weigh & measure out of the house?
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jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.0 -
For me, it's less an issue of what others will think than it is, "How obsessive do I want to be?" Weighing food at home is where I draw the line. I'm trying to stop even that.
If others want to weigh food in restaurants and are cool with that, I really think they should do that and not give a hoot what the ding-dongs at Burger King may or may not think because...who cares.0 -
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
you don't need my approval to do anything, you can bring your food scale with you and weigh every single thing you eat 100% of the time, and it has absolutely no bearing on me, or my progress.
I am saying that if you are weighing chicken and the cook put oil, butter, etc, etc on it, then your logging is still going to be inaccurate even if you do have the correct weight of the food you weighed.
I have no idea what others have said to you, and that is pretty much meaningless since you are quoting me.
My point is weigh and be accurate when you can, which is about 75-85% of the time and don't worry about being 100% accurate the other 15-25% of the time.
but if you want to be OCD about it and try to weigh everything, knock yourself out. I am just trying to point out a more sane way of approaching things.0 -
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
You can do whatever you want, getting snippy online with someone won't help. It's like you are seeking everyones approval for weighing your food out, the reality is no one cares if you yourself weigh your food everytime you go out to eat. I try to make the healthiest food choice possible when I go out to eat, this usually means a salad of some type and if you stay away from a lot of cheese and dressing you can eat a crap ton of lean protein,veggies and lettuce without going over....This just seems simpler to me then getting an extra plate to tare it, then picking every piece of food off and weighing it piece by piece. Then guessing if it was cooked in canola oil, olive oil, butter, etc.
But thats just me YOU are free to do whatever YOU want. No one here is judging you so maybe you can step down of your soapbox.
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No one said that. What people have said is that weighing a mass of indeterminate ingredients probably isn't helpful and almost certainly isn't worth the hassle of whatever incremental accuracy might be gained above just estimating based on similar dishes via a web search. If you think it's worth doing, do it.
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
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If that is what will work for you - go ahead and do it. I have these great fold flat silicone cups that I use for foods so I fill up a quarter cup, 1/2 cup serving etc so if I'm having popcorn etc I know exactly that I am not cheating. They were from weight watchers. Eyeballing food on a daily basis can cause you never to use weight - I do agree I do it for the occasional meal out. If anyone questions you, you needn't answer but you can always say doctor's orders or some such. I started being very brutally honest on my consumption in the past week and lost five pounds - I even measure my coffee creamer, the teeny bit of cooking oil, etc. and a couple hundred calories stalled my weight loss efforts. I kept telling my doctor I was not over eating but given my age and metabolism there isn't a lot of leeway between maintenance calories and staying below to lose. My doctor said she just got back from a conference on obesity/weight loss and said the calorie restriction is the key component and stepping up the exercise is a small variable - ymmv.
FYI I did go to my lowest allowable level, minimal carbs, avoid gluten and sugars, mostly organic foods, only grass fed beef and chicken and a supplement regimen. Food is more expensive BUT portion sizes are smaller so not more money and not buying junk foods so grocery bill is less.0 -
Bottom line is a person needs to do whatever they need to do to continue weight loss. If you eat out a lot and you've not been losing at the pace you want then by all means bring a food scale with you and %@$* what other people think. The most important thing is keeping your weight loss pace going. I eat at Chipotle a lot and things like cheese and sour cream can add up really quickly if the server simply puts on too much so I ask for those items to be put into little cups so I can add them myself. I also do that with other things at different restaurants depending upon the item I order. However you choose to control high calorie items....more power to you.0
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
Yeah I don't see how this is that different from weighing fast food or weighing or accepting the nutritional info on a box dinner. You weren't there when they prepared those, you technically don't know what all is in it. The fast food teenager might have added a little here and a little there to the food but we can still weigh the chicken strips, fries, etc according to the website's stated calories per unit mass
*shrug*. The suggestion to weigh restaurant food if you really feel the need to is in the Calorie Counting 101 guide anyway, so there :bigsmile:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
Yeah I don't see how this is that different from weighing fast food or weighing or accepting the nutritional info on a box dinner. You weren't there when they prepared those, you technically don't know what all is in it. The fast food teenager might have added a little here and a little there to the food but we can still weigh the chicken strips, fries, etc according to the website's stated calories per unit mass
*shrug*. The suggestion to weigh restaurant food if you really feel the need to is in the Calorie Counting 101 guide anyway, so there :bigsmile:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
those of us commentating on eating out at a "restaurant" are referring to non chains where they actually use different ingredients to build their meals. So yea, you can use the mcdonalds web site entry and weigh it, or you can just log the mcdonald entry as one cheeseburger < at the end of the day we are talking about an approximate 5% difference between using one cheeseburger and weighing said cheeseburger to get the exact weight….
