Anyone here NOT use a food scale?

68myra

fiddletime wrote: »

I have one in my kitchen and occasionally am curious about what things weigh. But I've lost weight over the years without one and am pretty good and estimating portion size. I find a measuring cup much more useful for the things that I eat.

this is EXACTLY what i was about to write. like, verbatim. kinda eerie even

chaoticdreams

I don't find the food scale a hassle, but I only use mine to weigh meats and calorie heavy items, and then only sporadically or when I feel like my eyeballs are off. I tend to eat a lot of the same stuff so it's not hard for me to eyeball it once I've already measured it. I also used to bake a lot as well. Veggies I don't bother with the scale at all as I don't tend to over eat them. I don't eat pasta, rice, and bread so I have no need to weigh or measure those. I've lost weight just fine. I'll probably get more serious about it closer to goal when 100% accuracy matters a bit more, but right now, it's not my thing.

And I've seen a lot of people IRL get OBSESSED easily with the things. I can understand how someone with an ED could get anxious about it. Everyone has their own struggles in life and you have to know your triggers. I have no desire to weigh my food for the rest of my life either or lug one about when I go out on the town. I don't think people who do are any better or worse than me, just once again, it's not my thing. Do what works for you.

68myra

enterdanger wrote: »

I lost my first 35lbs without a food scale. I was very anti food scale and very vocal about it. Really, to the point where I was being an a-hole saying things like "Are you seriously gonna weigh food the rest of your life." Then I got lazy and had a sports injury that wouldn't go away. Over the course of a year between indifference and injury I gained back 10lbs and just couldn't seem to lose it for anything.

Two weeks ago I broke down and got the food scale. I've actually discovered that I underestimated nearly everything I eyeballed, that would lead to unexplained hunger, which would lead to binging at night, which lead to guilt and failure. Now that I know my intake it's easier to control my eating. So to all those "food weighing portion nazis" (yes I did actually call someone that in a post) I apologize. I bow down to your knowledge.

and i bow down to your willingness to admit the "error" of your prior ways i also hope your injury is a thing of the past, as i am currently struggling with hip pain, grrrrr.

scorpcookie

Nope. I don't use a food scale. I imagine if I did, I would probably be a good 5lbs lighter by now, but losing a pound a week on average since I started is good enough for me.

Bob314159

I have one and have lost 20lbs at 2 per week on Keto without using it. A lot of things I can deal with using the package or count - e.g. 6 macadamia nuts, or by volume - [tablespoon]. However, my loss is stalled this week. = so I suspected some estimates are off. I did find that to be true - like cutting of a slice of cheese - that was 1.5oz not 1oz - that could be enough to add up and mess up my cal count on heavy proteins.

afatpersonwholikesfood

chaoticdreams wrote: »

lug one about when I go out on the town.

I'm not picking on you specifically, but this is another example of something that pops up in food scale threads a lot. Why do people think that food scale users are carrying scales around with them? Have you seen people do this? Do people who use measuring cups but eschew scales keep a set of tablespoons and measuring cups in their purses? The only people I know who carry digital scales around are not weighing food on them.

Again, I am not saying that scales are a requirement for losing or that OP has to use one, but I don't get all the weirdness around them.

47Jacqueline

If OP can follow a food plan and get the desired results without a scale, great, but I'd be more concerned about the obsession over her past and a piece of equipment. If she's in therapy, that might be something to explore. That's my opinion.

enterdanger

68myra wrote: »

enterdanger wrote: »

I lost my first 35lbs without a food scale. I was very anti food scale and very vocal about it. Really, to the point where I was being an a-hole saying things like "Are you seriously gonna weigh food the rest of your life." Then I got lazy and had a sports injury that wouldn't go away. Over the course of a year between indifference and injury I gained back 10lbs and just couldn't seem to lose it for anything.

Two weeks ago I broke down and got the food scale. I've actually discovered that I underestimated nearly everything I eyeballed, that would lead to unexplained hunger, which would lead to binging at night, which lead to guilt and failure. Now that I know my intake it's easier to control my eating. So to all those "food weighing portion nazis" (yes I did actually call someone that in a post) I apologize. I bow down to your knowledge.

and i bow down to your willingness to admit the "error" of your prior ways i also hope your injury is a thing of the past, as i am currently struggling with hip pain, grrrrr.

