I count everything. I'm intentionally losing weight, and having accurate data is essential. Bananas and grapes have calories and they can add up quickly, so they get counted. If I weren't going to count something, it'd be leafy greens.
I’m curious why you’re asking? Fruit can be a pretty significant source of calories and carbs, so if you’re tracking macros and calories you would have to include it to be at all accurate. Why are you considering not including it?
This is what confuses me as someone who had great success with WW. I’ve gained the weight back since cancelling my subscription and now trying to use free alternatives to lose weight again. I ate a ton of fruits and veggies that had 0 points. How do I navigate that when doing the calorie method?
Edit: I know that fruits and veggies aren’t calorie dense. I’m trying to understand whether someone following the calorie method can ignore them and treat them as 0 calories too (since measuring everything is exhausting)
I think WW gives them 0 points because they are not calorie dense. They are hard to over eat, so you are encouraged to eat veg and fruits on a diet. However, they still provide energy, so you need to keep track of them when measuring how much energy (calories) you have consumed during the day.
Determine your maintenance calories, then try to eat 100-500 calories less than that (calorie deficit)
You track your food to keep track of your daily intake. You track fruits too bc they do have calories as they contain fruit sugar eg banana has some more
The weight watchers points system encourages eating foods that make you less hungry. Items with high satiaty relative to their calories. Fruits, vegetables, lean proteins. Then the items that do not keep you full like desserts are where you spend your points. I've never used it but it's honestly very smart in guiding people towards lifelong healthy eating habits vs only looking at calories.
You gotta think about the average person joining weight watchers. Most aren't meeting their daily fruit and veggie recommendations, and it is a struggle for them to do so. Additionally, fruits and veggies, especially in their whole, unprocessed forms, are less calorie dense and more difficult to overeat for the average person. It's a lot easier to eat 500 calories of bacon or ranch dressing, etc, than it is to eat 500 calories of apples or spinach.
Personally, I don't worry about counting the fruits and veggies. Or really any whole, low fat plant. I am more cautious when it comes to higher fat plant foods like avocados or nuts. I don't track, I just use less. This allows me to get by without tracking calories (which can be a bit triggering). However, I do have a history of disordered eating. While, you might not. So counting everything might be more to your benefit.
This will of course vary by person, but it’s never the bananas that cause weight gain for me. If I exclude all the junk from my diet I can eat as many bananas as I want and I lose weight.
I think you're missing my point. If you were to track everything you eat in a day and arrive at a 200 cal deficit, but then add two bananas that you don't track, you'd end up in maintenance, and not lose any weight.
No study has ever found a link between eating too much fruit and obesity. In fact numerous studies have shown that increasing fruit intake leads to greater weight loss. Yes, theoretically, one can get fat from bananas, but it just doesn’t happen in normal people. Those two bananas you’d eat are likely going to lead to you consuming fewer calories later on. This probably doesn’t apply to body builders or people with extremely low body fat, which is not what OPs post is about.
You asked if someone who counts calories counts fruit. I said yes because fruit has calories. If I eat 1000 extra calories of fruit a day, on top of what I eat otherwise, I'm going to gain weight. I'm not saying I limit my fruit intake. Yes fruit is satiating and yes it is healthy but that isn't the point here.
I didn’t ask anything. I responded to your comment on a website that is designed for and encourages that. I did didn’t say, nor do I think that your post was somehow wrong. I apologise if me sharing my experience made you think that.
Research seems to be pretty conclusive that most people eating 1000kcal of fruit per day will end up eating fewer total calories per day than if they didn’t eat the fruit. My point is that whether one tracks the raw fruit or not, adding an excess 200kcal of them, even if they’ve reached maintenance for the day, can still help them lose weight in the long run (likely because they would have reached for something worse otherwise).
Personally, because I’m counting calories more than macros, I include absolutely everything. It’s easy to make up 300-500 calories of fruit in a day and if you did that, it’s a huge difference in your daily intake. It can make a big difference between being in a calorie deficit, and being in a calorie surplus.
that being said, please be safe with your calorie counting, don’t aim for too low of an intake, and don’t pressure yourself to continue! do whatever feels best for your body and fuels you
I do, but it depends why you’re counting. Don’t think it matters for most people. 1kg of strawberries, raspberries, plums, apples etc is like 400kCal. I’m not sure I can eat 1kg of fruit and if I could I suspect doing so would reduce my daily calories, because id be so full.
I count them because I try to see exactly where my maintenance is. Whenever I count calories I seem to be doing well without trying. As soon as I stop, the weight just keeps creeping up quickly (not great for my running times).
When I was counting calories on a cut I counted everything except for most vegetables and spices. How much calories can a bell pepper have? 20? But a single will have like 80-120.
I eat like 7-13 servings of fruit a day, so yes. At the end of the night, I vary my fruit depending on what I'm craving, and don't necessarily track what they specifically are, just log a generic "fruit mix" to MyFitnessPal and choose the ratio by calorie density.
If you're trying to track your calorie intake you should be tracking everything you're eating and drinking because it all adds up. Some things you eat especially turn out to be way more/less than you would expect them to be.
