I don't, probably because I lost all my weight on Weight Watchers and they always had zero points. I usually have a big salad every day with spinach, shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, radicchio, etc. but I don't think it could be more than 40-50 calories worth of vegetables.In the morning I often have those South Beach spinach egg cups - I use a lot of extra egg whites and only count the calories in the egg whites and shredded cheese, not the spinach, peppers, or onions. For lunch I had a chicken casserole and didn't count the carrots or onions.
What's your strategy? I'm trying to stick to 1200/day and don't want to NOT eat veggies because I'm saving the calories for a glass of wine or treat.
I count everything, including veggies. I know that their calorie counts are minimal but my thought is they add up and so I'm counting all of it Like yesterday I had 2 cups of broccoli (60 cals) & 1 cup carrots (50 cals) + some celery (10 cals) which is 120 calories total.
Now, my crazy mind thinks my body can't distinguish between being 120 calories over because of cookies or carrots. I mean, 120 calories may not be breaking my calorie bank daily, but if I'm over by 120 every day for a week that's 840 calories, lots of veggies or not.
Spinach egg cups - I use one box of chopped spinach. Thaw in microwave and drain liquid. I add 2 cups liquid egg whites, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, chopped red pepper and onion. Spray medium-sized muffin tins w/ Pam, and fill. I think I bake at 350-400 for 20 minutes or so. When I just count the egg whites and cheese, they are 30-35 calories each, I have a few of them with 2 veggie sausages and am full for a good three hours for 140 calories or so(which is a HUGE thing for me!).
I counted everything, including veggies. I would find some days I had as many as 150-200 cals worth in a day, so not counting them would have been counter productive to my goal.
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 10-22-2009 at 02:54 PM.
Reason: typo
I always count then just so they are accounted for. I love my veggies so i tend to eat alot of them during the day so they can add up. Usually i just estimate based on what i already know, just so i have a rough idea about what ive eaten. Some veggies are more calories than others so its good for me to just make sure i count. Even if it is just a few hundred calories, it makes me feel like im doing well on my diet.
But i think generally its not massively important to count those kinds of things especially when they are in small amounts here and there. As long as you have a rought idea of what your intake is and dont go over your limit alot, I thinhk you should be fine...besides, ive never heard of someone destroying their diet plan by eating extra veggies.
Yep, when I'm logging everything in FitDay, I count veggies. Mostly because I am not just monitoring calories, but also trying to ensure I get enough fiber and vitamins during a day. Also - a remnant from my strict South Beach days - I like to see if I got my 4.5 cups of veggies/day. I usually don't, but it's my goal
I'd imagine once I feel like my habits are good, and I'm at a weight I'd like to maintain, that I will estimate calories and not worry about the exact calorie count for every food I consume.
I count everything, including veggies. I know that their calorie counts are minimal but my thought is they add up and so I'm counting all of it Like yesterday I had 2 cups of broccoli (60 cals) & 1 cup carrots (50 cals) + some celery (10 cals) which is 120 calories total.
Now, my crazy mind thinks my body can't distinguish between being 120 calories over because of cookies or carrots. I mean, 120 calories may not be breaking my calorie bank daily, but if I'm over by 120 every day for a week that's 840 calories, lots of veggies or not.
I count EVERYTHING. Even spices. Which I think may be the craziest thing I've heard being tracked but that 8 calories a teaspoon of ground turmeric and 11 calories of nutmeg add up to larger numbers. I had 3.5 cups of broccoli in my frittata last night. That is almost 100 calories. The 3/4 cup of carrots was 35 calories. The garlic was like, 3 calories. I have the same thoughts as Abby - if I'm over 50 calories a day (350 calories a week, 5 pounds a year) I may be eating foods with lots of vitamins and minerals but I'm still eating too much. (Well, rather the veggies should stay and I should minus 50 flex calories but whatev).
Last night I just eyeballed what was going into my wok but normally I cook with my trusty digital gram scale at my side.
That being said I think that WW encouraging veggie and spice consumption by making them "free" isn't a very bad thing - they're trying to open new doors for people and by eating plenty of veggies you're going to be full of fiber and have delayed stomach emptying and may not pick up some sugar and partially hydrogenated fake food with 500 calories of unusable _stuff_.
My sour gummy calcium bears are 15 calories a serving. lol.
I count pretty much everything (small amounts of spices get a pass, but big amounts - like chili powder in chili, for example - do not). But if it works for you, and you're losing at a rate you're comfortable with, that's all that matters.
i don't count vegies, but if it becomes an issue later on, i might... and the truth is that it could eventually... it doesnt matter whether youve gone over eating 100 calories of vegie mix or 100 calories of jujube's, you're body can't tell the difference when it comes to calories, only when it comes to nutrition density.
Do you count the calories in your veggies?
Like yesterday I had 2 cups of broccoli (60 cals) & 1 cup carrots (50 cals) + some celery (10 cals) which is 120 calories total. 
