" Free Foods"

[FemmeFatale28]

Soo the time hath come for me to change everything up. I have about 2 weeks left of the training program I am following right now so I figured I should get cracking on "whats next" soo Im reading articles and things online and when I come across nutritional plans I see alot of places saying vegetables ( primarily green) and berries are " free foods" Why? They have calories and I eat them in mass quantities well, green veggies anyway about 2-300cals worth in a day, why on earth would anyone suggest these are "free foods"?

[IronCitGrl]

I am guessing they mean leafy veggies like spinach/lettuce and stuff like celery. The veggies that hardly have any calories.

I think they call them "free foods" because in theory your body burns all the calories from the veggies during the digestion of the fiber found in them.

I don't think they are talking about green beans, broccoli, carrots that stuff adds up.

[FemmeFatale28]

No, they are talking about broccolli, spinach, asparagus, brussel sprouts, blueberries, raspberries ( all berries).. but yeah, not carrots, corn or starchy veggies. When I say I eat green veggies, I mean I PUT THEM AWAY lol.. I go through 3-4lbs of broccoli, 2-3lbs of brussel sprouts, and 10-15 zucchini a week. lol By myself

[Amanda76]

I've never heard of berries being regarded as a free food. I know I can put away enough of those that there's no way to pretend there's enough fiber in it to "negate" the calories.

I think the general "free" foods that people are aware of (leafy greens) are free because MOST people aren't going to be able to/want to eat enough of them to put a dent in their calorie deficit. In addition, most people aren't lean enough to have to be that nit-picky to continue to lean up.

So far as the berries go, I've noticed the general population DOES NOT UNDERSTAND that "good for you" does not equal "calorie free." Starchy carbs have been demonized but the antioxidant content of berries has been glorified, so that's the only thing I can imagine that "rule" you found coming from.

[ives]

On my (admittedly sorta half-assed) cut earlier this year, there were a limited few foods that I didn't always include in my Dailyplate counts: lettuces, spinach, celery, cucumbers, and broccoli. I know when I cut for a competition, every little bite counts, but for the general "clean-up" cut, it was nice to know that if I got ravenous, I could have as much of those veggies as I wanted and only have to "count" whatever I might have used as a topping or sauce. These things are all SO healthy that everyone would be well advised to eat much more of them.

I always counted berries because I was trying to keep track of sugar and how different sugar intake levels made me feel.

[kaundra]

I've never heard of this free food thing. I thought everything counted! Are you sure..I eat alot of celery?

[punxnotdead309]

I just count everything. With the amount of brocoli I eat in a day, it makes a huge difference at the end of my calorie count. Trainers at the gym think I'm crazy that I count brocoli, cauliflower and cabbage, but not the way I go through it!

[Violettraine]

Yes i have heard of this and it is very true except i haven't heard about berries being a "free" FOOD.....I am about 10weeks away from my competition and training hard & eating clean....My coach told me that i can eat as many green veggies as i want in order to keep me satisfied cause of the little calorie and Benefits of all the vitamins in them......my coach also told me to eat blue berries for my 2servings a day cause they burn fat make u retain less water.....Good luck!

[cassiegose]

I actually ate as many green veggies as I wanted while training for my last show (the comp was 2 days ago). For dinner I make a HUGE salad (like 1-2 heads of lettuce) with chicken or fish and salsa. I took first in my class so the veggies must not have made too big of a difference. I stuck primarily to lettuce, celery, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini.

PS: Corn is NOT a veggie.

[kfisherx]

I really think that "free foods" is more for people not on bb.com. AKA the general population who really cannot deal with counting actual calories and subsequently could never actually eat more than 100 cals of those kinds of foods anyway.

I agree with you. I can pack away 300 cals of free foods easily in a day.

[FemmeFatale28]

I just count everything. With the amount of brocoli I eat in a day, it makes a huge difference at the end of my calorie count. Trainers at the gym think I'm crazy that I count brocoli, cauliflower and cabbage, but not the way I go through it!

I really think that "free foods" is more for people not on bb.com. AKA the general population who really cannot deal with counting actual calories and subsequently could never actually eat more than 100 cals of those kinds of foods anyway.

I agree with you. I can pack away 300 cals of free foods easily in a day.

Yeah cuz I tell you what, if all these things were "free" well then I practically eat nothing