I'm kinda recovered. I get shin splints when I run that seem to immediately turn in to multiple stress fractures in both legs. I recently found out that both my mom and granny have osteopenia so I might just be inclined to weaker bones. My orthopedist told me that I can run, but when I do he doesn't want me doing more that .5 mile at a clip. then I can walk a .5 mile and run another .5 mile. He thinks my runners high is overriding pain. I think that is BS because I've NEVER had pain (running or afterwards). What clued me in to a problem was that my feet were numb all the time. My normal doc wanted to test me again for MS, no lesions on my brain during the first scan. I ditched her and went to an orthopedist who sent me for a bone scan that showed multiple stress fractures. So I can very gradually like .10 mile increase each week. I'm never supposed to run on back to back days (used to run like every day) and no more than 3 times a week. It's not as fun any more but until I get back to running several miles I gotta use the food scale.

Hope your hip pain gets better. That really sucks.

CoffeeNCardio

afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »

chaoticdreams wrote: »

lug one about when I go out on the town.

I'm not picking on you specifically, but this is another example of something that pops up in food scale threads a lot. Why do people think that food scale users are carrying scales around with them? Have you seen people do this? Do people who use measuring cups but eschew scales keep a set of tablespoons and measuring cups in their purses? The only people I know who carry digital scales around are not weighing food on them.

Again, I am not saying that scales are a requirement for losing or that OP has to use one, but I don't get all the weirdness around them.

Right? One of the beauties of having a food scale is that my calorie intake count is SO SUPER ACCURATE at home that I don't need to worry if I oops on a restaurant meal and get the number off. Ergo, I don't need to bring it anywhere unless I deliberately want to for some reason.

Christine_72

For those that don't use a scale, what does your diary look like?
since most recipes use grams and cups, do you just guess and hope you're close enough?

xxHaley2013xx

I lost 17 pounds at the beginning of the year and never used one. If you're logging stuff and whatever you're eating doesn't say how many calories are on it I usually put whatever one comes up most frequently on here.

SLLRunner

shandy4487 wrote: »

I have read on these forums that using a food scale is very important for accurate logging. I am very nervous about using one because I have a past history with eating disorders. (Before anyone asks, yes I see a therapist for this, lol). So using a food scale is very triggering for me. I currently eyeball my portions, use measuring cups occasionally, and I have been successful in losing 48 pounds since the beginning of this year. But I know the closer I get to my goal, the more accurate my logging needs to be. Has anyone here had continued success without using a food scale? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I do use a food scale, but using one is preference only, or is useful if you have trouble with portion control and/or identification.

If you've lost 48 pounds without using one, then you're doing everything right. Carry on!

SLLRunner

tristen_leigh wrote: »

afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »

I don't understand how something like a food scale becomes such a divisive and/or anxiety-inducing object. I have lost weight with and without a scale in the past, and weighing is a habit I picked up from weight loss attempts way before MFP - I've had a lot of regains, but I have picked up good habits from each foray into dealing with my weight, and weighing food is one of them, in my opinion. I prefer using my digital scale, and I pretty much universally recommend the use of one.

I want to know, as best as I can, exactly what I am eating. Sometimes 1/2 cup of something, when weighed in grams, only reaches 3/4 of the way to the top of a measuring cup. Sometimes, like another poster mentioned, I even get to eat more. If nothing is eyeballed, then I *know* what I can fit into my day, and I get to have a little extra, or, rarely, I discover that a portion size when weighed is larger than I thought.

If you're already counting calories with doctor's approval in order to lose and already seeing a therapist, then it's only a trigger if you frame it that way - perhaps from unfamiliarity. I know that sounds presumptuous, but here's my reasoning: I am assuming that you use measuring cups on occasion, right?

A scale, like measuring cups, is also just a kitchen tool, and I even use my scale when following a recipe now and when preparing food for other people. It's really easy, for example, to just tare out a jar of peanut butter or mayo and use a spoon to lift out the correct amount of grams or to place a mixing bowl on the scale and dump your baking mix directly into it without having extra cups or spoons to wash.

All that said, as others have mentioned, it's not a requirement to lose. I don't believe I ever used a scale the first time I lost a significant amount of weight. Start without one instead of stressing over it. If you find yourself playing with the same few pounds over and over again or not hitting the proper average weekly loss, you may want to start using one.

