I understand and then I don't (scales and weighing and calorie worrying)

BiggDaddy58 · June 2016

I understand all the weighing of food, and worrying over whether it's 3.5 cups or 3.2 cups and whether it's actually 100 calories or maybe 150 calories. I get it. However, it doesn't make much sense to me. This is just MY opinion. Unless you're training for the Olympics, weighing in for a title fight and have to make weight, or are some world class athlete, or possibly for SERIOUS health issues, I really do not get it. I don't think the calories are off by that much as to throw off your whole lifestyle, or suddenly make you gain 2 pounds when you should have lost one.

I do not weigh much of my food at all. I have a food scale and use it IF I have something which actually requires me to use it. Otherwise I use the information listed on the package or what MFP has for it. I started on Feb 29th at 308 # and weigh in Monday at 255.2# a loss of 52.8# in 98 days. I put myself on a "strict" 1200 calorie a day diet for the first two months and now I log between 1200-1600 depending. I ride a stationary bike an hour+ a day and lift very light weights in the a.m. and p.m. for a short period of time..10 minutes each. I'm 57 years old.

I overestimate calories up if I have to, and underestimate calories burned to allow for some incidental incorrect calories. It is a lifestyle change not just a "diet" and at some point, I have to figure..I got this..I know what to eat and what not to eat?

I know the weight comes off easier, when you are really overweight, however. if you know your BMR, your TDEE and your approximate calorie intake, along with your ballpark calorie output, you can lose weight, or maintain, w/o weighing things, and worrying about little things? I know everyone is different, but I really don't get it.(Unless you fall in those certain categories I mentioned)

Maybe if I get down to 198 and have serious trouble losing anymore , I'll get more serious about it. But this is a lifestyle change, it should not, after time, require food scales and worrying over juice in a can..should it?

I am not suggesting that you stop using a food scale, or stop trying to determine how many calories you input and how many you output, but at some point it is overdoing it..isn't it?

Not a knock on people who use whatever tools they wish for success. I wish everyone a successful journey on whatever course they've chosen.

YMMV as always

RoxieDawn · June 2016

Thanks for sharing your opinion on this. And if you don't get it, you just don't get it! Not rocket science here.

Not to be snarkie at all, don't do it and for those of us that got many years under our belts, we will stick with what we know and what works for us!

And by the way, some us do train! And some do have health issues and some just want to stay or be as healthy as they can, they reached a goal and want to keep it that way.

bogwoppt1 · June 2016

When you have a large amount of weight to lose, and reduce your calories as drastically as you did, then weighing matters less. A 308 pound man can lose if he estimates food. It is also possible just to cut out stuff like soft drinks or candy and lose without really counting calories.

The challenge is when you are trying to lose a pound a week and you only weigh 150 pounds. Then every gram really does matter.

Being 200 calories "off" a day matters very little when you are 300 pounds. But once you reach the lower range 200 calories extra a day can be the difference in loss and gain.

janejellyroll · June 2016

I weigh 108. When I weighed an orange I ate recently, I found it was 40 calories more than what I had initially logged (based on eye-balling the fruit). For my calorie goal, that's a big deal.

Others may have more wiggle room, but when you are dealing with fewer calories, accuracy can be important.

stealthq · June 2016

bogwoppt1 wrote: »

When you have a large amount of weight to lose, and reduce your calories as drastically as you did, then weighing matters less. A 308 pound man will lose if he estimates food.

The challenge is when you are trying to lose a pound a week and you only weigh 150 pounds. Then every gram really does matter.

Being 200 calories "off" a day matters very little when you are 300 pounds. But once you reach the lower range 200 calories extra a day can be the difference in loss and gain.

All of this.

Got a huge deficit you can do, you've got a ton of leeway for incorrect estimates. Take advantage of it. No reason to be nitpicky and make things difficult if you're being successful.

When you don't have that much leeway, lots of people find that weight loss is not so easy. That's when weighing comes in.

