Don't use scales, am I waisting my time?

ABHY7
ABHY7 Posts: 70 Member
edited December 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Honestly I don't weigh my food. I'm a busy mom and truly don't have the time to go measuring my food. I generally use the fist size portions.
I think my downfall is bread, crisps and alcohol. Like most things, depending on my mood I can go overboard on these things.... anyway what I'm doing is not working!! I'm working out once a week.
Very frustrating not getting any were fast!! Grrrrr!! Need a wake up call!!
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Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited October 2016
    Is what you are currently doing working? I think that answers your question. Using a food scale is not time consuming, at all. Put the plate on the scale - turn on the scale - add the first food, log it into MFP - push the tare button on the scale - add the second food, log it into MFP - and so on and so on.

    44mxb0qfpuao.jpg
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Not necessarily. I lost my first 30 something pounds without weighing or measuring anything. I logged (in a paper notebook) every bite I ate and had certain rules for myself (e.g., put one serving of protein and starch on plate along with 2-3 servings of fresh produce, do not go back for seconds on protein/starch unless all produce is gone) that I followed that helped reduce overall calorie consumption. If you are not going to use a scale, you need to either be pretty good at estimating so that you can count calories or you have to at least be brutally honest and attentive to what you are eating. In order to eat less, you need to have a baseline against which to compare "less."
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    edited October 2016
    Wake up call:

    I tried to lose weight for 10 months with clean eating, eyeballing portions, avoiding junk food, working out 3-5 times a week...

    Guess how much weight I lost?

    NONE

    Then about 2 months ago I set my calories on myfitnesspal with a mild calorie deficit and got a digital scale and started measuring all my food and making sure I hit my calorie goal consistently. I kept working out but not more than I already had been...

    I'm down almost 6 pounds.

    It wasn't quick water weight either because I was already eating healthy foods and normal portions- it was slow but steady weight loss. My scale measures body fat % and muscle too and shows that the weight loss is mostly from body fat.

    Would you rather keep wasting your time being frustrated and getting nowhere fast? Months and months of no weight loss? Or take the couple extra minutes a day that it takes to measure and log your food?

    I know what I'd choose.

    A digital food scale is not expensive and very easy to use- you can put your plate on it, reset it to 0, then serve your portion of food to easily measure. It gets faster the more practice you get with it too and eventually is just a habit.

    I hope you try measuring and logging and hitting your calories- if you do all that the weight loss will just happen. It's so awesome!!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    purelush wrote: »
    Honestly I don't weigh my food. I'm a busy mom and truly don't have the time to go measuring my food. I generally use the fist size portions.
    I think my downfall is bread, crisps and alcohol. Like most things, depending on my mood I can go overboard on these things.... anyway what I'm doing is not working!! I'm working out once a week.
    Very frustrating not getting any were fast!! Grrrrr!! Need a wake up call!!

    "Fist sized" portions? Are you measuring food in measuring cups or measuring spoons at least?

    There are a couple nice PDF documents....wallet size & fridge size. I like to use this guide for eating out, but it certainly beats "fist size" portions.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate

    Another possibility is "food portion containers" ....in the U.S. we have a program called 21 Day Fix. Amazon sells cheap knock-offs (with food lists)- google food portion containers.

    Healthy weight loss is not going to be fast. None of us got fat overnight.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    If you are losing then it works for you, once you stall it is usually recommended to weigh your food. For me, a scale is integral for cooking and not just weight loss as I weigh all my solids on a scale for recipes and baking.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    I have literally never weighed any type of food (have used measuring cups/spoons though when applicable) and have had great success. I'm mindful of it though, so I take that in to consideration when I log.
  • angiemann2007
    angiemann2007 Posts: 17 Member
    edited October 2016
    I've never owned a food scale however when I lost my weight I created( like said above) rules to my eating/exercise habits...For example: NO SODA, 1200 calories a day logged thru this app, and a mile walk a night...I tried to increase my healthy foods and cut out junk food but if I really craved something, I ate it as long as it fit my calorie goals. Dropped 20 lbs quickly....It really made a huge difference to me in being more accurate when I started trying to lose that last 10lbs and was going to the gym...Before that, just being as diligent as I could worked just fine...I will say though, you prob should try to find time to atleast walk or something 3 times a week...You'll prob get results that way...
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    waisting time, lol, i see what you did there.
  • Trish1c
    Trish1c Posts: 549 Member
    It will help if you measure but I rarely do. Until you substantially reduced the alcohol & crisps the weight won't come off.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    It takes me no extra time to use a digital scale, so I never understand the argument that someone doesn't have the time. But that's just my experience.

    I'm at goal weight, I don't use it all the time 100%, but I certainly did when I was on that last ten pounds to lose, because it gets real when you get to that point. Every bite has to matter in order to make progress.

    Now I just use it for calorie dense things like cereal, oils, cheese, meat, nuts, peanut butter and that kind of stuff. Things that if I were to make a calculation mistake they could cost me hundreds of calories per week.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    If guestimating portion sizes works for you then carry on, but as you've said you feel like you're not getting anywhere fast maybe you are underestimating how much you're eating and would benefit from giving food scales a go.
    Honestly weighing your food doesn't take as long as you might think - if you're cooking pasta, instead of just pouring it in to the pan, put the pan on the scales and then pour it in. If you're making a sandwich, put the cheese slices on the scales before putting them on the bread. Things like that literally only take seconds but can make a huge difference.
  • cqbkaju
    cqbkaju Posts: 1,011 Member
    edited October 2016
    I don't weigh my food, but I always estimate my food intake on the high side.
    I am also aware of days when my diet is less than ideal and I make sure I workout more than hard enough to make up for it.
    I underestimate when it comes to calories burned so I work out harder and longer anyway.

