Weighing food is so important!

Francl27

I weigh everything. Now 3 years into it, I'm pretty dead no for meat or cheese, but I still fail completely when it comes to nut butter or pasta etc. So I weigh... and will keep weighing.

My scale has been a pain though, not always registering low amounts. Very annoying as I often only use a couple grams of butter or something... I sprinkled some almonds on my oats this morning and it didn't register at all, so I entered 10g of almonds (it was probably way less). My last scale wasn't as annoying by far.

AigreDoux

I weigh calorie-dense things (meat, nuts, and cheese especially, but also yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruits) but I don't weigh every onion or red pepper I put in a recipe. I don't generally weigh very low calorie density foods like broccoli, cucumbers, or lettuce. I tend to overestimate the amount, but even if I was off by a whole cup it would only be a few calories.

I have been using the trick of weighing a whole recipe then setting a serving as one ounce, then adding as many servings as ounces I eat. It still doesn't take into account the fact that if I make a stir fry with chicken, I may be getting more or less than exactly 1/4th of the recipes chicken when I take a spoonful, but it's better than nothing. And pretty good for more homogenous things like chili or soup.

ZeroDelta

Francl27 wrote: »

I weigh everything. Now 3 years into it, I'm pretty dead no for meat or cheese, but I still fail completely when it comes to nut butter or pasta etc. So I weigh... and will keep weighing.

My scale has been a pain though, not always registering low amounts. Very annoying as I often only use a couple grams of butter or something... I sprinkled some almonds on my oats this morning and it didn't register at all, so I entered 10g of almonds (it was probably way less). My last scale wasn't as annoying by far.

I have a special scale for small amounts.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012N1NAA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

zenjen13

AigreDoux wrote: »

I weigh calorie-dense things (meat, nuts, and cheese especially, but also yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruits) but I don't weigh every onion or red pepper I put in a recipe. I don't generally weigh very low calorie density foods like broccoli, cucumbers, or lettuce. I tend to overestimate the amount, but even if I was off by a whole cup it would only be a few calories.

I have been using the trick of weighing a whole recipe then setting a serving as one ounce, then adding as many servings as ounces I eat. It still doesn't take into account the fact that if I make a stir fry with chicken, I may be getting more or less than exactly 1/4th of the recipes chicken when I take a spoonful, but it's better than nothing. And pretty good for more homogenous things like chili or soup.

I do this too. When you cook for a family and it's a casserole, soup or lasagna it's really tough for me to know what a portion is. I found my scale helped me the most with cheese. It's so difficult to estimate cheese for me and it's high in calories. I even measure my wine in fluid ounces. I cannot eyeball wine especially when we use different glasses depending on the occasion. Yeah, maybe measuring isn't for everyone but it is for me. It takes almost no time at all and my new way of eating is not a deprivation bc I can eat anything as long as I weigh it and I have enough calories for it. There's not much wiggle room at 1200 calories a day.

chrissymfred

I just got my scale a few days ago, and I've had a couple of surprises. I was putting a lot more sugar in my coffee than I thought. But on the other side, I was eating half the cheese I thought. Yay! Oh and bread too, I was eating way less than I was recording, and my butter was just about right.
I am still getting the hang of it, but I really love it...actually knowing how much I have eaten helps me relax about my eating.

Rocknut53

snowflake930 wrote: »

Another vote for "not everyone needs to weigh their food".

I do have a scale. Used 2 times.
On MFP for almost 4 years. I have lost over 1/2 of my current body weight, and have been on maintenance for over 2 years.

As with most things pertaining to losing weight/becoming healthier, find what works for you.

I have a scale coming although having lost (I hate to say lost, because that implies I should go look for it) 23 pounds, I'm not sure I need it. I'm going to give it a shot though just to see how accurate I have been. Knowing that measurements can be variable I tend to under measure everything and I definitely don't eat back all my exercise calories. I think I have found what works for me.

areallycoolstory

for the folks who love using a scale, do you plan on using one for the rest of your life or just until you reach your goal weight?

Francl27

areallycoolstory wrote: »

for the folks who love using a scale, do you plan on using one for the rest of your life or just until you reach your goal weight?

Been maintaining for over 1.5 year, still weighing. It takes two seconds to hit two buttons. The only drawback is losing a bit of counter space, lol.

glassyo

areallycoolstory wrote: »

for the folks who love using a scale, do you plan on using one for the rest of your life or just until you reach your goal weight?

Unless I lose my mind and not care if I gain all the weight I've lost back, then yup! I'm gonna have to weigh my food.

debkie77

I love mine & feel it makes my logging much more accurate. So much so thinking of upgrading to one with a higher capacity.