Weighting everything to the ounce. So discouraging.
Replies
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@CharlieBeansmomTracey
Yes, I know but I change my recipes all the time, as I add, delete, replace items and/or change the amounts, and I also change the foods that eat daily. I have a problem with people saying that it takes 5 minutes a day to weigh and log the food, unless you eat the same thing all the time and in the same amounts. It doesn't work that way for many people, and certainly not for me.
I dont eat the same thing all the time and I too tweak my recipes from time to time. It doesnt take me that long to weigh food,Ive been doing it almost 2 years though too so that may be the difference.once you weigh foods sometimes it makes it easier to eyeball a portion,but not always.the only way it takes me a little more time is if Im having or making a big meal. I just weigh and write everything down,then I enter it into MFP.it really doesnt take much time. now when you come to a entry that isnt correct I just look for another one that is. if none of them are I will take the one that is closest and edit it(you can do that unless it has a green check mark),and enter the proper info. makes it a lot easier that way too. It should not take a long time to weigh food,once you get the hang of it its actually a lot quicker.not to mention weighing food is more accurate and with so little left to lose i have to be as accurate as I can. that can be the difference between losing and a plateau or even gaining weight0 -
oh and also use the older recipe builder(usually found on the right of the recipe page) it seems to have more entries and is more accurate0
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xbowhunter wrote: »I don't own a food scale. I will probably get beat up for that... LOL
I estimate the best that I can & it's working. I have 5lbs more to go to get to my goal. If I happen to stall I may have to spring for one but for now I refuse to weigh my food...
I use measuring cups and my eyeballs and lose about 2-3 lb per week, so yes, it's doable.0 -
I weigh and measure everything because I suffer from portion distortion. If i don't measure and weigh it then I will eat more than a regular portion.0
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »@CharlieBeansmomTracey
Yes, I know but I change my recipes all the time, as I add, delete, replace items and/or change the amounts, and I also change the foods that eat daily. I have a problem with people saying that it takes 5 minutes a day to weigh and log the food, unless you eat the same thing all the time and in the same amounts. It doesn't work that way for many people, and certainly not for me.
I dont eat the same thing all the time and I too tweak my recipes from time to time. It doesnt take me that long to weigh food,Ive been doing it almost 2 years though too so that may be the difference.once you weigh foods sometimes it makes it easier to eyeball a portion,but not always.the only way it takes me a little more time is if Im having or making a big meal. I just weigh and write everything down,then I enter it into MFP.it really doesnt take much time. now when you come to a entry that isnt correct I just look for another one that is. if none of them are I will take the one that is closest and edit it(you can do that unless it has a green check mark),and enter the proper info. makes it a lot easier that way too. It should not take a long time to weigh food,once you get the hang of it its actually a lot quicker.not to mention weighing food is more accurate and with so little left to lose i have to be as accurate as I can. that can be the difference between losing and a plateau or even gaining weight
Thank you for your ideas; I have been doing this for 6 years and in maintenance for 5 and half years, so I know all the tricks.
I lost my weight (14 lbs) without at scale, I just use one for the macros. I still don't like it and find it annoying, so I take breaks quite often.0 -
I feel conflicted. My first response is that weighing all of my food would be a really good way to chase me away from a diet. It would be tedious and soul-sucking. But, looking at the comparison of the almonds and how much 28 grams differed from a 1/4 cup makes me wonder. I don't own a scale, but I may compromise and purchase one to match my measurements against the weight.0
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triciatichu wrote: »I feel conflicted. My first response is that weighing all of my food would be a really good way to chase me away from a diet. It would be tedious and soul-sucking. But, looking at the comparison of the almonds and how much 28 grams differed from a 1/4 cup makes me wonder. I don't own a scale, but I may compromise and purchase one to match my measurements against the weight.
Do you have any issue with measuring things when you make a recipe? Is that soul sucking and tedious? If not, then frankly it is not really that different weighing your food. If it is, well, then do the best you can with eyeballing and other measuring options. It can be done, the thing is, if you stall, then you know that the first place people will look is logging issue which a scale greatly reduces.0 -
I have never owned a good scale and now that I am in maintenance, I rarely log at all.
