The FastDay Forum

Hey, As you know that green veggies are rich source of energy and I found few veggies that really work to keep you fit and help in weight loss if you eat them up daily. These are:
1 Broccoli
2 Sprouts
3 Cucumber
4 Carrot
5 Spinach
6 Celery
7 Beans

[carorees]

Hey, As you know that green veggies are rich source of energy and I found few veggies that really work to keep you fit and help in weight loss if you eat them up daily. These are:
1 Broccoli
2 Sprouts
3 Cucumber
4 Carrot
5 Spinach
6 Celery
7 Beans

Help in weight loss? How exactly do they help in weight loss apart from taking up space in your stomach otherwise taken up by higher calorie foods? Where is your evidence that they help with weight loss? Also why these vegetables in particular? You mention green vegetables being good and then list two non-green vegetables! Finally, green vegetables are hardly a rich source of energy. They are a rich source of minerals not of energy.

Don't get me wrong, I am sure we should all be eating more veggies but not necessarily these and not for the reasons given!

I'm sure that BabydollAngel means that you can pile your plate up with vegetables without using up too many calories. That's what I do on fast days, either a huge stir fry or vegetable soup with a little protein. Some people eat mostly protein to fill them up but eating loads of vegetables works for me. Not sure about the energy but think of all the antioxidants in the different coloured veggies.

Hi Babydollangel,i got talking to a nutritionist once on a train and she told me the best thing for anti ageing is eating plenty of green veggies.
Now that i know i should nt be eating so much fruit, i' m eating my green veg and all the other colours too..love to see a rainbow of colours on my plate! XX i must admit tho,i dont eat cuke, i hate the smell and taste,but can crunch celery til the cows come home!

@candicemarie is Cuke scouse for cucumber?
My fastday veg today was fennel and celeriac soup - with a touch of turmeric and English mustard, dop of butter and stock. Just right for a winters eve. Ahh. Frozen the remainder for lunches ahead.

Oh that soup sounds good @lizbean..i might make some..but i would have to hold the mustard..
And yes cuke is shorthand for cucumber! X

Only a tiny bit of mustard is required to warm it up a tad.
@babydollangel what veggies are you cooking up? I still have fennel in the fridge so I'm planning a finely sliced fennel salad with courgette ribbons, marinated in lemon, crushed garlic olive oil and rosemary. To serve with fish.

I would love to explain it more how these helps in weight loss.

Broccoli
I love this vegetables and I am sure that you love it too. You can eat it up in different forms, cooked, boiled, raw and without salt. Choice is your! It is highly rich in Vitamin C, A and great source of fibers. More interesting thing, It does not contain fat at all. It is a low calorie vegetable. Including it in your diet plan must help you to lose weight easily. It lowers the cholesterol, keeps your heart healthy and lowers the risk of cancer.

Beans
Beans are very nutritious dieting food. It has high amount of fibers and antioxidants. It is also very rich in protein so you can cut down your meat intake because it is sufficient to provide as much protein as you get from meat. Expert says that a cup of beans intake daily if you wish to reduce your weight fast. Balancing your calories intake is one of major requirements in weight loss and you can do it with beans easily by adding them into your diet plan.
Spinach
In fact, it is a brilliant leafy green vegetable when you are seeking to weight loss. You can cook it and use it raw in your salads however it should be cooked lightly otherwise it may be lost its amazing nutritious elements. A single cup of spinach contains 7 grams of calories and only one gram carbohydrate. Apart from that, It provides iron, magnesium, calcium, folate and plenty of antioxidants. It is low calorie food that helps in weight loss when you intake it regularly in your diets.
Celery
It is an another brilliant vegetable that can be eaten up raw. It contains pretty much water and no calories and great source of fibers.While attempting to lose weight, It is advised to eat low calorie vegetables and celery is a good example of that. It makes a great snack by itself or a crunchy topping for a salad!
Sprouts
Sprouts are very healthy food. It is a good source of Vitamin C, B and carotene. It helps the absorption of minerals. It is best to cook sprouts before eating because raw sprouts contain irritating substances and bacteria. The good thing about sprouts is that it can be digested easily. If you are on dieting for weight loss then sprouts are great as it contains low calories. In addition, It reduces high blood pressure, hypertension and heart related issues. Eating sprouts regularly help you maintaining a healthy body and beautiful skin.
I do not say that we should depend only on vegetables to reduce weight however it is fact that it provide great help in reducing weight fast and it is suggested by most of the fitness instructors.

