Lots of fruit/veggies?

A

Alabaster

0
Hi,

I'm overweight but I've been losing weight as a result of eating better and exercising. I've always been a burger-and-fries, potato chips kind of guy, and I tend to snack a lot.

I'm trying to redirect my snacking urges towards more healthy things. Now instead of reaching for a bag of chips, I snack on raw veggies (cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, peapods, etc.) or fruits (mixed berries, or an apple/orange/lemon/etc.)

I don't tend to regulate my fruit/vegetable intake--I figure I can pretty much eat my fill of this stuff without having a negative effect on my weight loss. At any rate it's better than the alternative (it used to be chips, cheese & crackers, etc.).

Am I way off base here? Is my fruit/vegetable snacking going to be a big problem? Do I need to be very careful to watch serving sizes with this stuff?

Thanks
chris.
 
yes, eating fruits/vegetables are healthy! & u need to start counting ur calorie intake though if u want to lose weight.

and i respect the fact that you are trying to lose weight and changing your eating habitgs. :] great start man!
 
Thanks for the response. I realize that fruits and vegetables are healthy, but I was mainly wondering whether I need to be very careful to eat them in moderation, or whether I can get away with just snacking away on them.

Thanks,
chris.
 
Alabaster said:
Thanks for the response. I realize that fruits and vegetables are healthy, but I was mainly wondering whether I need to be very careful to eat them in moderation, or whether I can get away with just snacking away on them.

Thanks,
chris.
Click to expand...

heh

yeh. u need to moderate what you eat.

oversnackin could mean eating over your "desired" goal calories for the day.
you should drink lots of water, to curve your apetite :]
 
Technically, yes you should be aware of how many calories you are taking in from produce...

However, it would be sufficient to write down everything you eat for a few days in a row, and averaging out your calorie intake. That way, you know if you're taking in too many calories, and if so, you could cut back on them elsewhere.
Don't worry about counting the vegetable calories though- tomatoes, broccoli, celery and carrots have very few calories per cup (an average of about 40 cals per cup). Fruits pack about 100 cals for the average fruit, so those you should eat in moderation (2-5 servings a day).

Hope this helps!
 
Don't get caught up in regulating fruit and vegetable intake.. If you eat some at every meal, you'll be in great shape, especially if you're replacing fries and potato chips with fruit. Just make sure you have a balanced diet and you'll continue shedding fat.

Good luck!
 
I'm just very curious about this. I know there's no substitute for raw vegetables and all, but I just can't seem to quite get accustomed to the taste of them (cooked or raw really). I really only like broccoli (and not a LOT), green beans and peas. However I have found that I don't have a problem eating carrots and other things that I normally dislike, when they are really mushy in a stew or pot roast. Is it still ok to eat them like that, or have they basically lost any nutritional value from the roast or stew?
 
The problems with eating all your vegetables all mushed up in stuff like stews:
1). Stews tend to be loaded with saturated fat from the meat (which needs to be well marbled for tenderness), and that can counterbalance the effects of eating lots of vegetables
2). Your vegetables are overcooked and all mushed: when you overcook vegetables, their nutritional contents break down and are therefore not readily absorbed in the body.
3). You are getting way too many calories that way! Vegetables are incredibly low-cal foods, but not when they are soaked in meat juice...

My advice to you would be to eat the vegetables (often!) even though you don't really like them. Eventually, you'll begin to enjoy them (as I did with many vegetables, mushrooms, cabbage and bok choy among them). Also, try different lowfat veggie recipes, and veggies in lots of different ways. One note: when you go to eat the vegetables, don't tell yourself that you don't like them! Psych yourself out by saying that they really are so good, and so good for you!

Do you like salsa? You could take jarred salsa and step it up with chopped tomatoes, green onions and jalapenos- serve with baked chips or pita chips.

Asparagus is another mild tasting vegetable that you might enjoy. Snap the woody ends off of fresh asparagus, steam just until barely fork tender, then toss in olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Roast at 400F for about 5 minutes, or until completely cooked. Serve with sliced lemon and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

How about sweet potatoes? Peel, slice and microwave in a partially covered dish with a few tbsp of water, until tender and mushable (about 10 min). Top with lowfat tub margarine (like smart balance), and cinnamon sugar (or alternatively, you could use the margarine with sugar;or splenda; and lemon for a cleaner taste).

For more recipes that you might enjoy, try searching at www.allrecipes.com . They have tons of great recipes that might get you to enjoy vegetables ;o)
 
I second that. Thanks for the website.
 
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