calorie counting

[emilycat]

Hey, everyone!

Well, this is kind of an odd topic for me to post, especially since I'm supposed to be "in recovery" (and shouldn't really be focusing on numerical values of food), but I was curious after reading the WW post on the Great Food Board:
For any of you who count calories -- how do keep track of vegetable calories? Do you weigh everything, or do you just estimate?

I must admit, I still sometimes (about 50% of the time) calculate how may calories my meals contain, but I have never calculated veggies. I just figure them as a constant source and don't worry about the actual numbers. I've always felt that since vegetables are so good for me, I shouldn't at all limit how many I eat (and it's just another thing I would obsess about).

Anyway, I know this is kind of a weird question, but I just wondered how much effort you put into figuring out how much you eat each day.

[kwormann]

Because it is in my heritage to gain weight just by looking at food, I should watch WW points, but I dont do it very consistently. I do, however, like the points because it is any easy way to keep track wo the trouble of counting calories!

And, no, I dont count most veggies...cept corn, potatoes, etc.

[Kerri]

I have been counting calories for 17 days now and yes, I do include veggies. I think for me it was a really good think to count them because I have learned that fruits and veggies are some of the only truly low calorie food. I have never been one for healthy eating, so it has been difficult. If I buy in bulk like a bag of potatoes or carrots it usually says the serving size and calories of 1 vegetable and usually I eat just one. I also use this site: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl and can do a search for whatever and they choose a serving size that I can relate to what I ate. They don't have everything, but enough to give me an idea. I am still learning, but I have been good so far.

[emilycat]

Kim and Kerri, you reminded me, so I just wanted to clarify...I do, actually, count starchy vegetables; i.e., sweet and regular potatoes, corn, parsnips, butter peas...

[lindrusso]

When I counted calories, I also did not go way out of my way to count things like lettuce, carrots, etc. The calories they offered were so negligible, it just didn't seem worth it (except in the case of things you noted like potatoes). And I don't really think that you'd do any damage if you went over your calories for the day with a few carrots http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif .

[hhcowgirl]

I, unfortunately, count calories religiously. The way that I count veggie calories is by cups or half-cups. Yes, I use a measuring cup every time. In restaurants, I guesstimate that a fist-size is approximately equal to a cup. Emilycat, when you figure out the road to "recovery" let me know!!