be able to sign up for this stupid dietbet again lol. But I want my $30 back! 

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 13:46:29 GMT -5 nomad100 said:

Jan 5, 2015 13:39:55 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

This is an example of dieting being relative. For people who don't like vegetables, and rarely eat them, eating carrots instead of, say, potato chips is a huge win. For people who are already eating super healthy, or even pretty healthy, and want to hone their nutrient balance even further, then they might like to know that carrots are higher in sugar than, say, green peppers. It's valid information, just not applicable for everyone's situation.

I was going to say too that tracking everything you eat can also help to ID any triggers.  Like for me I have learned that if I have over a certain amount of sugar in a day (natural or otherwise) it is more likely to trigger a carb-y binge.  Like today, because I had 2 pears, I know I need to avoid sugary veggies.  So it will be cucumbers and green beans for my veg tonight instead of carrots and red peppers. 

Oh totally. One of the biggest surprises for me when I started seeing the real numbers instead of WW points was how much sugar was in various foods. I have no fear of sugar, and it's fine to eat in moderation, but given no limitations, I eat way too much, and I'm certain that sugar plays a big role in my weight issues.

So now, eating a lot of fruit some days may mean not having any actual sweets that day, or I'll plan ahead to limit grains on a particular day so I can allow myself to have something sweet later. I think that latter step is what saved me from gaining weight this past Christmas season without having to swear off all treats. Learning to find that balance has been really educational. I still definitely don't always attain it, but I'm better at it than I used to be.

[nomad100]

Jan 5, 2015 13:47:03 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Jan 5, 2015 13:44:23 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Step 1. Track everything you consume.

Step 2. Eat more than 1240 calories per day.

There is TONS of info about how this idea of eating 1200 calories/day to lose weight is pretty much BS, so unless you have a specific reason for choosing that number (like, a good nutritionist gave it to you, not that MFP told you to), I would go higher. And ditto @vicmo about making recipes in MFP for typical foods and just adjusting a bit as needed if it's a minor tweak.

 I think that's way too little too! I'm 5'9 and about 60lbs over my "healthy weight". It seems like 1240 is starvation range for my size.

However. I joined the dietbet and MFP told me to lose 2 lbs a week (which won't get me to 4% weight loss in 4 weeks anyway) I need to eat 1240 a day. I do plan to exercise but I can't every day so some days I'm going to have to eat less. Even when I do exercise that's only 200-300 calories at this point.

I may not be able to sign up for this stupid dietbet again lol. But I want my $30 back! 

Have you figured out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and your TDEE (http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/)?  Many people find using the TDEE - 15 or 20% as a better gauge of calories to be eaten every day and then they don't eat back exercise cals. 

[nomad100]

dexteroni Yeah, I paid attention to what I was eating but didn't track and gained a little over 4 lbs since the beginning of November. Not awful but also not ideal. I am kicking myself that I have to lose that 4ish lbs all over again.

[starryfish]

Jan 5, 2015 13:03:15 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

I did Weightwatchers a few years ago and veggies were "free" so I have not been counting them. I do count potatoes, but that's really about it (maybe I would count butternut squash or parsnips... I think those are similar to potatoes nutritionally, yes?).

I just ate a big salad with cucumbers, spinach, and tomatoes and only counted the chicken, dressing, and cheese. I had carrots and asparagus for a snack earlier and didn't count that at all.

Am I sabotaging myself by not counting veggies? I just really don't want to deal with portion sizes for things like tomatoes, and honestly, I don't think I can live on 1240  calories a day if I don't stuff myself with veggies. 

Are you only eating 1240 calories a day? If so, that is WAY too little. Calculate your BMR and that is the absolute minimum you should eat a day

[dexteroni]

Jan 5, 2015 14:01:23 GMT -5 nomad100 said:

dexteroni Yeah, I paid attention to what I was eating but didn't track and gained a little over 4 lbs since the beginning of November. Not awful but also not ideal. I am kicking myself that I have to lose that 4ish lbs all over again.

That was me over Thanksgiving. I didn't watch or track and ate all the carbs in the world and gained 3 lbs. in about 5 days. And it wasn't 3 lbs. of water retention due to sodium intake, because that goes away quickly when I go back to eating normally. This was 3 real pounds of weight, i.e. all of my November progress. I was so pissed at myself. I was really glad I was able to fend that off over Christmas, or I would have been really down on myself.

[Susie]

When I am in tracking mode, yes, I track veggies and everything else that I eat.

1. It's too slippery a slope as far as what you count and what you don't.
2. Veggies have calories too. Despite what WW would have you believe, they aren't actually "free."
3. Calories are only half the story, so I track the rest too. For me, balancing macros is just as important as total calories to keeping hunger at bay. You can't accurately balance if you aren't tracking entire food groups.

Like everybody else said, I have learned to eyeball what "1 cup" of lettuce looks like, or a certain volume/weight of carrots, tomatoes, etc.

[emilyinchile]

Jan 5, 2015 13:47:03 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Jan 5, 2015 13:44:23 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Step 1. Track everything you consume.

Step 2. Eat more than 1240 calories per day.

There is TONS of info about how this idea of eating 1200 calories/day to lose weight is pretty much BS, so unless you have a specific reason for choosing that number (like, a good nutritionist gave it to you, not that MFP told you to), I would go higher. And ditto @vicmo about making recipes in MFP for typical foods and just adjusting a bit as needed if it's a minor tweak.

 I think that's way too little too! I'm 5'9 and about 60lbs over my "healthy weight". It seems like 1240 is starvation range for my size.

However. I joined the dietbet and MFP told me to lose 2 lbs a week (which won't get me to 4% weight loss in 4 weeks anyway) I need to eat 1240 a day. I do plan to exercise but I can't every day so some days I'm going to have to eat less. Even when I do exercise that's only 200-300 calories at this point.

I may not be able to sign up for this stupid dietbet again lol. But I want my $30 back! 

This is exactly what I was assuming. Look, MFP is a great tool, but it has a very specific idea of how we should all eat, some of which I totally disagree with. The app berates me for eating eggs because of cholesterol (which I think we know by now is largely genetic) - eff that noise.

Ditto the TDEE suggestion. iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ is super easy to use, but then you have to do the math of eating a bit less than your TDEE to lose weight. scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ takes a bit more info up-front but then also gives you more to go on. FWIW, I just put my stats into both TDEE calculators and was told that my BMR - aka the amount of calories I need to just stay alive - is about 1400. I then asked MFP what I should eat to lose 2 lb/wk, and it said 1200.

Dietbet aside, I would try tracking a normal day of eating for you first to see what you've been doing lately, then decide what to adjust. There are some pretty knowledgable people on H&F if you want additional input!

[Deleted]

What app do you use @buckybells?

I want to track my calories during my Whole30