Do I really need to weigh food?
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I don't YET. I measured cheese a few times to be able to eyeball 1oz. BUT I'm set to lose 2lbs a week. If I go over slightly I'm still ok. I also don't eat my exercise calories back YET (I'm only walking) to help cover for any overages.
Having said all of that I'm sure I cheat myself some calories and some days I'm over due to not weighing. My goal has been from day 1 to learn while I'm losing to get a good feel of calorie count and portion so I can eat this way for life hopefully without weighing.
Disclaimer: I may change my mind if weight stops coming off for weeks or when I get closer to goal as I hear its a much slower rate of losing.1 -
I did weigh food in the beginning to help me get an idea of portion sizes. Then when I thought I had gotten the hang of it I would do a 'maintenance trial' and not weigh food for a bit and if/when the weight started to creep up, I would start weighing food again. I really don't want to be weighing food every day for the rest of my life.3
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purplebirdey8080 wrote: »Like if the package says two pieces of bread is 140 calories, do I not believe it? My diary is open, so feedback welcome (please, be kind stranger)!
The last loaf of bread I bought said 2 slices = 50 g = 130 cals. I weighed one slice. It was 55 g. So, actually, 2 slices = 110 g = 286 cals.
Packages don't usually lie by that much (and I find bread to be worse for misreporting portion size than most other food), but if you stop losing, you may want to look into weighing your food. If you can lose without weighing then you don't need to weigh.
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My scale has been the most useful practice in my weight loss. After goal I got a bit lazy and weight starting slowly creeping back. Back to the scale, and back to goal. But to your question, no you don't have to use a scale to lose.1
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I don't weigh anything but pretty much everything I eat I cook myself so I know what I am putting on my plate and even if some items are a little off, it averages out.
Even if your calorie counting is perfect, your weight will still fluctuate quite a bit just from water weight. I weigh myself once a week on Sunday morning. Some weeks, it is disappointing not to see the improvement I expect but then I typically see a bigger jump the following week or vice versa.5 -
weighing food is the newest big rant on here. I weigh for reference to educate myself.. I know now what two to three ounces of meat look like and two ounces of uncooked pasta. My work there was done. Don't want to weigh each bite i eat forever.3
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If you stop losing it may help. Our eyes play tricks on us and we underestimate portions. Here is a great video demonstrating why weighing is important:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
See.. i wouldn't weigh this stuff.. i just wouldn't eat chips or a creamy salad dressing.0 -
do what works for you. i have lost quite a bit of weight, and i never weigh my food. i do weigh myself every day though.1
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purplebirdey8080 wrote: »New-ish to MFP (one month). Had a big loss the first two weeks I was counting and nothing the second two weeks (a few splurge days, maybe?) I never counted calories so this is a big change all around...I keep reading that people weigh their food? Is it that important? Like if the package says two pieces of bread is 140 calories, do I not believe it? My diary is open, so feedback welcome (please, be kind stranger)!
if you're going to do this then you may find the closer accuracy that comes with weighing food to be helpful
But no there's no rule ...do what works for you0 -
You don't need to but if you want than you can.
If you want to lose weight than eat not more than 1/3 rd of your stomach and drink not more than 1/3 Rd of your stomach. And don't eat more than 3 times a day. You will be suprised of the results you see.0 -
I don't weigh things like slices of Wonder bread or packaged things but I do weigh things like meat, cheese, anything really calorie dense. If I were to stall (and I have) I'd just evaluate if I'm being as accurate as I can be. There are days I weigh vegetables I chop and there are days I eyeball 2tbsp of mayo. You need to collect more than two weeks of data to know what you can and can not get away with1
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I would definately recommend weighing your food using scales and measuring your liquids using a measuring jug. I think it's important to realise that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. That being said, I think a lot of time should be invested into perfecting your diet. Measuring your food is crucial. You may think you're eating 1500 cals for example & it turns out your acting eating 2100 cals. I think if you want to track your calories religiously and you want to lose a certain amount of weight weekly (like I do), than weighing your food is essential. However, if you don't mind eventually losing at a slower pace and you're okay with losing a pound or half a pound here & there, then I guess it's fine. It really depends what kind of person you are and how much you want to lose the weight. Hope this helped.