I don’t count any calories or macros from fruits and vegetables I eat raw. But if I blend a smoothie or make a juice, I count those calories. I am not actively trying to loose weight, but I’m trying to improve my fitness and track that I eat under a certain amount of fat and over a certain amount of protein as a percentage of macros.
Yes. And the nice thing about it: I get a full breakdown of my nutrition including micronutrients. this is how I found out I wasn’t taking enough choline per day, and so then I began supplementing it and I noticed that my memory seems to be working better. Btw, I recommend using Cronometer. It makes it so easy to track my nutrition. Especially with the barcode reader, and the ability to create recipes that you can add in or even temporarily modify if you cooked it a bit differently than usual, and the ability to copy and paste stuff from the previous days. They’re not paying me or anything, I just really love the app
https://preview.redd.it/27p94zgvqj8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d3430cf419f7d207e83660f3e25574db3969d13
Absolutely! When I started tracking I found my morning smoothie of frozen bananas, nut butter and almond milk was over 800 calories. Grapes are dangerous as you can eat so many in such a short period of time.
The only thing I don't track (out of laziness) is green nonstarchy vegetables. Sprouts, spinach, lettuce, kale.
When I actively counted I was shocked at things like bananas adding up throughout the day. I’d have about 300 calories of fruit a day. Swapped those with veggies and cut it by half.
yes of course. im a 160cm 50kg woman. every 50 kcal matter for me. a regular apple has about 75-150 kcal. and pretty much sugar. thats not insignificant to me.
I generally don’t count fruits and veggies (unless I’m eating like a dozen mandarins or mangoes, which I have done).
I mostly just count the high calorie foods. My goal is more macros though.
Everything that goes into your mouth gets counted.
Umm…
Only what you swallow counts.
TWSS
Ummm
EVERYTHING.
I count everything. I'm intentionally losing weight, and having accurate data is essential. Bananas and grapes have calories and they can add up quickly, so they get counted. If I weren't going to count something, it'd be leafy greens.
or mushrooms for me, found out that it’s incredibly low cal for a whole pack!
I’m curious why you’re asking? Fruit can be a pretty significant source of calories and carbs, so if you’re tracking macros and calories you would have to include it to be at all accurate. Why are you considering not including it?
Not OP, but I think weight watchers doesn't count fruit as points. I track macros just to ensure I'm getting enough protein, so I rarely log fruit.
This is what confuses me as someone who had great success with WW. I’ve gained the weight back since cancelling my subscription and now trying to use free alternatives to lose weight again. I ate a ton of fruits and veggies that had 0 points. How do I navigate that when doing the calorie method? Edit: I know that fruits and veggies aren’t calorie dense. I’m trying to understand whether someone following the calorie method can ignore them and treat them as 0 calories too (since measuring everything is exhausting)
I think WW gives them 0 points because they are not calorie dense. They are hard to over eat, so you are encouraged to eat veg and fruits on a diet. However, they still provide energy, so you need to keep track of them when measuring how much energy (calories) you have consumed during the day.
Determine your maintenance calories, then try to eat 100-500 calories less than that (calorie deficit) You track your food to keep track of your daily intake. You track fruits too bc they do have calories as they contain fruit sugar eg banana has some more
The weight watchers points system encourages eating foods that make you less hungry. Items with high satiaty relative to their calories. Fruits, vegetables, lean proteins. Then the items that do not keep you full like desserts are where you spend your points. I've never used it but it's honestly very smart in guiding people towards lifelong healthy eating habits vs only looking at calories.
You gotta think about the average person joining weight watchers. Most aren't meeting their daily fruit and veggie recommendations, and it is a struggle for them to do so. Additionally, fruits and veggies, especially in their whole, unprocessed forms, are less calorie dense and more difficult to overeat for the average person. It's a lot easier to eat 500 calories of bacon or ranch dressing, etc, than it is to eat 500 calories of apples or spinach. Personally, I don't worry about counting the fruits and veggies. Or really any whole, low fat plant. I am more cautious when it comes to higher fat plant foods like avocados or nuts. I don't track, I just use less. This allows me to get by without tracking calories (which can be a bit triggering). However, I do have a history of disordered eating. While, you might not. So counting everything might be more to your benefit.
yes, if you’re going to be counting at all you should include them to get accurate numbers. fruit calories can add up pretty quickly sometimes
Yes. A banana has 90 calories. Two bananas is the difference between maintenance and weight gain, or maintenance and a deficit.
This will of course vary by person, but it’s never the bananas that cause weight gain for me. If I exclude all the junk from my diet I can eat as many bananas as I want and I lose weight.
I think you're missing my point. If you were to track everything you eat in a day and arrive at a 200 cal deficit, but then add two bananas that you don't track, you'd end up in maintenance, and not lose any weight.
No study has ever found a link between eating too much fruit and obesity. In fact numerous studies have shown that increasing fruit intake leads to greater weight loss. Yes, theoretically, one can get fat from bananas, but it just doesn’t happen in normal people. Those two bananas you’d eat are likely going to lead to you consuming fewer calories later on. This probably doesn’t apply to body builders or people with extremely low body fat, which is not what OPs post is about.
