Not counting leafy greens and high water veggies is not at all limited to WW plans or food exchange plans. I was given a 1500 calorie plan by my physician a few years ago. It was in booklet form, with calorie counts and a list of vegetables that didn't have to be counted. Some where completely unlimited like parsley, and lettuce, and some where only unlimited if eaten raw (like celery, carrot and bell pepper). I still have a couple weight loss magazines and books from the 70's that also approach calorie counting this way as well.

It's just an alternative way to approach food counts. When I was calorie counting, I rounded up to the nearest five (for easy counting) and didn't count salad vegetables and really high water low cal veggies. Carrots were on the list of "free" veggies if eaten raw on the calorie counting booklet my doctor gave me, but I did count them raw or cooked, because I loved carrots and would eat quite a lot of them. While counting calories this way, I was losing on average 6 lbs a week, so it certainly wasn't holding back my weight loss.

The scale will tell you if you're kidding yourself.

In the short-mid-term, I think it's OK if non-starchy veggie calories are *not* counted since it encourages dieters to incorporate more of those "free foods" into their diets, if only to displace the more calorie-loaded stuff. However, as one gets closer to goal, when every calorie would count more, I think calories from veggies should be factored in, esp. upon discovery of a plateau.

But as others noted, it depends largely on what your personality is like and what you're aiming for.

As for me, I used to not count, but do now (I eat about 200 cal. of veg every day). The only thing I don't count now are my supplements & coffee, which I s'pose is another 100 calories together (fish oil alone makes up 50 of that each day).

I would not count veggies like summer squash,lettuce,carrots, etc. because these foods take a lot of calories for your body to burn and utilize. This is why most Plans we know of do not incorporate them into the picture. They instead ask you to eat them as part of the day to keep the nutrition balanced. Now if you were to add butter or garlic oil over them, you would just count the fats.

If you eat let's say a whole bowl of broccoli or summer squash or califlower, you would be eating quite a bit of fiber. The calories in that veggie would be minimal and knowing what I know about nutrition, you would be passing that veggie out of you with actually no calories taken in. It's the bulk that helps you out. If you can, look at the 365 fiber book. It explains this really well and also, this is a book with a Dietitian in the wings. I knew this info way back in Nursing school and that was 29 years ago. I've been one for 28. The info never changed. I'll tell you why. I do hospital Nursing. I asked our Head Dietitian if you count veggie calories as part of a day. She looked at me and said absolutely not. It takes more calories to burn them and you actually have what's called a negative calorie loss which means you have a greater chance of undoing some damage if you eat higher calorie dense food (small amount) and perhaps ate a large salad or that big bowl of broccoli.

You are right. In my head I am always a WW kind of gal but also, I'm aware of the science of what happens when certain foods fuel the body. I'm also saying that a big bowl of broccoli didn't get me fat. I can't say the same for the ice cream, cake, cookie and cake lol.

I figured I'd better post this because I really wanted to know if the calorie counting group was doing this. I am going to start off without counting non-starchy veggies. If I'm losing weight, I'll stay the course. If I don't, I will regroup and reconsider what I'm doing. I do know that I have to lose 50% of my body weight or more. Being overweight is so dangerous to your health and I am the biggest critic for me.

As far as all that wonderful fiber in veggies, I look at that as an added bonus. Not a reason to discount them calorie wise. I like bonuses.


But NurseChef, you say you need to lose 50% of your body weight, so I think in the beginning if you want to be not so strict with counting your veggie calories that would be fine. You may have to adjust as you get further along in your journey. There's always time and need to tweak as you go along. I certainly have. Without a doubt vegetables have been a KEY player in me losing 1/2 my weight. I without a doubt could not have done it without them. Good luck to you. Eat your veggies - they're my bestest friends.

I like to keep track of my vitamins, minerals and such too. Therefore vegetables have to go into fitday for an accurate count

I don't necessarily do calorie-counting....in fact I don't. My calories are counted for me in the 3 shakes and 2 entrees a day that I eat. Fruits and vegetables are unlimited to me...I can eat as many as i want! I love this....I get addicted to potatoes though and I do limit myself on those and try not to eat them everyday. Most of my veggies are eaten raw, but some of them I love grilled or steamed. I eat a lot of romaine lettuce and asparagus for Folic Acid because someday I want to have enough in my system for a healthy baby.

Back to not counting veggies. Eventually when I'm maintaining I have deteremined that I will do calorie-counting. You guys have all inspired me that it is the way to go for changing a diet over to a lifestyle. Once I do change I will be counting my veggies but lets say I was counting and got hungry, I would turn to a bowl of raw broccoli or some carrots and NOT worry that I went over my calorie intake because it would be minimal and it was a good calorie choice.

As for now though I will continue to eat as many as I like, because the more calories I put into my body that are from veggies, the more energy I get to work out like I do. I need that fiber too to keep me regular.

The all you want fruits and veggies sounds like you're on either Core or the old Freedom Plan. I just found my Freedom Plan books so I am really bummed out what to do here. I also know I'd love to start a 1800 cal diet so I have to think about this some more.

What I probably have to do is to create my own diet and set of rules. Good luck to ya and thanks for your input.

I don't count veggies...if I add oil or nuts or cheese in the cooking, I am sure to count those.

I think sometimes it's easy to get hung up on concern over the "right" way to do things. If doing so adds stress to your life, keeps you from getting started, or demotivates you then it's not a productive question. Just get in there, and start learning about yourself and what works for you.

Oh, most definitely. Veggies have calories, too. And they can add up, just like any calorie can.

Funny how varied everyone is in opinions....I guess I will count veggies myself for now but let me tell you that is not my failing point when it comes to food. A few years ago I did calorie counting and I ate terrible!!!! But I kept it under 1200 most days (felt like crud which is why I quit after about 40 pounds and gain 10 back to my weight today, didn't have this tool back then). I would eat small amounts of terrible foods that had no nutritional value to them, hopefully this time will go better. I yoyo'd for a few years with no significant anything, came to realize I just NEED to count what I eat but since I have NEVER overeaten a veg. in my life...heh oh well I will just try to watch it a bit and see how many cal in veg I do eat this time around, might be interesting to track or set as a goal!

I count all my veggies, but I'm a little free with my lettuce and radishes. I count my dinner salad as one cup of lettuce, but I'm pretty sure it's more than that. I also count just 1 oz of radishes in my dinner salad, but I'm sure that most days I put in more than an oz.

And once in a while I'll get freaked out about this and think that I should count these foods more accurately. But the fact is, lettuce has only 5 to 10 calories per cup and radishes have only around 5 calories per oz. If I'm not losing weight, it's not because I'm not accurately counting these foods. The same thing goes for most other non-starchy vegetables (celery, fennel, peppers, asparagus, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.). So while I do count them, I don't worry about how accurate I am on them.

But for veggies that are high in calories (potatoes, onions, carrots, corn, peas, beans, winter squash, etc.) I am much stricter.

I use Fitday to track what I eat, and I pay attention to calories, fiber, and protein. If I didn't list my veggies, then my fiber count would be way off. So even though including things like "one medium celery stalk" seems ridiculous when you're looking only at calories, it helps when you're trying to eat enough fiber. So I agree with everyone who said that it's a personal thing that depends on what you're tracking, how exact you're trying to be, and whether the idea of "free" anything would lead you to overeat. But you have to find what works for you.