In the last two weeks I have had tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, sprouts, three types of onions, bell peppers (yellow, red, and green), three types of mushrooms (not a vegetable but similar in terms of being low cal and high nutrition). I have some cabbage but I haven't eaten any yet. I love vegetables!!

I spotted a study on elderly diabetes patients in Japan and the effects of eating high quantities of veg and how green veggies can impact tryglyceride and waist circumference if eaten in large quantities. Results re-posted below. The conclusions seem to imply that those eating a high proportion of veg seemed to eat healthier overall.

I agree with @carorees, green veggies are not weight loss inducing per se, but are indeed vital when it comes to improving health.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22435940

There were significant decreases in HbA1c, triglycerides and waist circumference with an increase of total vegetable intake. A significant decrease of HbA1c levels was observed in patients with a daily total vegetable intake of 150 g or more. Furthermore, there was a significant decrease of serum triglyceride levels in patients with a total vegetable intake of 200 g or more. HbA1c levels showed a decreasing tendency with the increase of green vegetable intake, and HbA1c levels in the Q1 group (green vegetable intake: less than 40 g) was significantly higher than those in the other four groups (anovaP = 0.025). In addition, there were significant decreases of body mass index, triglyceride levels and waist circumference with the increase of green vegetable intake. Triglyceride levels decreased significantly from the Q3 group (green vegetable intake: 70 g or more) to the Q5 group (green vegetable intake: 130 g or more; anovaP = 0.016). In the group with a lower intake of total vegetables and green vegetables, the protein energy ratio decreased significantly. As a result, the fat energy ratio and energy intake tended to increase with the decrease of total and green vegetable intakes. Furthermore, intake of grains, sweets and alcoholic beverages increased with the decrease of total vegetable intake. In contrast, intake of nuts, potatoes, sugar, legumes, fruit, seaweed and fish increased with the increase of total vegetable intake
CONCLUSIONS:
Daily total vegetable intake of 200 g or more, and green vegetable intake of 70 g or more correlated with improved control of HbA1c and triglyceride levels in elderly type 2 diabetes patients through achieving a well-balanced diet.

[carorees]

The problem with all these studies are that when one thing is increased another is decreased so was it the increased veg or the decreased something else that gave the benefit??? #justasking

Also worth noting that diabetes in people of Japanese ethnicity is quite different from the forms found in westerners and occurs at much lower body weights. Apparently it is due to genes that cause insulin deficiency not insulin resistance.

I would say that all the veggies noted are very good, low carb, low calorie foods, with the exception of beans unless you mean green beans (haricots). If a person is sensitive to carbs beans can be a killer. And because they are very high in calories, I don't consider them a diet food.

I eat baked beans a few times a year as a special treat (the kind made with molasses, New England style) but they are a dessert in my mind, and I notice it is very hard to stop eating them once I start.

Also worth noting that diabetes in people of Japanese ethnicity is quite different from the forms found in westerners and occurs at much lower body weights. Apparently it is due to genes that cause insulin deficiency not insulin resistance.

I would say that all the veggies noted are very good, low carb, low calorie foods, with the exception of beans unless you mean green beans (haricots). If a person is sensitive to carbs beans can be a killer. And because they are very high in calories, I don't consider them a diet food.

I eat baked beans a few times a year as a special treat (the kind made with molasses, New England style) but they are a dessert in my mind, and I notice it is very hard to stop eating them once I start.

Thank you @peebles. I have stopped eating legumes altogether. Apart from the obvious 'windy' reaction, whilst I enjoy eating them I do not enjoy the subsequent weight gain.

I don't eat them frequently, but there are two really good reasons I could never give up beans: hummus and daal. Oh I've gone and made myself hungry and it's a fast day. They are high calorie, but so so healthy!

[quote="BabydollAngel"]Hey, As you know that green veggies are rich source of energy /quote]
Yes, vegetables are good for you - but for the love of information we should get back to basic science ...
Vegetables are not high in energy - because a calorie is the measure for energy, and greens being generally low in calories means that they supply little energy...
In plain English:
"Calorie" is the unit used to measure energy - so 1 calorie is not much energy, 100 calories is more, 100000 is lots (actually, there are 2 different units but won't go into that)
Now, the average green vegetable has between 20 and 40 calories per 100 grams - that makes it low calories hence low energy.....