I had to work through a lot of issues with ocd just to be able to log while I was losing. For me, adding in weighing all my food would have been detrimental to my success mentally. I understand why people use a food scale and I even understand how people could even like it. I just wish people could understand my side of it. Oh well, I am at goal so it doesn't really matter who gets it.
Op: Do what you need to do for your own mental and physical well being. Scales are very beneficial to some and the most accurate way to judge intake, but you don't have to use one to be successful.0 -
I have never owned a good scale and now that I am in maintenance, I rarely log at all.
I had to work through a lot of issues with ocd just to be able to log while I was losing. For me, adding in weighing all my food would have been detrimental to my success mentally. I understand why people use a food scale and I even understand how people could even like it. I just wish people could understand my side of it. Oh well, I am at goal so it doesn't really matter who gets it.
Op: Do what you need to do for your own mental and physical well being. Scales are very beneficial to some and the most accurate way to judge intake, but you don't have to use one to be successful.
I get it! I think it's awesome you had success without weighing your food.
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arditarose wrote: »I have never owned a good scale and now that I am in maintenance, I rarely log at all.
I had to work through a lot of issues with ocd just to be able to log while I was losing. For me, adding in weighing all my food would have been detrimental to my success mentally. I understand why people use a food scale and I even understand how people could even like it. I just wish people could understand my side of it. Oh well, I am at goal so it doesn't really matter who gets it.
Op: Do what you need to do for your own mental and physical well being. Scales are very beneficial to some and the most accurate way to judge intake, but you don't have to use one to be successful.
I get it! I think it's awesome you had success without weighing your food.
I know some people can see the other side of it and it is much appreciated! I should have worded that part better.0 -
arditarose wrote: »I have never owned a good scale and now that I am in maintenance, I rarely log at all.
I had to work through a lot of issues with ocd just to be able to log while I was losing. For me, adding in weighing all my food would have been detrimental to my success mentally. I understand why people use a food scale and I even understand how people could even like it. I just wish people could understand my side of it. Oh well, I am at goal so it doesn't really matter who gets it.
Op: Do what you need to do for your own mental and physical well being. Scales are very beneficial to some and the most accurate way to judge intake, but you don't have to use one to be successful.
I get it! I think it's awesome you had success without weighing your food.
I know some people can see the other side of it and it is much appreciated! I should have worded that part better.
No it was worded fine. I mean, in my book if what you're doing works-great! But some people come on here asking why they can't lose, yet are so reluctant to TRY a food scale-or worse yet, cannot believe that they are eating too much.0 -
dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »I just read one blog. OMG I'm new to this forum. It's so shocking. Really, is that what you do? Weigh everything to the ounce? It's so discouraging. Diet.dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »I just read one blog. OMG I'm new to this forum. It's so shocking. Really, is that what you do? Weigh everything to the ounce? It's so discouraging. Diet.
NO its not that's the only way to loss to weight... You have to know every thing that goes in... Otherwise you will have to give it up because you will eventually gain it back with cheating. I have been their many times.... You can do it.0 -
So you have a choice. Continue on whatever diet you think works (which probably isn't since you've looked here), or take the steps you need to to be successful. Success isn't for everyone because they aren't WILLING to do what it takes for it to happen. If not, that's how life goes and you can either complain about non success or do what it takes to achieve it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
[/quote]
Wow. Sorry I offended you. I wasn't complaining. I was only surprised to come on this forum and read about what people do to lose weight. Not everyone has to do the same thing. You should learn that as a fitness trainer. Your post was the only really non helpful post and actually seems hateful.
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So you have a choice. Continue on whatever diet you think works (which probably isn't since you've looked here), or take the steps you need to to be successful. Success isn't for everyone because they aren't WILLING to do what it takes for it to happen. If not, that's how life goes and you can either complain about non success or do what it takes to achieve it.dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »I just read one blog. OMG I'm new to this forum. It's so shocking. Really, is that what you do? Weigh everything to the ounce? It's so discouraging. Diet.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
This advice is what helped me. It was the wake up call that I personally needed when I first started on my weight loss journey. It's not 'mean', and definitely not report-worthy.0 -
Well it doesn't work that way for everybody. I have been doing it for almost 6 years and I still find it annoying and time consuming. I don't use the app, so I have to weight everything, log it in a piece of paper and then when I have the time enter it in the database. I am a PC person, I don't do apps.
