I don't weight my food
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Laurend224 wrote: »I stink at estimating portions and to me weighing is the easier choice. Congrats on your loss, that's great.
^This. I started without a scale because I didn't have one. Found an old analog scale hiding in a closet and used it. My rate of loss sped up. Got a digital scale for Christmas and my rate of loss sped up even more.
Whatever works for you, but as was said upthread, when you get down to the end? Tightening up might help.
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TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
False dichotomy, right there.
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brianpperkins wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
Is it more precise to use known values, rather than estimates, in an equation? Which is repeatable?
If you read my initial post I said that consistency is what is important. In other words, if you can eyeball consistently then things will be repeatable.
If you like weighing things that's great, there's nothing wrong with it and it can definitely help with consistency. As others have said, you probably aren't taking your scale to restaurants or to other people's homes (if you're eating with friends or family) so everyone needs to be able to eyeball things to some degree anyway.0 -
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If someone is able to lose without weighing, great. I lost weight without logging, period. But when someone is struggling, it's one of the best ways to get their portion sizes in check. It can be very eye opening.0
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TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
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Using a scale has definitely been beneficial to me, even though for the first three months of my loss I wasn't using one. I've learned so much about food and portioning, first of all, and that helps me immensely in situations where the scale is unavailable -- I can be realistic in my estimates of restaurant food, I can be fairly confident in my assessment of foods at holiday celebrations or friends' houses. It also gives me peace of mind; I know that my logging is as accurate as it possibly can be, given labeling inaccuracies and rounding errors. I've become a better cook because (for example) I can judge whether a recipe is best served by a quarter-cup of flour or whether 67 grams yields improved texture. And finally, yes, my rate of loss is faster and more easily sustained logging by weight, and I tend to feel better when I log by weight because I can work out good nutrition mathematically.
If you're losing at a rate you like without logging, that's fantastic! Don't fix what isn't broken. I don't think it's fair to say that "use a scale" is unhelpful advice, though; you're at the start of your journey when weight-loss tends to be quickest and easiest, and those of us who advocate weighing food tend to be farther down that road.0 -
I_Will_End_You wrote: »If someone is able to lose without weighing, great. I lost weight without logging, period. But when someone is struggling, it's one of the best ways to get their portion sizes in check. It can be very eye opening.
Exactly.
I lost 20 pounds my first four weeks without weighing a thing - then I got scale and lost the other 55 pounds. Because while I understand that the scale isn't 100% accurate, it's enabling me to be as accurate as possible, which enables me to lose as efficiently as possible.
If people can lose without it - good for them - I don't plan on weighing for the rest of my life. I'm using it to teach myself and create good habits, food wise. To me, it's yet another tool in my arsenal that enables me to be successful long term.
I still have a perfectly normal life. I eat out with my family and friends, I go to parties and potlucks and BBQ's without my scale. But because of my scale, I feel confident in my estimations.0 -
Same here....which is why i continue to weigh my food (and i'm maintaining now).Laurend224 wrote: »I stink at estimating portions and to me weighing is the easier choice. Congrats on your loss, that's great.
Especially Rice and Pasta - can never guess their amounts correctly.
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I rarely weigh anything. Meats, cheese cut from the block and that's about it. I'm also 32 pounds from goal. Once I get down to my last 10 or 15, I'm sure I'll start weighing more often.0
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I just bought a food scale. The only thing I've actually used it for is chicken/meat, because I really struggle with estimating ounces. But I think most of the rest of my food can be easily measured with cups/tablespoons. Plus I don't really care how many ounces of cucumbers I'm eating at this point. However, I will say that I loooove peanut butter, and I eat it in my oatmeal. I was measuring out 1/3 cup oatmeal and estimating 2 tb pb. Then I realized pb is very calorie and fat dense, so maybe I should actually use a measuring spoon. Yeah, I was way off!! I know only use 1 tb (and add in a small container of greek yogurt or cottage cheese--but they are already pre-portioned, so I know the amount of calories).0
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TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.
NO one says that if you don't weigh your food then you won't lose weight. Where are you getting this stuff from? I have never seeing that in any of the threads.
Also who is shackled to the scale. People might say well I need to stay on it to know what I eat but they would have a better idea of calories in a portion size than someone who does not weigh foods.
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Food scales are a tool. You don't *need* one, but if you start to wonder why you're not losing weight after a month, it's useful to have.
I suck at eyeballing portions. Hence I weigh.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.
What? I am not shackled to my scale...I am great at guesstimating now because of the fact I weigh my food.
I have never "stalled" or "plateaued" since I started using it (4 weeks into MFP) I bet most who don't weigh can't say that...
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TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.
Except people don't say that. They recommend that people use scales when they aren't seeing the results they want.
And finally, you don't like food scales. We get it. It would be great if you could shut up about it and stop trying to insult those that do enjoy them.0 -
I don't weigh everything. It is working for now. If my weight loss slows or stops then I will start weighing more stuff.
I just want to add that I am an experienced and frequent cook so I believe that I may be better than some people at eyeballing measurements or portion sizes since I am used to seeing what different measurements look like.
What? Are you kidding? You really don't weigh your food?!
