success without a food scale

lalainap19
lalainap19 Posts: 165 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been on a deficit for 37 days and I do not weigh my food I have lost weight and inches but part of me thinks I can be losing more but I just feel like weighing food will be time consuming and just flat out annoying. Any people successful without a scale or weigh your food religiously without it feeling like you are spending too much time doing so?
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Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    I've never owned or used a food scale. I guess I'm a good estimator.

    That said, if ever my results weren't matching up with my expectations, becoming more accurate in my measurements would be the first place I would start.
  • kxbrown27
    kxbrown27 Posts: 769 Member
    It takes more time to change the battery in the scale than it does to weigh everything I eat, so no. Not spending too much time doing it.
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
    No scale. Minimize packaged and fast foods and cook 95% of meals at home.

    Weighing may be helpful, but you'll know you can maintain for life when you don't have to.
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    edited July 2015
    I've lost weight without a scale but having a scale just helps with meeting macros...hated doing it also but It really doesn't take that long.
  • lalainap19
    lalainap19 Posts: 165 Member
    Yes makes sense I've been successful without weighing food I estimate pretty accurate and I don't eat fast food.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    edited July 2015
    Weighing food is so much faster than using measuring cups and results in a lot less dirty dishes which equals more time saved. So if you're using measuring cups it will be a time saver to use a scale. If you're just completely estimating then yep you'll need to decide if the 30 seconds or so it takes to use the food scale is worth it for better results.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    I started off without a food scale and can lose without one. I'm a decent estimator and would also spend time portioning out my food.

    But I LOVE having a good scale, and it actually saves me time. I never have to stress about how much I'm eating. "Does that look like half?" "Wait-how many serving of yogurt have I had?" And so on. Plus now I eat whatever I want and can be confident I am tracking correctly-which makes it super easy to add or subtract foods as necessary.

    Much like using MFP-it just takes some getting used to. It now takes me all of 20 seconds who weigh and log a meal. I'm a convert
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited July 2015
    I lost 50 lbs using measuring cups. I did buy a scale, but it broke. So did another one. I feel like the cups are easy to use, in that you can just treat them like you do other kitchen tools (ie use them to serve portions). They are NOT easy to use when it comes to certain food items (like meat that isn't chopped). For that and some other things, I go by the package weight and do math to divide it out.

    It is not as accurate as a scale, but if you fill the cups just to the level or just under it, it's ok, especially if you have a lot to lose. Like don't go filling them right to or over the top.
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    accidentalpancake wrote: »
    No scale. Minimize packaged and fast foods and cook 95% of meals at home.

    Weighing may be helpful, but you'll know you can maintain for life when you don't have to.

    Eh, I feel having a scale helps measure out portion sizes if there is no scale around so it has helped me see what a portion size looks like so it does help you "maintain for life"
  • ermand
    ermand Posts: 54 Member
    It takes me on average 40 seconds to weigh my food per meal. That includes measuring each type of food i'm putting on my plate. I don't understand why people think it is time consuming.
  • lalainap19
    lalainap19 Posts: 165 Member
    Yes I definitely hate all the dirty measuring cups I just use so many ingredients when I cook so I hate the thought of weighing all the veggies
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    accidentalpancake wrote: »
    No scale. Minimize packaged and fast foods and cook 95% of meals at home.

    Weighing may be helpful, but you'll know you can maintain for life when you don't have to.

    Are the calorie estimates on packaged foods worse than guessing the weight of your steak or fruit or veggies? If it's all guesswork anyway, for the sake of making life easier, would it not be easier to estimate consumption by barcode scanning if you aren't going to weigh?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    lalainap19 wrote: »
    Yes I definitely hate all the dirty measuring cups I just use so many ingredients when I cook so I hate the thought of weighing all the veggies

    Lol - yeah it's annoying. I have 2 sets of cups so I'm never out, and rinse them out AS SOON AS i use them.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    ermand wrote: »
    It takes me on average 40 seconds to weigh my food per meal. That includes measuring each type of food i'm putting on my plate. I don't understand why people think it is time consuming.

    Yeah, I get confused by this, too. Put plate on scale, turn scale on. Add food. It doesn't take any extra time than putting food on the plate without the scale. Well, MAYBE like 1 second.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    lalainap19 wrote: »
    Yes I definitely hate all the dirty measuring cups I just use so many ingredients when I cook so I hate the thought of weighing all the veggies

    You just "tare" the scale as you go. For me, it's quicker than measuring.
  • lalainap19
    lalainap19 Posts: 165 Member
    I guess just the thought of it but u never know until you give it a go. But like I said I have lost but I feel I can lose more. Think I'm going to get a scale
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    When you start out, you can indeed do it without weighing. But the smaller your deficit gets ( because you lose weight) the harder it become.
    I maintained my weight for over 20 years without weighing, and lost without out too. No problem at all.
    I ate everything, was very active and kept it off.

    Now that my deficit changed it is so important that i weigh. So i decided to get used to it straight away. And indeed it only takes a couple of seconds, even less than putting everything first in a cup and than on my plate.
    And i am glad i did. Totally used to it now.
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    Yeah you'll definitely benefit from having a scale. It's good that you lost without but knowing how much your putting into your body is beneficial :wink:
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Yes, you can lose without a scale.

    You'll probably want one once you're close to goal. Your deficit will be much smaller and thus your margin of error will be too.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    lalainap19 wrote: »
    I guess just the thought of it but u never know until you give it a go. But like I said I have lost but I feel I can lose more. Think I'm going to get a scale

    I got my first one for like $7 at aldi. I recently upgraded for a $15 scale bc I want to weigh in grams. My old one still works fine. I always thought people that weigh out all their food were obsessive or crazy. I never realized how simple it is.

    Accuracy will become more important for you the closer you get to your goal, so trying it out can't hurt! Good luck

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