And it takes more than 5 minutes in an entire day unless you eat only one meal. I cook three meals a day for me and my husband, so yes it is time consuming, especially if you have a lot of ingredients to weigh (big salads anyone?), or if you are preparing a big recipe, or if you are using new ingredients that you have to look for in the database (and sometimes are not there so you have to manually enter them).
I log on a PC, and my method is to pre-log everything the night before - using the recipe builder and saved meals to make it quick - and rather than log what I weigh, I weigh out what I already logged. This replaces the use of measuring cups, etc. Essentially, I'm using the log I already created as a recipe to prepare or portion out the meal.
I don't adjust my logs to reflect the actual grams I weighted if they are different, unless the difference is significant (either a large amount off, or a smaller amount of very calorie-dense food).
Typical time is far less than 5 minutes per day.0 -
It's funny how people do it differently. I've tried prelogging and just can't, but logging while cooking takes no time for me (whereas trying to estimate drove me crazy). I just add in the scale as a step in the cooking process (chop, weigh)--I either remember a few things and then walk over to my laptop or I jot it down and log when everything is cooking (some things get weighed at the end, if I've created a recipe or am doing bone-in meat).
I never use the app, and the only thing I hate and find burdensome is creating a recipe, so when possible I list out ingredients instead.
Even when I'm not logging I find myself weighing out food -- stuff like pasta and oatmeal because I'm just used to using the serving size, and stuff like potatoes and veg to confirm I'm eating my normal amount (roughly). There's no real reason for it, but it's just such a habit.
I lost fine before I weighed, but I was comfortable with a food scale from baking, hated estimating, and find the scale fun. It's even turned me around on metric (well, to a point -- human weights in kg still look weird to me!). ;-)0 -
the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
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dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
Well, have you been successful without weighing your food? Perhaps you can share the strategy you used to create a deficit, day in/day out for weeks at a time for others here who would like to do it without using a food scale.0 -
rankinsect wrote: »Well it doesn't work that way for everybody. I have been doing it for almost 6 years and I still find it annoying and time consuming. I don't use the app, so I have to weight everything, log it in a piece of paper and then when I have the time enter it in the database. I am a PC person, I don't do apps.
And it takes more than 5 minutes in an entire day unless you eat only one meal. I cook three meals a day for me and my husband, so yes it is time consuming, especially if you have a lot of ingredients to weigh (big salads anyone?), or if you are preparing a big recipe, or if you are using new ingredients that you have to look for in the database (and sometimes are not there so you have to manually enter them).
I log on a PC, and my method is to pre-log everything the night before - using the recipe builder and saved meals to make it quick - and rather than log what I weigh, I weigh out what I already logged. This replaces the use of measuring cups, etc. Essentially, I'm using the log I already created as a recipe to prepare or portion out the meal.
I don't adjust my logs to reflect the actual grams I weighted if they are different, unless the difference is significant (either a large amount off, or a smaller amount of very calorie-dense food).
Typical time is far less than 5 minutes per day.
Thank you but I don't pre-log; I never did, unless I will be eating something that I prepared and freeze ahead of time, which is not too often. Most of the time, I have no idea of what I am going to make for any of my meals so I have to start from scratch.
I appreciate everybody’s ideas, suggestions and recommendations and I am glad that many of you find weighting and logging your food easy and joyful. I don’t, I never did, and reading some of the comments in this threat, I am not the only one.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »grams or ounces. it doesn't matter. the idea is what I meant to say. I think that is the weight watchers approach. it's great if that works for you.
How is the idea any different really from using measuring utensils...which most people don't seem to have an issue with...but then the scale is somehow this crazy thing. It's just a tool and it is faster and more accurate than utensils.
