do people/do you have to count up the calories in fruit and veg?

[FarTooFat]

Hey im thinking of doing the 12 week challenge from the NHS website and was wondering the above as most other diets such as weight watchers fruit and veg are free.

[Bkkbull]

I would recommend to start with you record all calorie intake including fruit / veg. coffee etc, gives you more of an idea of what your consuming but also educates yourself into calorie content of food. When i first started i recorded absolutely everything, now im near to hitting my weight goal and when i look at food i find myself automatically calculating calories in my head. ( is that obsessive or just sad) I've read numerous reports that state that people who count calroes lose more than those that dont, so that was enough incentive for me.

[sndkk]

I wondered about this question too. I'm on a 1300 cal diet and I count absolutely everything and weigh everything out EXCEPT veg. (I count fruit). I don't know if not counting veg is going to help (this is my first week on the 12 wk plan) but I do it to encourage myself to eat more of it. I always make sure I have veg somewhere in lunch and defo for dinner. Depends how strict u want to be I guess. I want to be strict but at same time on a 1300 diet I'm so tight on my cals to fill me up at each meal therefore don't bother counting the veg.

[sndkk]

I wondered about this question too. I'm on a 1300 cal diet and I count absolutely everything and weigh everything out EXCEPT veg. (I count fruit). I don't know if not counting veg is going to help (this is my first week on the 12 wk plan) but I do it to encourage myself to eat more of it. I always make sure I have veg somewhere in lunch and defo for dinner. Depends how strict u want to be I guess. I want to be strict but at same time on a 1300 diet I'm so tight on my cals to fill me up at each meal therefore don't bother counting the veg.

[Soozz in reply to sndkk]

1300 calories sounds a bit low - please be careful! And good luck!

[DreamstoReality]

Absolutely as it surprising how many calories mount up. 100g banana which is a medium 1 without skin is around 89 calories for example so it is worth it. Like bkkbull said though you start calculating as you go along (if it obsessive or sad then I'm guilty too) but I think it's smart as you will continue to do it and continue to watch what you eat. No calories are free calories hun so count anything that goes into your mouth to keep you on track and you'll be dropping the weight in no time.

[Hidden]

Simple answer = yes!

It's a tad easier with most fruit and veg, because they're usually lower numbers, but yes they all count towards your daily calorie intake.

Remember that as well as the - not enormous amount of - calories, fruit and veg bring into your body other nutrients which are very important for you, especially when you're losing weight.

And that's the trick of it, really. If you're only taking in, say 1300 calories a day, then you must make sure all the vitamins, minerals, and other things are in there amongst that 1300, or whatever, calories. Cut the calories, but not the nutrition.

[eechristmas]

I'm on WW, so I don't, but on my plan I get 26 daily points to use, and they're roughly 40cal each, so they add up to 1040 calories. Most fruit and veg are 'free', and I tend to have about 3-4 servings of fresh fruit and 3-4 servings of steamed veg in a day. This would still keep me below 1400 calories. It's working for me, but it might not work for everyone.

[Hidden in reply to eechristmas]

Hi eexhrismas,

So what you're really doing - which actually is much what I do in effect - is you're roughly counting up the main bits of calories and then allowing for the fruit and veg but not actually totting those bits up.

Now the reason they're "free" is because they're usually - unless smothered in double cream and honey or some such - pretty low in calories but still pretty nutritious.

But the WW system is basically still counting them / allowing for them - just rather approxiamately.

[eechristmas in reply to Hidden]

Exactly. I can't be bothered to count every single thing, which is why straight up calorie counting hasn't been effective for me in the past, as it hasn't been something that I can maintain for long periods of time. yes, it taught me healthy eating habits, but it just didn't work long term. I'm still tracking food, but in this more relaxed way it isn't too much for me, as I don't end up obsessing over food.

[Renka]

Simple answer...yes! Fruit and veg have calories - you eat them - therefore they should be included in your daily calorie count.

e.g 1 banana = 89 cals

100g grapes = 43 cals

100g carrots = 45 cals

200g fresh pineapple = 96 cals

100g broad beans = 97 cals

100g cailiflower = 28 cals

100g broccolli = 34 cals

You get my drift? these are not huge portions and a realistic part of a days food but if you don't count them you've eaten 432 cals more than you have counted. So on a 1400 cal/day allowance it's 33% extra.