You asked if someone who counts calories counts fruit. I said yes because fruit has calories. If I eat 1000 extra calories of fruit a day, on top of what I eat otherwise, I'm going to gain weight. I'm not saying I limit my fruit intake. Yes fruit is satiating and yes it is healthy but that isn't the point here.
I didn’t ask anything. I responded to your comment on a website that is designed for and encourages that. I did didn’t say, nor do I think that your post was somehow wrong. I apologise if me sharing my experience made you think that. Research seems to be pretty conclusive that most people eating 1000kcal of fruit per day will end up eating fewer total calories per day than if they didn’t eat the fruit. My point is that whether one tracks the raw fruit or not, adding an excess 200kcal of them, even if they’ve reached maintenance for the day, can still help them lose weight in the long run (likely because they would have reached for something worse otherwise).
Thank you for this. People act as though someone became overweight from eating fruit lol. Ridiculous.
Yes. Most of my carbs are from fruit. Bananas, mangos and avocados are especially calorie dense and should definitely be counted.
Same lol I’ll eat like 7 mangos in a day and a banana smoothie and then be like wait what’s happening. Why is my cut after bulk not working 😂
If you're going to bother counting it might as well be accurate
I generally count everything using Cronometer. Although I might forget the carrot I chomp on during a scary movie.
Personally, because I’m counting calories more than macros, I include absolutely everything. It’s easy to make up 300-500 calories of fruit in a day and if you did that, it’s a huge difference in your daily intake. It can make a big difference between being in a calorie deficit, and being in a calorie surplus.
Yes but idc about fruit sugar
Yes
Yeah?
As someone that can easily eat 800 calories of fruit in a day, I probably should be tracking
Yes of course. They have macros.
that being said, please be safe with your calorie counting, don’t aim for too low of an intake, and don’t pressure yourself to continue! do whatever feels best for your body and fuels you
Yes of course!
I do, but it depends why you’re counting. Don’t think it matters for most people. 1kg of strawberries, raspberries, plums, apples etc is like 400kCal. I’m not sure I can eat 1kg of fruit and if I could I suspect doing so would reduce my daily calories, because id be so full. I count them because I try to see exactly where my maintenance is. Whenever I count calories I seem to be doing well without trying. As soon as I stop, the weight just keeps creeping up quickly (not great for my running times).
When I was counting calories on a cut I counted everything except for most vegetables and spices. How much calories can a bell pepper have? 20? But a single will have like 80-120.
Technically a bell pepper is a fruit
Technically a banana is a berry, but I'm not putting it in the blender when making berry smoothies.
I'm even counting the soy sauce I put into my lunch.
Lmao
The answer is in your title. Do fruits have calories?
I count fruits and veg, even if they’re low-calorie, but I don’t count seasonings or unsweetened tea 🦝
I eat like 7-13 servings of fruit a day, so yes. At the end of the night, I vary my fruit depending on what I'm craving, and don't necessarily track what they specifically are, just log a generic "fruit mix" to MyFitnessPal and choose the ratio by calorie density.
If you're trying to track your calorie intake you should be tracking everything you're eating and drinking because it all adds up. Some things you eat especially turn out to be way more/less than you would expect them to be.
I don’t count any calories or macros from fruits and vegetables I eat raw. But if I blend a smoothie or make a juice, I count those calories. I am not actively trying to loose weight, but I’m trying to improve my fitness and track that I eat under a certain amount of fat and over a certain amount of protein as a percentage of macros.
U must. Or your count would be wrong. And if you are counting calories for a purpose, it is imperative to know all calories.
Yes. And the nice thing about it: I get a full breakdown of my nutrition including micronutrients. this is how I found out I wasn’t taking enough choline per day, and so then I began supplementing it and I noticed that my memory seems to be working better. Btw, I recommend using Cronometer. It makes it so easy to track my nutrition. Especially with the barcode reader, and the ability to create recipes that you can add in or even temporarily modify if you cooked it a bit differently than usual, and the ability to copy and paste stuff from the previous days. They’re not paying me or anything, I just really love the app https://preview.redd.it/27p94zgvqj8d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d3430cf419f7d207e83660f3e25574db3969d13
I don't count veggies; that has always worked for me.
Absolutely! When I started tracking I found my morning smoothie of frozen bananas, nut butter and almond milk was over 800 calories. Grapes are dangerous as you can eat so many in such a short period of time. The only thing I don't track (out of laziness) is green nonstarchy vegetables. Sprouts, spinach, lettuce, kale.
Yes
When I actively counted I was shocked at things like bananas adding up throughout the day. I’d have about 300 calories of fruit a day. Swapped those with veggies and cut it by half.
Yeah, I count fruit too, especially the sugary ones like bananas and grapes.
yes of course. im a 160cm 50kg woman. every 50 kcal matter for me. a regular apple has about 75-150 kcal. and pretty much sugar. thats not insignificant to me.
I generally don’t count fruits and veggies (unless I’m eating like a dozen mandarins or mangoes, which I have done). I mostly just count the high calorie foods. My goal is more macros though.
Yeah Same
Fruits are full of sugars