However, in a restaurant if you weight it as 8 ounce filet, but they prepared it in x amount of butter, sauce, etc, you are still going to be off.
Again, to each their own…some of us are just saying that you don't need to be 100% strict all the time, and this will make thins easier in the long run, rather then worrying about accurately measuring every last bit of food.
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
Yeah I don't see how this is that different from weighing fast food or weighing or accepting the nutritional info on a box dinner. You weren't there when they prepared those, you technically don't know what all is in it. The fast food teenager might have added a little here and a little there to the food but we can still weigh the chicken strips, fries, etc according to the website's stated calories per unit mass
*shrug*. The suggestion to weigh restaurant food if you really feel the need to is in the Calorie Counting 101 guide anyway, so there :bigsmile:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
those of us commentating on eating out at a "restaurant" are referring to non chains where they actually use different ingredients to build their meals. So yea, you can use the mcdonalds web site entry and weigh it, or you can just log the mcdonald entry as one cheeseburger < at the end of the day we are talking about an approximate 5% difference between using one cheeseburger and weighing said cheeseburger to get the exact weight….
However, in a restaurant if you weight it as 8 ounce filet, but they prepared it in x amount of butter, sauce, etc, you are still going to be off.
Again, to each their own…some of us are just saying that you don't need to be 100% strict all the time, and this will make thins easier in the long run, rather then worrying about accurately measuring every last bit of food.
The person quoted here said she's using the website's nutritional info
But to your point about mom and pop locations, or for instance me just weighing some food items say from the work cafeteria. It's sad but if I see vegetables swimming in oil I won't order it with lunch. If I want veg so bad I can bring some from home and steam it or add a controlled amount of oil/butter to it. Certain other items though like I mentioned will tend to be close to the database entry due to minimal variations in preparation (how many ways to grill a chicken breast?), and weighing could be useful even without nutritional info being listed at the point of purchase or website
Some of you have mentioned frequency, and I think that's an important aspect. If by choice or circumstance, you eat a lot of meals out, then all you can do is use whatever tools you have at your disposal to be as accurate as you can/want. If restaurant meals seldom happen, then it's probably not worth it to sweat it at all. Really depends on their specific individual and their situation, I think!
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I don't weigh anything but I definitely log at restaurants as soon as my plate arrives and try to make my best guess. I'm also hesitant to eat anywhere that doesn't have nutritional info available. If I have no clue what I'm eating, I'm not eating it.
Lame as it sounds, I prefer Applebee's if we just go out for a quick family dinner. They seem pretty conscientious about how they figure calories for their heart healthy dinners. (and their cedar plank salmon is freaking delicious). Chili's has really good fish tacos and complete nutritional info as well.
Yes, they're lame-o chains but their portions are standardized so you're probably eating fairly close to what they list.
PS: I also like pre-logging my meals out so that when we get to the restaurant I know exactly what I'm going to order and can just enjoy my meal without having to get my iPhone out and log all the food. Much more pleasant that way.0 -
I weigh everything I can, and guesstimate what I cant.
When I go out to eat, which is rare, then I pick the item in the database with the higher calories which is closest to what I'm eating, and be done with it.
If I whipped out a food scale when I was out to dinner with my hubby, he'd leave me there and move to another table lol0
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