Well I disagree. I do not count them in because they do not have any calories that are dense enough to support weight gain. The reason I do not count them is not because they contain little calories, I do not count them because they do not really have anything to do with weight. You can not gain fat or muscle on fruits, because they do not contain fats nor protein. Carbs they do contain, true enough. However they are far from dense enough. Take oatmeal for instance, that is a different story, there are tons of carbs and some fats and protein. Thus, it is a calorie dense, whole food, in contrast to an apple or orange, which are not calorie dense.

Also think about when people think that fruits can lead to any weight gain. Let's say you are on a low carb diet, now you will be scared to eat fruits, which is just absurd. Therefore counting them in hinders you from getting in those essentiall vitamins and fibers. This is actually fairly common, which is why I have a desire to emphasize that you can eat as much fruits and vegetables you want, without it making you gain weight. Most people eat way to little of it anyway, so there is another issue and another reason not to count them as calories.

Another example would be if you would have to hit exaclty 2000 calories. Let's say that you eat 5 fruits and 5 vegetables, a fair amount of calories. If you count these in toward your 2000 calorie goal and hit that goal based on that consumption. You might miss out on protein and fats, the next day you realize this and stop eating that amount of fruits and vegetables. Maybe now you only ate a carrot and a kiwi, which is to little when it comes to vitamin goals.

 

left the house and did some HIIT out of frustration....lol Cant swim though...lol

William,

 

I understand your logic but you have to view it in relation to biology - especially human biology. Take apes. They are some of the most muscular animals on the planet. Their diet is 100% fruits and vegetables. Look at bulls and horses. They are not carnivores and they are very muscular and they eat mostly grains. Now granted they have to eat continuosly as the nutritional denisty of their diet is not like humans as omnivores. They have a different digestive systems which is longer and in the instance of bovines has 2 stomachs. This provides a larger surface area and longer digestion time to help the body extract every last nutrient it can get.

 

Fruits and vegetables have fats and proteins. The amounts vary dramatically which is why vegetarians have to eat a very wide selection of foods to make sure they get all the protein and fats they need to sustain their bodies. You can't view a calorie purely on a macro nutrient level. Micro-nutrients are more important than macro nutrients for without them the body can't absorb and utilize your macronutrients. This is where fruits and vegetables are king as they are 90% micro-nutrient dense and 10% macro nutrient dense. Most disease states including cancer are actually diseases of malnutrition at the MICRO-nutrient level.

 

The calories they provide do contribute to total calorie expenditure therefore they need to be counted in your overall meal plan. A calorie is a calorie regardless of its nutritional "density". This is why people who drink diet soda actually get fatter than people who drink regular soda. The reason being is people don't count the calories diet soda has and coincidentally neither does your brain. This leads to overeating - which is taking in more calories than you need - which leads to weight gain. This same phenomenon will happen with a meal plan if you set a target caloric intake yet ignore calories coming from fruits and vegetables. I agree fruit is beneficial and when eaten in moderation can still help someone get lean. The main difference between fruits and vegetables are their glycemic index. Fruit contains fructose, an especially sweet sugar, which gets processed differently from glucose and is metabolized in the liver. This is why food companies make high fructose corn syrup - it is much sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Vegetables contain glucose so their metabolic pathway is diferent from fruit. This is why people can get fat eating too much fruit but not when eating tons of vegetables in their natural state :-)

 

John

Well...out of curiosity...just weighted myself again. Flat lined at 172...guess ive been doing it for a month and a half(time flies when you hate what you eat). Lost 10lbs in the first month...last two weeks...not a lb...ugh

Yes I fully understand what you are saying. It is just that I think not everyone should count in fruits and vegetables. An example would be a guy who rarely eats them and when he finally does, he counts them in. This hinders him in consuming the amount that is ideal for his body. The same goes for people who does not have enough knowledge about fruits and vegetables so they count them in and eat more of them than they eat whole foods that are rich on protein. Which makes them get tons of sugary carbs from fruit but little protein from fish and red meat for instance.

I for instance, should not in my own opinion count them in, because I work as hard as I do and I eat a lot. I am also fairly lean and have a healthy amount of BF on me. My habit therefore works well for me. And I think it will work well for a lot of people. However I get what you are saying, a calorie is indeed a calorie and when on a very precise cut, every calorie counts. But this does not apply for everyone, hence the reason why I do not count them and why I think not everyone should. But it is like you say of course, biologically it is correct. But at the same time it should not apply for everyone in my opinion. Because I know so may people who have to little knowledge to understand what they are fully doing. Which either prevents them from getting the vitamins they need, or eat so much fruit that they miss out on vital proteins.

I do a fair amount of cardio already (running 3 times a week and HIIT 1-2 days...Im going to change it up so do more HIIT and the odd run here and there for variety)

 

Macros...ah yes...macros...No idea, not into that stuff yet. My carbs are already as low as I want to take them...roughly about 100g's per day (1/3rd my recommended). I run anywhere frm 300-700cal deficit typically...average 500.

 

And, Ive tried several times to learn to swim cause I know its great exercise....I cant even float...but hey...I dont have webbed feet so I dont think I was meant to..lol