I hope the world does not fall apart.
Seriously, that's wonderful. I don't weigh every piece of food either, just what I eat at home.
My guy is also pretty good at eyeballing portions because he's an experienced cook as well.
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TheVirgoddess wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.
Except people don't say that. They recommend that people use scales when they aren't seeing the results they want.
And finally, you don't like food scales. We get it. It would be great if you could shut up about it and stop trying to insult those that do enjoy them.
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TheVirgoddess wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
That's great, but when people encourage people to weigh everything as a means to overcome not losing weight, they aren't encouraging guesstimating but rather suggesting that people must weigh everything or they won't lose weight. In the long run, the people who are good at guesstimating will be more successful than those who are shackled to the scale.
Except people don't say that. They recommend that people use scales when they aren't seeing the results they want.
And finally, you don't like food scales. We get it. It would be great if you could shut up about it and stop trying to insult those that do enjoy them.
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I've started weighing most of my food, it's been a real eye opener. I may not do it forever but it's given me a reality check on some of my "estimations". Peanut butter being the biggest example, what I thought was a tablespoon was a lot higher calorie once I weighed it. On the other hand, avacados were less calories than I was estimating. Once I'm more I'm estimating more accurately I will probably stop weighing as often, don't know yet. Definately don't find it to be a hassle though.0
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I don't weigh- except meat occasionally. I've lost 30lbs since jan 1 and am 6lbs from my goal weight (140 5'5"). I started losing 2lbs a week and am now at about 1-1.2lbs a week. I've stayed at about 1300 calories the whole time and eat back at least some on my exercise calories every day.
I hope to not have to start weighing but will if I have to. Do what works for you!
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I've never weighed my food, i don't think it's that difficult to estimate.0
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TimothyFish wrote: »mburgess458 wrote: »Some people wear never-weighing as a badge of honour, why?! How does it make you superior? I don't get that. It's about what works for you as an individual.
Personally, I weigh things like pasta that I'm really bad at eyeballing but not veg, fruit, bread slices, proteins. I used to weigh cheese portions until I could fairly accurately eyeball.
I think it's likely a reaction to all of the many, many threads where the people who always weigh come off as acting superior like they know precisely how many calories they are eating each day and that's the only way to lose weight.
I tend to agree. There are some people whose answer to everything is "Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?" While I agree that a food scale can help people identify a serving size, I don't think it is a good idea for people to be dependent on it. The implication is that people have to quit doing anything that would keep them from using a food scale or they will gain weight. No more eating at restaurants. No more sitting down with the family and passing the dishes around the table. For long term maintenance, it seems like it would be better to know how to use an approach that allows a person to live life normally.
I think using my scale has made me more comfortable in the situations where I am not in control of the food. I feel more confident in my guesstimating abilities and knowing I'm being as accurate as possible the rest of the week allows me to relax the one or two meals a week when I'm eating out.
This-when I'm at home I use my food scale (it literally takes a few seconds to do). Doing this has helped me in situations where I don't have my scale. At the end of the day, people need to figure out what works for them, and for me using a food scale on a regular basis is something that helps me 0 -
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I never weighed food while losing (I did count nuts). I didn't weigh for about 10 years of maintenance. I got curious about portion size a few years ago and hubs got me a scale for Christmas. I've used it about 5 times. I totally get that for some it's a necessary learning tool, but portion size wasn't the primary issue for me with my weight.0
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GuitarJerry wrote: »Think about this, there are people in the world that don't even weigh or measure or track calories, and stay lean and fit. I know...MIND BLOWN.
Yeah, but those aren't the people hanging out here on MFP for the most part. The majority of us here need a bit more structure
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I don't weigh anything and have had success so far (1-2lbs/week), but I'm only 10 pounds in to a 45lb weight loss journey. I may need to start weighing in the future, as I get closer to my goal, but for now, my estimations (and margin left for error) are working.0
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I don't weigh everything. It is working for now. If my weight loss slows or stops then I will start weighing more stuff.
I just want to add that I am an experienced and frequent cook so I believe that I may be better than some people at eyeballing measurements or portion sizes since I am used to seeing what different measurements look like.
What? Are you kidding? You really don't weigh your food?!
I hope the world does not fall apart.
Seriously, that's wonderful. I don't weigh every piece of food either, just what I eat at home.
My guy is also pretty good at eyeballing portions because he's an experienced cook as well.
I also hope the world doesn't fall apart because a lot of people besides me in this thread have stated they don't weigh their food or only weigh some things and have still been succesfully losing weight.
I'm not putting anyone down who weighs everything. I do think weighing food is useful and if someone is having trouble losing then it is something they should try. As stated previously, if my weight loss stops or slows then that is what I will do. I also think that people who haven't been cooking for years and measuring food for years might need to do more weighing and measuring and less eyeballing of food than those with more experience. I'm not putting those people down either.
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I love that all three pages is people who don't weigh being all snarky about it, people who do weigh saying, hey, to each their own. I suspect there's a little projection goin' on with the non-weighers. Our minds aren't blown, the world is still spinning, we still eat at restaurants, we don't care if you weigh or not.0
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