How accurate are you?

ftsolk

This is sort of a follow-up on my previous thread on transitioning to MFP from WW.

How accurate are you when it comes to counting calories for fruit and vegetables. Do you place your banana on the scale and track the exact number of grams, or do you just grab one and estimate that it's a "medium" banana? Do you grab a handful of spinach and just figure it's a cup? Do you loosely place it in a measuring cup? Or do you stick it on a scale and track the exact number of grams in it?

Right now, I use my scale to weigh out starchy foods, meats, cheese, etc, but I don't weigh/measure fruit and vegetables. I just eyeball portions if I double track.

(Note, that I DO weigh things like avocado and potatoes).

Laurend224

I weigh everything. This afternoon my lunch included 93 grams of romaine lettuce. Yesterday's oatmeal had 145 grams of banana. I frequently put two bananas in my smoothie, which can be upwards of 250 calories, depending on the weight. It all counts.

diannethegeek

I weigh most of my produce, including bananas. I might not weigh spinach added to my sandwich because I know from experience it's going to add up to about 2 calories. Or if I grab a baby carrot or two from the fridge I might not log it. But most things are weighed out.

FatFreeFrolicking

I weigh all fruit and veggies (starchy or not).

michellemybelll

weigh everything.

Roxiegirl2008

I measure everything. Unless it is something pre-packet like mini baby bell cheese or my oatmeal in the morning.

*by measure I mean to say weigh. Sorry!

higgins8283801

I place everything ok a scale. Banana, apple, bowl of grapes.

I even measure out my coffee to a precision, by zeroing it out before I add sugar, zeroing it out again before I add cream.

I'm pretty sure I'm as accurate as I can be.

SergeantSausage

As accurate as I need to be.

I place the apple on the scale before AND after eating, so I can subtract out the weight of the core that I didn't eat.

dopeysmelly

I weigh pretty much everything at home, but only because the food scale is right there in the kitchen next to where I prepare food. If it's a snack I'm eating away from home, I'd estimate a medium banana, say. If I'm eating out, I very rarely log at all.

I guess I weigh when it's convenient, so I'm not bothered when it's not.

ciacyrus29

You guys are out of my league. I don't weigh anything. I've tried and can't seem to stick with it. So kudos to you all.

Phoenix_Down

I weigh nearly everything

jurneeka

The only food items I don't weigh/measure (not counting pre-portioned single servings such as the Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bar I'm eating at the moment) are ultra low calorie veggies such as spinach, salad greens, kale, mushrooms, etc.

It takes practice and planning, but now it's second nature to me to weigh stuff. My little food scale (electronic, cost me like $15 on Amazon and works like a charm) is right there in the kitchen with me and I even took it with me to my parents' house over Christmas Eve/Christmas (along with my body scale as I weigh myself pretty much every morning).

Edit to add - forgot there IS one occasion when I don't weigh. Free/cheat meals. I still log, but I guestimate. When my favorite guy is visiting for the weekend, the diet takes a back seat. (that said, I lower my calories/macros a few days before and after...)

LeslieB042812

It's a mix for me. If I'm home, I definitely weigh it--especially with something high calorie like a banana. If I'm out and need a snack and grab a banana, then I estimate it. Even vegetables can add up. For example, one serving of spinach is 20 calories, but if you saute it and have it as the base of your meal, you can easily eat 3 servings, which equals 60 calories! Another example is tomatoes, I had a handful of cherry tomatoes in my salad and it added up to 50 calories. As Dianne said, though, after a while you'll get used to your usual foods and then you'll be able to more accurately estimate for some things when you don't have your scale with you.

The problem with weight watchers points plus system is that there can be a TON of calories in fruits and veggies. It really doesn't make sense to not count them. That's why I gained weight on WWP+, while I had lost on their prior system. I think you'll do better on MFP for that very reason--I sure have!

Yes2HealthyAriel

I weigh my spinach, lettuce and other veggies and most fruit. But with bananas I use a ruler and log it as 6" or whatever I end up getting. I just started weighing my avocados to because not one is identical so I log them by weight now also.

4leighbee

I'm not accurate at all. I don't weigh anything, etc., because I need this to be sustainable for me, and I know *I* could never keep up with that diligence. Kudos to you all is right. For me, eating is something I have to do to stay alive and something that allows me to keep running - I don't give it much more thought than that. So, I'm trying to develop healthy habits (routine choices) now (more protein, less carbs) so I can forget about food again and get back to everything else ...

TheVirgoddess

I'm pretty meticulous with most things.

johng1973

I don't measure that much. I typically eye everything that isn't prepackaged. I know I may not reach my goals as quickly as I want but just doing that little bit keeps me from going overboard. I've measured religiously before and did well with my weight loss, but the minute I stopped weighing I started to go overboard. I figured that I need to adopt a behavior that is sustainable. I use the general rules here:

http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions

Ninkyou

I weigh everything. Even liquids (my scale has a mL setting).

