Fruit is free

Ignore the title, you still have to pay for it. Or grow it yourself, but that means you're spending your time, so whatever.

I lost a fair amount of weight over the past year. Going to the gym certainly helped, but when I started recording everything I ate I was able to better control it. For example, I would put the bowl on the food scale, then add some ice cream. I put in the amount after scanning the bar code, and after realizing how many calories and how much sugar I was about to eat, I would take some back out until the numbers looked better. My kids eventually figured out the look on my face and would stand nearby to receive the newly rejected scoop into their conveniently available bowls.

Smart kids.

Sometimes I'd hit my calorie limit, but I'd still be hungry. Eventually I learned what foods filled me up, and which ones filled my limit without doing much else. Then I realized something.

Fruits and vegetables didn't count.

Oh sure they do, they're always healthy and whatnot, but the calories they added were always minimal. So I concluded that fruit is free. Veggies are free. Don't bother weighing and adding them into the record. Once I did that, it got easier. 

It doesn't help me reach my protein, but I'm down three pants sizes, so I count that as a win.