RoxieDawn · June 2016

I think eyeballing brought me to to MFP to begin with!

olive1968 · June 2016

You have the ability to lose with a lot of cushion in your calories. I don't. I have a low TDEE, so a low calorie allotment. Where I'm at, if I under count by 100 calories a day, that could mean no weight loss for that week. I just don't have much room for error.

endlessfall16 · June 2016

OP, I already saw this side a few weeks in. I realize the body is really good at managing surplus and deficit and in a lot longer than 24 hours. I stopped weighing foods after 2 months in. It's unnecessary to be precise with 1xxx calories. Life (at least mine) is much more spontaneous and up/down than such precision. I have enough worries and I don't need another worry about calories. All the work and concern about foods are pale in comparison to a bit of effort used for self control around foods.

That said, everyone is different. Many people are comfortable with what they only know and not expanding. It's good that they are losing weight with what they learned on first day. You don't have to, and you cannot, understand everyone's tendencies.

VioletRojo · June 2016

BiggDaddy58 wrote: »

I know the weight comes off easier, when you are really overweight, however. if you know your BMR, your TDEE and your approximate calorie intake, along with your ballpark calorie output, you can lose weight, or maintain, w/o weighing things, and worrying about little things?

^^ Right there is the answer. When you have a lot of weight to lose, you afford to be less precise with your measurements. But it took me eight months to lose eight pounds last year. I had to very precise in my measurements because I had very little to lose. Get down to you last 10 pounds and we'll revisit the subject.

Edited to add that since losing the weight last year, I've lost my thyroid to cancer. I have no wiggle room anymore at all. I weigh every morsel that goes in my mouth.

Colorscheme · June 2016

Personally, weighing isn't a must. It's just the most accurate way of counting calories and MFP gets bombarded a lot with "have lost no weight on ____ calories"

Usually due to people not counting correctly. So if you're not losing weight and not weighing food, try weighing and see if it helps.

snowflake954 · June 2016

I'm with everyone else. I have to really watch, if I don't I gain. Kuddos to you and hope you don't arrive where alot of us are. Walk a mile in my shoes....there's a reason they say it.

janejellyroll · June 2016

endlessfall16 wrote: »

OP, I already saw this side a few weeks in. I realize the body is really good at managing surplus and deficit and in a lot longer than 24 hours. I stopped weighing foods after 2 months in. It's unnecessary to be precise with 1xxx calories. Life (at least mine) is much more spontaneous and up/down than such precision. I have enough worries and I don't need another worry about calories. All the work and concern about foods are pale in comparison to a bit of effort used for self control around foods.

That said, everyone is different. Many people are comfortable with what they only know and not expanding. It's good that they are losing weight with what they learned on first day. You don't have to, and you cannot, understand everyone's tendencies.

Choosing to weigh doesn't mean that one is only comfortable with what they know and not expanding. It just means they have found a method that works for them.

I don't know if there are "tendencies" to "understand" as much as there are different methods that people can choose based on their lifestyle, goals, and preferences.

afatpersonwholikesfood · June 2016

BiggDaddy58 wrote: »

however. if you know your BMR, your TDEE and your approximate calorie intake, along with your ballpark calorie output............

But this is a lifestyle change, it should not, after time, require food scales and worrying over juice in a can..should it?

1. If you want to calculate a TDEE that is more accurate than what you get from a calculator online, you need data going back at least 2-3 months, and that data needs to be as accurate as you can make it.

2. As for the lifestyle change aspect, for me, I plan on weighing and logging permanently. In the past, any time I lost a lot of weight, I had this idea that I needed to reach a point of normalcy. That meant no more weighing or logging and just eating like a normal person. For me, personally, this is something that is not possible. I would not have had such a massive weight problem my whole life if it were. I've come to accept this and look at my logging as part of my "treatment".

Plus, weighing everything means that you actually may get to eat more than you think sometimes. You know that you have X amount of calories left for something vs. just hoping that you do - at least within a margin of error that will still exist when weighing, but it's a lot smaller than eyeballing.

Purplebunnysarah · June 2016

I'm sorta with you OP... for now. I weigh calorie dense stuff until I'm comfortable eyeballing it but I don't weigh e.g. my cucumbers. There are some foods I just can't seem to get to the eyeball stage (I'm looking at you, almond butter). If I ever plateau for a reason I can't explain, I will tighten up.