It's hard to understand the anxiety if you haven't struggled with disordered eating.

I think that depends on the person too. When I was a teen and young adult, I had bulimia, followed by several years of out of control binge eating with no purging. I feel no anxiety at all using my food scale. In fact, for me it's a godsend because it has helped me obtain accuracy and portion control. I lost 44 pounds using a food scale, and have been maintaining for almost two years using one. I love it.

However, there are times I don't use one, especially when I am at other people's houses or I eat out. I pretty much guesstimate then.

omnipotentmiku

I don't. I lost pretty much all of my weight without one. I say pretty much because for a brief time I did use one but that spiraled into chaos making me obsessive about how much food I was eating and the fitbit I got later made me obsessive about calorie expenditure on top of that and it was just one big mess that made me physically ill so I stopped using it and I'm starting to feel a lot better going back to how I used to run this show. That said, it works for plenty of people so do whatever works for you.

PinkPixiexox

I didn't use a food scale for the first 25 lbs lost
After that, I had to tighten things up!

MarcyKirkton

christinev297 wrote: »

For those that don't use a scale, what does your diary look like?
since most recipes use grams and cups, do you just guess and hope you're close enough?

For meat, it's fairly simple. A package of 4 lean center pork chops, for example, weighs 1 lb. That means each pork chop is 4 ozs. If I cannot find a pork for that shows 4 oz, but 3 oz, let's say, then I add 1.2.

For vegetables I use cup measurements usually.

For fish tacos I break it down, for example. 1 corn tortilla......that's verified. Cabbage. One 3 oz fish filet. (See above) 2 tblsp. guacamole, salsa, etc.

It really isn't a big deal. I am confident that I'm coming within 200 calories of accuracy. But the REAL proof is that I lose consistently. If I were underestimating too badly, that would not be the case.

If anything, I find the logging of my exercise to be more suspect. Zumba Gold is just not the same as Zumba, even if I'm older. lol But I use Zumba numbers anyway. I probably should use moderate aerobic exercise numbers instead to be more accurate. It honestly doesn't matter, since I never eat back my exercise calories.

MarcyKirkton

omnipotentmiku wrote: »

I don't. I lost pretty much all of my weight without one. I say pretty much because for a brief time I did use one but that spiraled into chaos making me obsessive about how much food I was eating and the fitbit I got later made me obsessive about calorie expenditure on top of that and it was just one big mess that made me physically ill so I stopped using it and I'm starting to feel a lot better going back to how I used to run this show. That said, it works for plenty of people so do whatever works for you.

Yes, Live and Let Live. I definitely can be obsessive, too. As it is, when I went on a trip, I took my bathroom scale with me. lol That's ridiculous, I know.

God help me if I got a food scale. I would get lost in the weeds, I'm sure.

riffraff2112

I have never used one either. Lost at a steady rate and have maintained for 20 months. Just not something I wanted to do long-term. I eat very consistently and logging isn't necessary anymore once I learned what proper portion sizes and some self control were all I needed. Like with all advice.....this is what worked for me, everyone has their own levels of commitment, control, discipline and knowledge and needs to find what works for them.

So many people swear by them however that I would suggest that if you are not succeeding, it could be that missing piece of the puzzle.

chaoticdreams

afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »

chaoticdreams wrote: »

lug one about when I go out on the town.

I'm not picking on you specifically, but this is another example of something that pops up in food scale threads a lot. Why do people think that food scale users are carrying scales around with them? Have you seen people do this? Do people who use measuring cups but eschew scales keep a set of tablespoons and measuring cups in their purses? The only people I know who carry digital scales around are not weighing food on them.

Again, I am not saying that scales are a requirement for losing or that OP has to use one, but I don't get all the weirdness around them.

Actually, yes I have. My aunt does to both and I've read several posters here that do as well.

EDIT - I have no weirdness about food scales LOL. They are just a tool to be used. But like every other tool out there, they can be misused. My aunt just happens to be one of those people obsessed with them, which I view as unhealthy. My opinion only of course.

samhennings

shandy4487 wrote: »

I have read on these forums that using a food scale is very important for accurate logging. I am very nervous about using one because I have a past history with eating disorders. (Before anyone asks, yes I see a therapist for this, lol). So using a food scale is very triggering for me. I currently eyeball my portions, use measuring cups occasionally, and I have been successful in losing 48 pounds since the beginning of this year. But I know the closer I get to my goal, the more accurate my logging needs to be. Has anyone here had continued success without using a food scale? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I eyeballed everything. If there was a 600g packet with 4 chicken breast in it, Id put one down as 150g and think no more about it.

