[Heather]

I think that you can count what you want. I think it depends on your goals. My main goal in calorie counting is to keep me accountable for what I eat. I might be able to do that if I didn't count veggies, but I don't think I could personally if I "forgot" to add up a lot of the bites, licks and takes that make up some days.

I've been surprised by how many calories are in a lot of fruits and veggies -- especially fruit! Watermelon has a fair number of calories - 1 cup about 60 calories -- and doesn't really take much work to eat. And a largish apple (8 oz) is over 100 calories. If there is such a thing as negative calorie foods, I don't think these would make the list.

If you don't count everything, then I think you need to be cautious in thinking you know exactly how many calories you are consuming. Veggies are typically low cal, so if you count that you eat, say, 1400 calories a day and eat another 100-150 in veggies then that's one thing. But if you're not counting hi cal oils you may easily be consuming 300-500 calories a day. And then you might wonder why you're not losing!

That said, there's nothing wrong with figuring out a system that works for you. Just be careful, especially with butter and oils.

[Horo]

The only thing I don't count and don't measure is the lemon juice I put in my tea. One lemon is approximately 12 - 20 calories, and since I don't even use that much spread across the 4-6 large cups of tea I have every day, I don't bother.

[manders01]

I don't count gum that's 5 calories or less, coffee (but do count what I put in it), no calorie drink mixes or spices including salt, pepper and no calorie sweetener. Everything else, no matter the amount, gets plugged into my tracker.

[Tamlynne31]

I count everything I put in my mouth. I am always jumping online to look up the calorie count in fruits and veggies so I can count them in. I want to make sure I know as close as I can how many calories I have in a day

[indiblue]

I sometimes get lax and don't count everything- a bite of my BF's dinner, a tsp of sugar in my coffee. But I should. And the minute my weight starts stalling is my signal to tighten the belt and really get nitpicky on counting calories. I always know that's the first thing I'm "fudging" and the first behavior I need to correct before I start whining about a plateau.

Yes, tsp of oil, butter, vinaigrette here and there are the most important small thing to count- they are some of the most calorie-dense food we eat. Not counting a tbsp of oil is like choosing not to count Fiber One bar or a can of tuna- definitely something substantial you want to include in your count

Re. fruits/veggies- I have also heard that some fruits/vegetables are "negative" but in my opinion either you calculate ALL the calories burned from your BMR that day and subtract it from your calories to get your deficit, or you calculate none of it. I think when we start picking and choosing which foods our bodies already burned off ("I won't include this carrot because my body is burning it off as it's digesting it") we start going down a potentially slipper slope which I've definitely done ("I can drink this Starbucks latte as my rewards for working out- it's only 120 calories so I already burned that by exercising").

Basically I think the more we omit the less accurate our calorie count is and the looser a handle we have on how much we are actually intaking

[indiblue]

Also, did some research on the negative calorie food idea. Multiple sites I came across stated that some foods do require a higher percentage of calories to digest them, but the negative calorie concept is not one with scientific backing.

I couldn't find peer reviewed studies on this idea but here are a few references with a bit more credibility than weight loss sites: http://www.time.com/time/specials/pa...896346,00.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/neg...-foods/AN02040

Also, a very old 3FC thread with more useful sources: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/does...rie-foods.html

[MindiV]

I've never counted my basic condiments, like ketchup or mustard. I'll count vegetables, but like someone else mentioned, I don't stress on measuring exactly precise portions. I figure if I go a bit overboard on steamed broccoli I will be fine.

[juliana77]

I am not strict about logging sugarless gum (unless I have more than one or two in a day), spices (other than salt), tea, or diet sodas. Everything else gets entered.

Juliana

[JMfan]

I count everything except spices