CarrieCans

I weigh everything. First banana i weighed sort of shocked me, i had been guessing wrong and could have eaten a lot more of them along them way. A persons idea of a small, medium or large of something can vary. I even weigh pre-packaged items, it's amazing to see how far off those package weights differ from what the label says should be in there.

bwogilvie

I weigh or measure calorie-dense items, such as meat, nuts, oils, cheese, avocados, etc. I don't bother with calorie-poor items, such as lettuce, sweet peppers, cucumbers, etc., unless I'm planning to eat a huge number of them, or if it's a particularly huge specimen. I figure that if that red pepper I ate had 60 calories rather than 51, it's still not a significant difference to my overall daily intake.

clambert1273

I weight and measure every single thing. My scale will do fluid ounces so I even sit a glass on there to measure out my 8 oz of milk... I believe I am accurate to a point of being faulty.. lol

I cut up apples this morning and was weighing them in a bowl.. made my note and logged them when I got to work.

hamoncan

Never weight, after a while and with the feedback from weekly weigh-ins, I find I can guesstimate close enough - I probably underestate calories a bit on average but for me its always seems to balance out with not adding back exercise calories - I'm never surprised at the number I see on my weekly weigh-in - I do tend to eat a lot of the same things most days, so I'd guess it would get harder with a more varied diet

Ready2Rock206

I weigh everything whenever possible. With that said if I'm out and about and I happen across a banana I want to eat I don't have a scale in my purse and I'm just going with the small, medium or large option.

I can definitely tell on the body scale when I haven't been using the food scale as much as I should be.

jkal1979

I weigh it all but lettuce. The last time I bought apples the calorie difference between what the database said was a large and what my apple actually was in grams was enough to convince me. It might not be much by itself, but during the course of the day the little things add up.

Some people say it takes too long, but it really doesn't once you figure out what you are doing. Put the plate or bowl on the scale, zero it out and add in what you are weighing. Too easy.

segacs

I weigh whatever I can. Most solids when I'm at home go on the food scale. That includes ingredients in cooking and baking, raw veggies that go into stir-fries or roasts, raw meats, bread slices, nut butters, squares of chocolate, you name it. I measure liquids in cups and tablespoons.

I rarely weigh things like bananas or apples. I just am consistent with logging them, so I figure that the absolute accuracy may be off by a bit, but the relative directional accuracy should be fairly good.

Restaurant food or eating out at someone's house, I guesstimate. My estimation skills have improved thanks to weighing and measuring at home, but of course, there's going to be some error there. That's okay. That's life.

kailibertsch

I weigh nearly everything now too. I didn't have to in the beginning but the closer I get to goal weight the more I have to scrutinize.

kyta32

I try weighing now and again. I never weigh at restaurants or when I'm eating at my mom's house.

The frustrating thing is I keep finding out that I'm eating less than I think. I don't want to eat more, because that just means more shopping and more money. Does anyone else find that a tablespoon of chia seeds is closer to 8 grams than 15?

Right now I only weigh my grapefruit, because that can vary by 40 g. Instead I eyeball, or do portions of a recipe (I figure if I eat the whole recipe over several days, I end up with all the calories anyway).

I want my rate of loss to slow because I've moved from the obese to overweight category (I've been losing 3-4 pounds a week). Since I find weighing a little annoying, I think I'll just increase the amount of calories I can have a day rather than weighing. I still have a deficit of 700 calories/day right now (before exercise), so there is room to do this. When my deficit gets down to 100-200 calories a day, and extra calories can make a bigger difference, or if I hit a stall, I plan on weighing more.

PeachyCarol

I weigh just about everything. I don't weigh eggs or Quest bars even though I know that they can vary over their average, but I eat them often enough that I figure the differences average out. Oh wait! I weighed a Quest bar once. My husband had a bite and and I weighed what was left to log.

sodakat

bwogilvie wrote: »

I weigh or measure calorie-dense items, such as meat, nuts, oils, cheese, avocados, etc. I don't bother with calorie-poor items, such as lettuce, sweet peppers, cucumbers, etc., unless I'm planning to eat a huge number of them, or if it's a particularly huge specimen. I figure that if that red pepper I ate had 60 calories rather than 51, it's still not a significant difference to my overall daily intake.

This is what I do too, although now and then I weigh the calorie-poor items also, just to keep a handle on my logging, because I do log it all, regardless if I'm round off the grams due to "knowing" how big a slice of green pepper is.

NoelFigart1

I measure on a scale about 95% of the time and I don't eat a lot of prepackaged food. If I eat out (which is fairly rare) I estimate.

4leighbee

OP: I would love to know if these answers are representative of the MFP community or if the topic was of interest mostly to those who see weighing foods as priority. I do not mean any disrespect at all to those of you who have responded in the affirmative - and perhaps I am wrong - but my guess is that those who have responded to this post tend to be those who value weighing their food. The reason I bring this up is simply to take a little pressure of the OP, especially since she mentions that she doesn't weigh everything. One might get the impression that you're "doing it wrong" if you don't weigh your food, which - of course - isn't true. All that said, well done to all - we're all working hard, just doing it in different ways!