Just the idea of a food scale makes me miserable and I know, 100% certain, that I never would have stayed the course had I used one.

The only advice I have is to take a higher estimate when entering data, be conservative.

Otherwise, if what you are doing is working, Id suggest you just keep doing it!

haileighdevries1

afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »

chaoticdreams wrote: »

lug one about when I go out on the town.

I'm not picking on you specifically, but this is another example of something that pops up in food scale threads a lot. Why do people think that food scale users are carrying scales around with them? Have you seen people do this? Do people who use measuring cups but eschew scales keep a set of tablespoons and measuring cups in their purses? The only people I know who carry digital scales around are not weighing food on them.

Again, I am not saying that scales are a requirement for losing or that OP has to use one, but I don't get all the weirdness around them.

Just applauding this for one second.... Okay done. Continue.

samhennings

afatpersonwholikesfood wrote: »

tristen_leigh wrote: »

It's hard to understand the anxiety if you haven't struggled with disordered eating.

I was hospitalized for bulimic behavior, among other things, when I was 18. I would think logging and counting calories and weighing yourself on a regular scale on a regular basis would be more of an issue than measuring the food that you are already counting and logging. It's not just those who have had ED behavior - there are plenty of people who post about food scales with no mention of ED issues who have a very negative perception of them.

I have no history of ED issues or anything like it, and I loathe the idea of measuring everything.

I should say, up front, if it works for you thats fantastic, Im happy for anyone who finds what works for them.

For me? I wouldnt last a week. My mind works against me with things like that, as soon as I added something that made it more of a chore to keep up with my head will just abandon the idea.

Keeping it "casual" and doing things conveniently, use the barcode, eye ball, lazy math, meant I kept up with the lifestyle.

Weighing and measuring would have ensured I stopped pretty darn quickly.

I lost the 22lbs I wanted, at a consistent rate, and have been broadly maintaining since. My weight has gone up a bit but thats due to going to the gym and lifting, which I wasnt before. So Im comfortable.

Yes, absolutely, being as accurate as possible would likely have meant I lost the weight faster, but Im happy I got to where I wanted to be in a more relaxed manner.


Incidentally, the one thing I do weigh is Museli. Id happy eat a whole bowl of the stuff but reading the box made me realise that was at least 2 portions! So that was the one exception.

samhennings

christinev297 wrote: »

For those that don't use a scale, what does your diary look like?
since most recipes use grams and cups, do you just guess and hope you're close enough?

If its anything pre-packaged Ill scan the barcode, maybe have to guesstimate how much of it I had.

Yesterday I had an egg and bacon sandwich, so I searched "egg and bacon sandwich" and then looked at the average amount of calories from the results. Then I just picked one at the higher end, I try to be conservative in the selections.

parfia

Nearly 50lbs down and haven't had to resort to a food scale as yet and also eyeball things - I totally get why people use them but I have OCD and to enter another ritual into my daily life would be asking for trouble

FitCurves1818

I don't use one and I've been steadily losing at what my MFP goals are set for. It's pretty easy to determine calorie count from packaged items. I'm not really concerned about overeating fruits and vegetables and meats I've used the deck of cards/palm of hand eyeballing method to determine size or just divide the package weight by the number of servings. I know it's not exact but neither are my exercise calories. I probably overestimate my intake, underestimate my burn and leave 25-50% of my exercise calories as a buffer so the inaccuracies probably wipe each other out but ymmv.

tahn1000

i have a scale and initially i used it intermittently on and off. then while i was plateauing (for days) i started wondering about why (as you do) and i started measuring to make sure i was recording accurately. i found out i was consuming 2-3 times as much of my cereal as was a recommended serving and most days i had two breakfasts because i start my day early. i was devastated. learned my lesson. if things at home (the only place i use it) aren't already in serving portions, i measure.

srujana_kanneganti

I didn't for my first 40 pounds of loss.

When I started to use my scale I realized I tend to slightly overestimate my consumption, but otherwise was in ballpark. So I don't feel frequent need to use it.