can one eat too many fruits and veggies?
 

ok, this may seem like a really stupid question, but can a person gain weight by eating too much produce? I am a grazer during the day, i constantly shovel in veggies and some fruits pretty much all day at work. mostly things like grapes, carrots,red peppers,cauliflower,celery,radishes,cukes, and i always have a v-8 with a splash of hot sauce. latley, ive really kicked it up by eating more of these....partly because the fresh produce is starting to look so beautiful this time of year, and partly so i dont over-indulge later in the evening. i am pretty much full all day, because i cant get enough of these, but it occured to me yesterday that these veggies have calories, and eventually enough calories will turn to fat, so i was wondering if i could gain weight if i eat too much of these?

I would say Yes and No. How's that for decisiveness!! Like you said, too much of anything is not good and don't forget, fruit though natural has a lot of sugar, some fruits more than others. Also, some veggies have high water content (like lettuce and celery) and if you are taking in sodium (v-8 is probably high in sodium), could be you are retaining water. You don't see many tubby vegetarians, so......

Good luck on you quest.
Donna

I am no expert here but I would say just count them and up the calories. In WW they count points. If you stay within your points or calories you should be fine.
Excess is not good in any form. And remember to watch out for those hidden sugars in many fruits. But it you count it ... you should be fine I would think. Don't forget though.. your body needs more than just fruits and veggies. Don't forget dairy, meat, fats, grains, etc. You need to count it all.

here's some info for you:

Grapes - Amount Per 1 cup - Calories 113.6
Carrots - Amount Per 1 cup - Calories 47.3
Red Pepper - Amount Per 1 large pepper (3-3/4" long, 3" dia) - Calories 50.22
Cauliflower - Amount Per 1 cup - Calories 25
Celery - Amount Per 1 cup - Calories 19.2
Radishes - Amount Per 1 cup, slices - Calories 23.2
Cukes - Amount Per 1 large (8-1/4" long) - Calories 33.6
V-8 - Amount Per 8 ounce glass - Calories 50

Hope this helps,
Elaine

I second (or third?) the opinion that you have to count the veggie and fruit calories, or you will be blind-sided by those calories. I don't want to discourage you from making them a large part of your diet... making them your primary source of calories will probably help you lose weight and get the nutrition you need. But, they do add up. An apple here, a tomato there, etc. Fruits and veggies are the largest part of what I eat, but I still have to watch my intake. And as you can see from the previous post, some fruits and veggies have a lot more calories than others!

I thank all of You for your help. I am a semi-vegetarian, I dont eat red meat or poultry, so fruits and veggies make up a good part of my diet. Ahhh, if only i could embrace the vegan lifestyle, but i LOVE dairy.....cheese specifically. And sweets. I find that now that I am a bit older(32), i cant eat as much cheese and as many sweets as i want without gaining a bit of weight. Also, I want to adopt a healthier lifestyle before health problems begin to arise. So my long-term goal is to get the muenster cheese and sweets thing to moderate intake. sounds silly i know. ;)

Well I guess I will once again be the "odd one out" as I think for the most part you can eat pretty much all the fruits and veggies you want... at least I can; maybe others cannot. Yes, they have calories and natural sugar... but at least for ME my body digests them MUCH better than those in other foods. I eat a pretty good supply of fruits and veggies... and I am losing weight steadily. But then I don't count calories in anything else either... just eat what I know is healthful, and exercise. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about food, writing stuff down, etc. I just do it... for me it works.

Sue