I don't count calories in fruit

Am I killing my diet? I do realize that there are calories in fruit, and that there's sugar, but when fruit is so healthy and beneficial in so many ways, I can't bring myself to say no to a banana, just because it has over 100 calories. Same goes for a good deal of veggies: raw baby carrots, celery, spinach, etc.

I eat about 1,200 calories a day (except the last few days because of the dreaded you-know-what) in addition to probably a couple hundred calories in fruit and veggies.

Good, bad, indifferent?

Advice is very, very much appreciated!

Bottom line is how is if your total daily calories are within an allowed amount that will let you lose weight.  Since 1200 is the bare minimum for a sedentary female, adding a few hundred calories of fruit sounds healthy.  I say good!

You don't need to cut them out, but you should log your vegetables and fruits as well if you're not already, so that your food log is more accurate. Even if you are eating healthy, if you still eat healthy foods but eat over your maintenance level then you will gain weight.

I think it's good! As long as you eat below maintenance, you'll lose weight. You don't have to be exact and eat the same number of calories every day. What's your average calories burned per day? Especially if it's around 2000, it would be good for you to get a few hundred fruit calories in.

I add fruits because I read the analysis to make sure I'm getting my nutrients for the day.

The tool on this site says that  I burn an average of 1,600 calories per day. Honestly, I've been calorie counting for a good many years, and I'm still trying to figure stuff out.

Being healthy is confusing!

I would still count them, especially if you eat a lot of fruit (veggies, typically, are lower cal).  However, if you go over your allotment by 100 calories just b/c you wanted a banana, I wouldn't fret over it.

fruit calories do vary by a lot

strawberry-5 cal

banana 120 cal

Oooooh that's a dangerous game. I saw an episode of X-Weighted once where this woman was completely stumped about why she kept gaining weight . She watched her portions carefully and always opted for healthy snacks instead of fast food. She traveled for work quite a lot and always kept bags of large apples in her car to snack on while driving to avoid the drive-thru temptations.  If I recall she ate about 5 apples a day while driving. At approximately 100 cals each, that's 500 cals a day, 3500 cals a week. That's a weight gain of 52 pounds in a year if you are not accounting for them!

The moral of the story? EVERYTHING you eat counts so add it up and know your numbers if you want to shed the pounds.

This thread got me wondering, "how many calories do I get in a day from fruit and vegetables?".  So, I added up the fruits and veges that I've eaten so far today (including the fruit in the work fridge that I'll eat in about 15 minutes) and it added up to about 560 (and a whopping 26 grams of fiber!).  Plus, this doesn't include dinner.

Maybe I eat more fruits and vegetables than typical but, if I ate 1200 calories in non-fruits and veges and still ate my fruits and veges, I'd eat over 1800 calories in a day when I'm aiming for 1400-1500.  Personally, I'm glad I count my fruits and vegetables.

But, if not counting them works for you, don't worry about it.

AH! I'm the same way. I only count calories for bananas but not strawberries or grapes or melon (which is probably bad). I try to eat 1500 calories a day but usually end up going over 200-300.

I always figured if its between being hungry/craving something I'd rather just had the friut....

ive heard some say you absolutely dont need to count veggies. some say count every morsel you put in your mouth.

when my lifestyle was more active, i did not count my fruits or veggies either.

now that ive been doing this for a while and have more experience, my PERSONAL OPINION is the average person should probably count fruit, just because ALL the calories come from sugar. no one really needs to count vegetables, except corn.

one more thing and im done. what alot of people on this site do not seem to get, and im not going to waste my time explaining because i know no one will listen, but 1200 calories for the average woman is malnutrition. 1200 calories are the bare minimum needs of a SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE. do you sit in the same spot all day long, not moving except to go to the bathroom or raise food to your lips? i dont think so, or else i would have seen more threads by you. so, what you're doing is actually a really GEAT way to count your calories. you're counting the fats, proteins, and refined carbohydrates. fruit and veggies, while high in sugar, deliver vitimins and minerals, most of the time more that those other things that you count. so in the end, i believe you probably have an incredibly balanced diet.

good for you!

I've had the same question.  Fruit and veggies are so good for you why count them.  Then when I remembered that a medium banana is about 100 calories, I figured I need to count those calories.  Counting veggie calories is pointless I think, they are so low in calories.  Although I do agree with everyone, you need to count all calories you put in your body, then you'd get a more accurate count.  ALthough the way you do it seems like a very interesting way to go.  Might not be so bad. 

yeah even I believe, one should count every thing one puts in his/her mouth. I totally count the calories in the fruits and even in the beverages. after all, that's what calorie count means!! no matter whether that food has A+ or C-.

i thought the same thing until i looked at what i was doing! i didnt log my healthy foods, so my log was off, and i began justifying sneaking in high cal foods since my calories were so low.... after a little while i noticed i wasnt losing weight and i traced it back to my lack of logs! lol so log your fruit and veggies to keep you away from junk food and diet spoilers =]

 

happy dieting! -LiTE-BRiTE