Weighing food

blessing2004

How do you weigh your food? I'm 3 months out of my post op bypass and I have platoed. The Dr says it's normal but feel I may be eating too much. I'm using this app and using between 800-900 calories a day and staying away from carbs. Am I'm doing ok

loveshoe

I use food scales for portion control and I count calories. I eat between 600 and 800 per day, generally closer to the 800 calorie mark.

AngryViking1970

A food scale is your best friend right now. I weigh everything, even packaged foods. Get yourself a decent digital scale and weigh/record your menu for the day. You may be eating more than you think if you've been estimating thus far. For example, my egg carton says my large egg is 70 calories, but if I weigh it, it's more like 85 calories. Those little discrepancies can add up over the course of a day/week/month.

I think your calorie range is fine right now.

anbrdr

I keep a scale at home and at work.

crepes_

Food scales are the best because it's the most accurate way of getting things down to the decimal. I think that's especially important when you're dealing with such low calorie diets and you need to ensure you get your nutrition in. For instance, the amount of food that fits into 1 cup varies depending on how its cut, how much it's cooked, how it's placed, etc. But 100g will always be 100g. They're pretty cheap. I got mine for $11 at Wal-Mart and there are a ton more options. Get a digital one that you can 'zero'. I put my plate down, zero, and add each ingredient. Or I put the tub of cottage cheese on there, zero it, then spoon out what I want and the remaining number is what I've taken.

Oh, and that's perfectly normal to plateau. Everyone does. Weight loss is hardly linear. If it were, everyone would think it were easy. The calories where you're eating right now are fine, especially since your doctor said as much. Make sure you're being accurate, make sure you're keeping on top of what you should be, and your weight loss with resume again soon.

ki4eld

I use a digital scale and weight everything, even condiments. Calories can really sneak up on me with condiments. If it goes into my mouth, it's been weighed or measured.

Plateaus are normal and they'll happen more often the closer you get to your goal weight. Stay the course.

Keikix3

I am so glad you asked about this, and now I can go get a scale too. I didn't know how to do it either

blessing2004

I went to my Dr and she said I'm doing well. She gave me some suggestions but otherwise in doing well. The scale I still have to figure out but hopefully my weight start to shed soon

ki4eld

I *highly* suggest you start weighing your food in grams. It's just easier than dealing with ounces and cups and it won't take you more than a couple of weeks to get used to portion sizes in grams instead of in ounces!

krissymae88

I bought a digital scale about a month ago and used it for a few days, but strayed. It is a bit of work to get used to weighing everything. But I'm still pre-op and I want to get into the habit as soon as possible. I know when I was using it I felt much more confident and in control of what I was eating. Like others said, calories are sneaky little guys and I certainly get taken down by them when I'm not paying close attention to what I'm eating!

pawoodhull

I am 4 years out from gastric sleeve and still weigh most foods when at home. It just helps me stay within a "normal" portion easier.

martabeerich

I started using a scale in my weight watchers days. It is invaluable. I use it when creating my own recipes for this app. I put the bowl/plate/mug on the scale, zero it, and add, zero again, etc. I wrote out a cheat sheet for conversion (you can find them in a lot of comprehensive cookbooks). My only complaint is this app often doesn't list grams, so I note both ounces AND grams so I can log it easier. Can't imagine not using one.

mjks_mom

martabeerich wrote: »

I started using a scale in my weight watchers days. It is invaluable. I use it when creating my own recipes for this app. I put the bowl/plate/mug on the scale, zero it, and add, zero again, etc. I wrote out a cheat sheet for conversion (you can find them in a lot of comprehensive cookbooks). My only complaint is this app often doesn't list grams, so I note both ounces AND grams so I can log it easier. Can't imagine not using one.

How many grams in an ounce? Is that a silly question?

ThinGwen

Mjks - they are different measuring systems. Grams are metric. There are a little less than 30 grams to an ounce, but it's not an easy conversion to do

martabeerich

If you have any of those cook books like The Joy of Cooking or an old Betty Crocker cookbook, they usually have conversion charts with cups/ounces/grams. Otherwise, Google. I prefer to measure in grams. It's more exact.

KSMussey

Never have weighed food, I just estimate by using my hand.
http://lifehacker.com/5880630/use-your-hand-to-estimate-your-portions
Maybe if I weighed everything and really payed attention to every little thing I would have lost more than the 160 lbs in 15 months but I am having to much fun living life with all of my new energy and stamina.

sinderstorm

I weighed a ton in the beginning, and still weigh occasionally to make sure my portion estimates are pretty close. I use a Kamenstein digital scale that I like because it lets you put a plate on and re-zero out your weight and weighs to a tenth of an ounce, making it pretty accurate for those of us who prefer not to convert to grams.

Also remember that weight loss isn't linear- it looks more like a staircase. I've lost 70 of the 90lbs I needed to lose to get to goal in 6 months, and I've had a couple of 2-4 week stalls during that time.

martabeerich

Since I'm food ovsessive, I need to weigh everything for personal accountability. Otherwise, I know all those BLTs add up. (Bites, licks and tastes) I envy those who can eyeball it.

ki4eld

martabeerich wrote: »

Since I'm food ovsessive, I need to weigh everything for personal accountability. Otherwise, I know all those BLTs add up. (Bites, licks and tastes) I envy those who can eyeball it.

+1

grim_traveller

I weigh everything on a kitchen scale too. When I was on shakes, I even weighed my protein powder, instead of using the little scoop they give you. It was easy to go over by 10% when using the scoop. That 10% starts adding up fast.

An extra 100 calories a day is ten pounds in a year, and 50 pounds after 5 years. And 100 calories is a really really small amount of food. And when we eyeball, 99 times out of 100 we are taking a little more food than we should, not less. Because more is always better, right?

annwyatt69

I have a digital food scale that can measure both grams or ounces, depending on which you choose. It was not expensive. I am 3 years post RNY and I still weigh/measure everything. I was also told to weigh meat after cooking, not before. My scale is used several times a day!