    Like mentioned before: is it working?
    If it is then no problem. If it isn't then figure out what you need to do to fix the problem.

    The more exercise you get, the more forgiving you diet will be.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    I have literally never weighed any type of food (have used measuring cups/spoons though when applicable) and have had great success. I'm mindful of it though, so I take that in to consideration when I log.

    Same here! I think I overestimate what I put on my plate and it's working. However, if you aren't losing than you need to weigh and measure properly!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    If it's not working, then yeah, the lack of measuring could be the cause. It really doesn't take that much time to weigh things. That said, I only weigh about 75% of the time. I do not weight family meals as that does take more time and effort than I want (as a mom my food is usually cold by the time I sit down anyway). But the 75% of the time I do weigh just puts me that much closer to accuracy.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    It takes me no time at all to weigh stuff. The time it takes to put turn on the scale and put something on it. Which is a few seconds longer than it takes to just dish up and log.

    No it's not necessary but in the interests of getting to eat as much as possible and accuracy, I just prefer to as much as I can. I don't weigh everything but enough that I have never had an inexplicable stall.
  • MalkinMagic71
    MalkinMagic71 Posts: 1,433 Member
    Ive weighed very little along my journey and have dropped almost 200lbs. I usually overestimate when I log to be safe and I don't eat back more than half of my exercise calories...it works for me. I do weigh stuff when it's something I haven't had for a while or i don't think I can estimate it well.

    In general i think a food scale is a good idea for most people especially when starting. Fit me though it was not a necessity by any means.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2016
    IMO, logging is what's time-consuming, not weighing. Weighing is actually faster for me than spending the time estimating and plus I know all the 100 g based entries I've used and have easily available are accurate.

    That said, no, probably not necessary. I lost weight at 2+ lb/per week or so for a while just kind of roughly estimating and using bad entries (although they weren't that off, because I'm not that much of a wishful thinker about such things). ;-) I've also lost weight just being mindful. But if it's not working a scale might be helpful (and be surprisingly easy). Personally I think it's way better for cooking than dumb cups anyway (I used it in the past for baking, so I'm an easy convert although if not logging I'm prone to not measuring at all when cooking, the classic "handful of this, pinch of that").
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    If you're not willing to invest the few extra seconds a day it would take to weigh and log your intake for the sake of your health and being there for your kids, then yes, you're wasting your time.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    I have literally never weighed any type of food (have used measuring cups/spoons though when applicable) and have had great success. I'm mindful of it though, so I take that in to consideration when I log.
    Me too, I am realistic in my logging and err on the side of over estimating.
    That said, if you're stuck you may want to weigh at least until you get the feel for how much you are really eating.

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    People managed to lose weight just fine before at-home kitchen scales were a thing. They're a useful tool, and if you have trouble losing weight without one I'd recommend getting one, but they're not required. (Although honestly, mine has saved me a ton of time because I no longer have to wash measuring cups and spoons every day).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    purelush wrote: »
    Honestly I don't weigh my food. I'm a busy mom and truly don't have the time to go measuring my food. I generally use the fist size portions.
    I think my downfall is bread, crisps and alcohol. Like most things, depending on my mood I can go overboard on these things.... anyway what I'm doing is not working!! I'm working out once a week.
    Very frustrating not getting any were fast!! Grrrrr!! Need a wake up call!!

    You're not losing weight because you're under-estimating your food intake. A scale would fix this. You could also just give up bread, or crisps, or alcohol. Pick your poison.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    dawnemjh wrote: »
    If you take a bowl and place it on the scale and then add your yogurt or (fill in the blank) its no more time than just taking the yogurt and putting in a bowl and eating....

    I got stressed out doing this. My stupid scale went off after a short wait time so I felt pressure to do everything fast.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Your biggest problem isn't that you're not weighing. It's that you're not logging consistently, and even when you are, you're choosing inaccurate entries. (Things like "bran flakes - 1 bowl" and "homemade" anything, unless you personally added that recipe in the recipe builder). Start by logging everything, as accurately as you can, every day. If that doesn't work, you might want to think about a food scale, but at this point a scale isn't going to do much for you if you're not logging consistently.
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
    I bought a scale .. one thing I noticed was my brand flakes last a lot longer .. one.person noticed he was eating twice the calories before he started weighing ... one.thing is for sure .. what your doing is not working for you .. something needs to change.

    Good luck
  • tamaraworrall
    tamaraworrall Posts: 166 Member
    I have never weighed my portions.i scan the bar code on the packets but not weighing and it never hindered my weight loss. I've lost over 16 stone .you have to find what works for you
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Your problem is that bread and crisps are something that is very easy to overeat on, and can be hard to estimate (if you're like me and like fresh bread vs the packaged stuff).

    But it takes 2 seconds to put a bowl on a scale and hit a button before you eat something. Everyone has time to do that.
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