Enough Fruit/Veggies? page

[Drifter]

Hi All,


I was wondering when it comes to fruits and veggies how much do you eat? Right now I am eating more than i have in the past but i am not sure if it is enough. My typical day is something like this:


Breakfast:

Eggs

Bacon

Maybe an Apple


Lunch:

Steak/Fish/Chicken/Etc...

Salad (romaine, spinach, red peppers, olives, maybe some broccoli) ... not as big a salad as Marks lol

EVOO based dressing


Dinner:

Steak/Fish/Chicken/Etc...

Stir fry of Spinach, Peppers, maybe some zucchini.


Snacks if needed:

Almonds, walnuts, pistachios

Protein Shake.


Is this enough veggies? What does your typical day look like?

[Beefsister]

I'd say at least 6 servings of veggies a day, which really isn't all that hard to get. I'm not eating very many veggies right now, (probably a serving a day) as I'm trying to get into ketosis for faster weight loss, but once I'm done with that I'll probably be aiming for 8 servings a day, and one serving of fruit.


I'd say you're alright, but I don't really know how many of those veggies you're eating, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Just eat plenty of colors plenty of times a day, 'aight?

[Stabby]

There really isn't such a thing as a veggie requirement but in general I find myself consuming something like an apple, a cup of blueberries, a salad for lunch with 2 cups of spinach, a medium carrot, a cup of cauliflower, some bell peppers and zucchini and then as dinner about 2 cups of steamed or stir-fried vegetables like broccoli, bok choy, squash, beets, etc. I don't think I could ever do VLC due to lack of vegetable crunchage.


The good points of vegetables are vitamin c, beta carotene, potassium, -some- polyphenols, anti-inflammation, depending on your metabolic type balancing PH and preventing acidosis and according to Dr. Mercola they effect gene expression positively and raw vegetables are a good source of "biophotons" although with him I can never know whether he's just off his rocker on the mystical new-agey mumbo jumbo or actually grounded in science.


Having said that, a lot of that can be achieved through certain animal products and nuts/seeds and no carb spices/herbs so I'll never go as far as to say you need vegetables. How many vegetables you should eat will again depend upon your metabolic type and your ability to utilize alternatives

[The Big L]

Drifter -


Your typical diet is eerily similar to mine. Only thing that stands out is that I don't do protein shakes, but I've been drinking some raw milk or having yogurt most days.


Anyway, I make a conscious effort to eat a good number of fruits and veggies most days. Partially because I like the taste, partially because I like variety, partially because it seems to speed my digestion a bit, and partially because I believe it's good for me.


The best way I've found to increase my fruit/veggie intake is to have them as snacks. I'll still snack on nuts and such during the day, but I'll often just grab a whole red bell pepper and eat that. Or a 2nd apple, or a small carrot and a handful of radishes, or I'll parboil some asparagus while waiting for my dinner steak to cook...etc.


If you're not averse to some more carby veggies from time to time, I recommend sweet potatoes and acorn squash. Both are easy and quick to cook up in the microwave (if you're not averse to that too ), and taste phenomenal mashed up with copious amounts of butter.

[lil_earthmomma]

Some days I eat no veggies or fruit. I am trying to lose weight so I definitely find myself limiting my fruit intake.


I love BAS, and when I do eat one, it's huge! I just ate a very large serving bowls worth of BLT salad.


I mostly only eat dark leafy greens (spinach, romaine, kale, mixed greens)... almost every day, either as a salad, or cooked in my dinner. *shrug* Not really worried any more about getting tons of different veggies in everyday.

[BarbeyGirl]

I eat about 10 servings of veggies most days, and 0-2 servings of fruit.


I'm at my goal body composition and very active.

[Sharonll]

Hi, Drifter:

How many fruits and veggies you eat depends almost entirely on your goals. For example, if you're attempting to lose weight, you would want to minimize your intake and focus on eating fat first, then protein, and only a small amount of veggies and an even smaller amount of fruit.


If you're maintaining, then like BarbeyGirl said, you can eat a lot more fruit and veggies. There really is no minimum requirement as vegetables and fruit offer nothing that you can't get from fat and protein, but they certainly add variety and flavor.

[john_e_turner_ii]

I guess we need to define what a serving is. BarbeyGirl states she eats 10 servings of veggies most days.


My definition of a serving of veggies is a cup of chopped vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, etc. I try to eat at least one cup with each meal. I eat 3-4 meals per day, so I get about 3-4 servings per day.


During the week, I usually have 3-4 servings of fruit, total. That comes to a serving of fruit every other day. I usually stick to wild blueberries or bananas.

[BarbeyGirl]

Hi John -- I consider serving sizes about like you do: 1 cup for things like sliced broccoli or carrots, 2 cups for leafy greens, 1/2 cup for berries, 1 small apple, that sort of thing.