But I get why people with smaller deficits have to weigh absolutely everything, as well.

dlcshan · June 2016

Some people (like myself) really suck at "eyeballing". I can't eyeball 12 inches, I can't eyeball 3 oz, and I can't eyeball a half of a cup. I know my flaws and I work with them rather than try to fight against them. If that means I have to obsessively weigh and calculate, then I live with it. I always have loved math anyway.
In fact, I wish recipes would use mass rather than volume anyway. Why do we still use volume for fine powders anyway? I'd rather just weigh and be done with it than have to sift flour or worry whether I'm spooning it lightly enough.

afatpersonwholikesfood · June 2016

Here's one video on the issue. There's another as well that is really good, but I have to look a bit more for it.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU

edit: ^figured out how to embed the video a couple posts down from this one

endlessfall16 · June 2016

janejellyroll wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

OP, I already saw this side a few weeks in. I realize the body is really good at managing surplus and deficit and in a lot longer than 24 hours. I stopped weighing foods after 2 months in. It's unnecessary to be precise with 1xxx calories. Life (at least mine) is much more spontaneous and up/down than such precision. I have enough worries and I don't need another worry about calories. All the work and concern about foods are pale in comparison to a bit of effort used for self control around foods.

That said, everyone is different. Many people are comfortable with what they only know and not expanding. It's good that they are losing weight with what they learned on first day. You don't have to, and you cannot, understand everyone's tendencies.

Choosing to weigh doesn't mean that one is only comfortable with what they know and not expanding. It just means they have found a method that works for them.

I don't know if there are "tendencies" to "understand" as much as there are different methods that people can choose based on their lifestyle, goals, and preferences.

It's controversial when intelligence or capability is discussed. So we better not go there. But think about this, as most things in life there tends to be superior ways and rudimentary ways. Do you think all fit people need to weigh? The answer is obviously No. If people could get fit without weighing, do you think they would take that option? Yes.

snowflake954 · June 2016

endlessfall16 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

OP, I already saw this side a few weeks in. I realize the body is really good at managing surplus and deficit and in a lot longer than 24 hours. I stopped weighing foods after 2 months in. It's unnecessary to be precise with 1xxx calories. Life (at least mine) is much more spontaneous and up/down than such precision. I have enough worries and I don't need another worry about calories. All the work and concern about foods are pale in comparison to a bit of effort used for self control around foods.

That said, everyone is different. Many people are comfortable with what they only know and not expanding. It's good that they are losing weight with what they learned on first day. You don't have to, and you cannot, understand everyone's tendencies.

Choosing to weigh doesn't mean that one is only comfortable with what they know and not expanding. It just means they have found a method that works for them.

I don't know if there are "tendencies" to "understand" as much as there are different methods that people can choose based on their lifestyle, goals, and preferences.

It's controversial when intelligence or capability is discussed. So we better not go there. But think about this, as most things in life there tends to be superior ways and rudimentary ways. Do you think all fit people need to weigh? The answer is obviously No. If people could get fit without weighing, do you think they would take that option? Yes.

Sure, and if I could wave a magic wand, I'd do that too.

janejellyroll · June 2016

endlessfall16 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

endlessfall16 wrote: »

OP, I already saw this side a few weeks in. I realize the body is really good at managing surplus and deficit and in a lot longer than 24 hours. I stopped weighing foods after 2 months in. It's unnecessary to be precise with 1xxx calories. Life (at least mine) is much more spontaneous and up/down than such precision. I have enough worries and I don't need another worry about calories. All the work and concern about foods are pale in comparison to a bit of effort used for self control around foods.

That said, everyone is different. Many people are comfortable with what they only know and not expanding. It's good that they are losing weight with what they learned on first day. You don't have to, and you cannot, understand everyone's tendencies.

Choosing to weigh doesn't mean that one is only comfortable with what they know and not expanding. It just means they have found a method that works for them.

I don't know if there are "tendencies" to "understand" as much as there are different methods that people can choose based on their lifestyle, goals, and preferences.

It's controversial when intelligence or capability is discussed. So we better not go there. But think about this, as most things in life there tends to be superior ways and rudimentary ways. Do you think all fit people need to weigh? The answer is obviously No. If people could get fit without weighing, do you think they would take that option? Yes.

If people could get fit without counting calories, they'd probably do that too. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with using calorie counting as a tool for weight loss or that the people who choose it are only comfortable with what they know and don't want to expand.

Food scales, calorie databases, . . . these things are just tools. I don't think one can make assumptions about broader personality traits based on someone choosing to use certain tools for weight loss over others.