Good luck ❤️.0 -
Weighing your food is the #1, best thing you can possibly do to lose weight. We are bad at estimating, even packaged food like bread is just an estimate. It may say 30 grams, but they are allowed to be so much over/under. I'm not saying you have to weigh bread, but for more calorie dense foods, weighing is a must. Scales are cheap, check Amazon. Less than $15. Your entries shouldn't say, for example, 4oz of Chicken, if you weighed it would say something like 3.8oz, or 4.4oz, that is what happens when you weigh. Little variations can have a huge impact on your ability to lose weight.0
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SusanMFindlay wrote: »purplebirdey8080 wrote: »Like if the package says two pieces of bread is 140 calories, do I not believe it? My diary is open, so feedback welcome (please, be kind stranger)!
The last loaf of bread I bought said 2 slices = 50 g = 130 cals. I weighed one slice. It was 55 g. So, actually, 2 slices = 110 g = 286 cals.
Packages don't usually lie by that much (and I find bread to be worse for misreporting portion size than most other food), but if you stop losing, you may want to look into weighing your food. If you can lose without weighing then you don't need to weigh.
I don't eat bread now, but I did weigh it a few times because everyone told me I had to.
I found out in my case that I didn't really need to. I think each slice was supposed to be 55g. The ones on the ends were 54g and the ones in the very centre (highest point of the loaf) were 56g. The rest were exactly 55g. I kind of figured at that point that over time it would all even out for me and stopped weighing bread.
At this point in my journey the only times I have stalled, I've known exactly why I stalled (i.e. it wasn't due to imprecise measurements, it was due to flat out eating too much). I'm also of the opinion that weighing is a good tool when one is stuck or has a very small deficit, especially without exercise.2 -
elisa123gal wrote: »If you stop losing it may help. Our eyes play tricks on us and we underestimate portions. Here is a great video demonstrating why weighing is important:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
See.. i wouldn't weigh this stuff.. i just wouldn't eat chips or a creamy salad dressing.
If what you are doing is working, then you don't need to do anything differently. Best of luck and keep of the good work!0 -
If you're not losing, then it's a good idea. I'm in a maintenance type of phase and I choose not to weigh some of my veg and pre-packaged food now. But if I really want to lose it all gets slapped on the food scale.0
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Christine_72 wrote: »If you're losing weight as expected then no, you don't have to weigh your food. Weighing everything you eat becomes important when weight loss stalls, plateaus or you gain, but if everything is going along swimmingly, then save the scales for when/if they are needed.
As for weighing bread.. The info on my loaf of bread says 2 slices equals 83g, but in reality they are 101g, quest bars say 60g, but they usually weigh 65-66g. If i trusted the package info for everything i eat, i would be eating way more calories than i thought..
For me, this. I have been doing well without weighing/logging. I do weigh out things like peanut butter, dressings, and other small things that can really impact it. But no logging. Having said that, if I find myself going a week without a loss or even a gain, I will absolutely bring out the scale and start weighing. But, this is just me. If it makes you more comfortable or you feel better knowing the exact amounts, I am all for you weighing! Ultimately, its what works best for you. Over time it may change - just part of the journey!0 -
arditarose wrote: »If you're not losing, then it's a good idea. I'm in a maintenance type of phase and I choose not to weigh some of my veg and pre-packaged food now. But if I really want to lose it all gets slapped on the food scale.
^^^ This is your answer. If you are losing what you expect to lose without weighing, then what is the point? You just happen to be good at estimating.
If you start to slow down unexpectedly or are losing weight faster than you should, then weighing is the FIRST thing you should do to try to troubleshoot.0 -
I don't think weighing food is essential but it is insightful. I only recently started weighing (I don't weigh everything because my partner does half the cooking and he doesn't weigh) but was surprised at some of the things I was getting wrong. For example, on here a hass avocado was around 250g and I would use those stats. I weighed my avocado this morning and it was only 95g. I think if you're close to your calorie count each day it's handy to know if you've logged accurately because you could be eating too much or too little with the stored food details. But I've only just started weighing for my own curiosity and lost weight without weighing, so I think it's all down to preference really.1
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Using a food scale just increases the accuracy. ..I overestimated some things but I used my scale mostly because I underestimated most things and I wanted to be able to short myself0
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