Plus no measuring cups to wash.0 -
dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
Nothing he said was abusive.0 -
dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
I don't see that as abusive at all. Plus it's true. The majority do fail on diets.
If you don't find it motivating, focus on the posts you do find motivating.
However, you're so triggered by it that you may find it useful to step back and reflect on why.
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rankinsect wrote: »Well it doesn't work that way for everybody. I have been doing it for almost 6 years and I still find it annoying and time consuming. I don't use the app, so I have to weight everything, log it in a piece of paper and then when I have the time enter it in the database. I am a PC person, I don't do apps.
And it takes more than 5 minutes in an entire day unless you eat only one meal. I cook three meals a day for me and my husband, so yes it is time consuming, especially if you have a lot of ingredients to weigh (big salads anyone?), or if you are preparing a big recipe, or if you are using new ingredients that you have to look for in the database (and sometimes are not there so you have to manually enter them).
I log on a PC, and my method is to pre-log everything the night before - using the recipe builder and saved meals to make it quick - and rather than log what I weigh, I weigh out what I already logged. This replaces the use of measuring cups, etc. Essentially, I'm using the log I already created as a recipe to prepare or portion out the meal.
I don't adjust my logs to reflect the actual grams I weighted if they are different, unless the difference is significant (either a large amount off, or a smaller amount of very calorie-dense food).
Typical time is far less than 5 minutes per day.
Thank you but I don't pre-log; I never did, unless I will be eating something that I prepared and freeze ahead of time, which is not too often. Most of the time, I have no idea of what I am going to make for any of my meals so I have to start from scratch.
I appreciate everybody’s ideas, suggestions and recommendations and I am glad that many of you find weighting and logging your food easy and joyful. I don’t, I never did, and reading some of the comments in this threat, I am not the only one.
In this threat!
lol I know what you meant. It's a complete and total pain sometimes. I just want to put the food on my plate, and put it in my face. I also know that I'm horrible about judging portions, and that cups and measuring spoons can be vastly incorrect. There are times when I don't, and I do just guesstimate, but I try and be as accurate as possible 90% of the time so I make sure that I'm on track. It's my preference to do so, and it's what I recommend when people claim that after so many weeks they're seeing no progress (to help improve accuracy). 0 -
If you can start out guessing and are losing weight more power to you. If the losses slow down consider weighing food to be more accurate. You don't have to start there. I didn't for the first three or four months. I've lost over 100lbs since July 2015.0
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dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
How is the truth abuse? I don't even see how it is aimed at you.
Some people find a way forward, other people find excuses.0 -
dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »the guy said whatever i'm doing probably isn't working for me
he said SUCCESS ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!!!!!
you call that nice. i don't need abuse. i didn't come here for that.
That's truth not abuse.
On a public forum , you will find that others may not share the same opinion as you do. That doesn't make it abusive.0 -
dcdcdcdenisedcdcdc wrote: »I just read one blog. OMG I'm new to this forum. It's so shocking. Really, is that what you do? Weigh everything to the ounce? It's so discouraging. Diet.
Yup, at home I weigh everything to the gram, except liquids (which I measure).
After a short learning period, it's easy. It's accurate. It makes weight loss into something like a fun science-fair project, understandable and manageable.
For me, it's been extremely successful. And I'm 60 y/o as well as hypothyroid, besides, which some people will tell you makes it hard to lose. SW 183 in April 2015, CW 120 at 5'5" (a little too light, actually), working on figuring out my maintenance calories.0 -
I weigh everything at home, except sometimes small side servings of salad leaves or raw spinach, where the margin of error is negligible. I got used to doing it quickly, it only takes a few minutes a day, and it's been so liberating to be able to eat everything in moderation and only restrict calories.
Every time I weigh something, I use it as an opportunity to teach myself to estimate better - before I put something on the scale I'll try and guess how much it will weigh, or I'll try and eyeball e.g. 40g of oats and then check how close I am and adjust. This helps me estimate better when I eat out 0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »Weighing in grams is more precise. You don't have to weigh food for ever, it just gets you good at eyeballing portions.
This. I can grab a portion of spaghetti, plonk it on the scales to double check and am within 5g almost every time.0
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