Do you weight everything?

LisaTcan
LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
edited November 13 in Food and Nutrition
I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    In the beginning I weighed everything. Now I have good idea what portion sizes look like. As for bread, I would weigh it.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I agree with @janejellyroll, if you're still losing weight weigh it all if you can. Granted some things, like a half cup of milk or half cup of almond milk is not that big of deal unless of course we're talking about whole milk which can add up. But in general if it's a solid and can be weighed, do it. I'm also in maintenance now so I don't weigh any liquids, and I might not weigh a slice or two of bread, I'll just go off the label/bar code. But meats/other things like cereals, veggies, I still weigh. I'm pretty good at estimating by sight but I'd rather be accurate while I'm in recomp so my macros are as accurate as they can be.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    i typically don't bother weighing prepackaged items. sliced bread from the grocery, nah, sliced bread from the local bakery? yes. I have occasionally weighed a tortilla just to see consistency of packaged goods and they are pretty damn accurate. but i weigh 99% of my items.
  • Jetamu96
    Jetamu96 Posts: 963 Member
    I usually weigh things that i'm more likely to underestimate. Like if I'm craving some chocolate or nuts I make sure I weigh it because otherwise the little devil on my shoulder will tell me that I didn't really have THAT much.. xD If the packet tells me how much each piece/slice is then I don't bother weighing it :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    When I was logging and weighing (I'm not now), I did not weigh single serving things (like a plain single serving yogurt or a protein bar), and I probably wouldn't have weighed bread of the type you are talking about, and I also did not weigh oil used in cooking/salad dressing (used a spritzer and estimated or a teaspoon). I weighed most other things, which was the vast majority of what I ate. I found it easier than estimating or messing around with cups or spoons.

    If I had had an issue with losing I would have tightened up on the logging for a week to see if I was off before cutting calories, though.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    If it's not a liquid, yes. Including prepackaged items. US law allows weights to be off by as much as 20%. If you don't have that much to lose, not weighing those multiple slices of bread that say 100 calories on the package, but are actually 120 calories can eat up a deficit quite easily.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    Yes. My scale just chills on my counter. Folks, I'd weigh prepackaged foods. It's an estimate and many times can be a TON more calories than it says on the box.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
    OK thanks for all the comments! I will start weighing packaged foods I eat regularly to make sure the calories I've been logging are accurate. I find measuring cups much easier for liquids so I'll probably continue using them for that but weigh dry foods.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I weigh everything that isn't a pure liquid -- prep-portioned things like bread and granola bars, cans of soup, raw spinach leaves, meats and cheeses, vegetables and fruits, crackers and candies, salad dressings and olive oil, even my purportedly 0-calorie cooking spray. I measure liquids such as milk, coffee creamer, and stock.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited November 2016
    The only things I don't weigh are very low calorie condiments like sriracha, sugar-free ketchup, soy sauce and things like spices. I log them, but just ballpark guess the amounts. From being a cook who can accurately measure anything from 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of something in the palm of her hand, I can pretty much guess the volume of these things.

    I also guess at how much cooking spray I've used, logging anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon. For a big bowl of air popped popcorn that I spray with it, I log a full teaspoon.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    Pretty much everything except for liquids, and even those when I have the appropriate conversion, so water and milk. In terms of pre-sliced breads, I have found some are pretty close, but many are off, some by large amounts.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Everything except yogurt cups (I did a few times and it was always under, so I don't care). I've had some bad surprises!
  • fidangul
    fidangul Posts: 673 Member
    I haven't ever weighed my pre-sliced bread before. But I weigh it if I'm slicing it. I haven't had any problems losing nor maintaining so far.

    I do do a lot of eating out at restaurants and family/friends homes too, so I do my best to guestimate well......However, I eat at least one meal per day at my mum's house. So I've bought a kitchen scale that she happily keeps in her kitchen for me to use.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited December 2016
    I don't weight: yogurt cups, things in squeeze tubes, stuff like gum and bullion cubes, food when I'm not at home
  • LushFix
    LushFix Posts: 303 Member
    Totally just noshed down a protein bar.... I should start weighing them.

    I weigh most things, including bread, it's always wrong, I actually find weighing a lot of foods easier then using spoons anyways!
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  • HappyGrape
    HappyGrape Posts: 436 Member
    weight loss almost everything. Now not random, but I estimate 75% of the time and seem to be working

    i always measure pasta home as it's something I always underestimate!
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You'd record in in grams.

    And I've had calorie differences as much as 70-80 calories for pre-sliced/prepackaged items. When you are closer to goal or on a smaller deficit, that can add up pretty quick. A 40-calorie slice of bread isn't going to have that much of an impact if it weighs 10% more. But if you're eating a more calorie-dense bread or roll, it can make a difference. When I have bread it's usually at least 80-120 calories per standard slice, so I like to know how much I am eating.
  • cuhris
    cuhris Posts: 12 Member
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I have never weighed a packaged good ever...I primarily weigh "bulk" items like meat, etc and calorie dense things like nut butters and nuts and whatnot...also things like pasta, particularly spaghetti or other long noodles for which there is no way to accurately use measuring utensils. I've always used measuring cups for things like oats, lentils, rice, etc as these things are uniform in size...personally never had any issues going about things this way.

    IMO, a lot of the issues people have isn't so much in the weighing or not weighing...I think it's often that they are choosing generic and erroneous entries from the database and aren't verifying that information...IDK, I never had an issue with X needing to be exactly Y grams or anything...maybe it's just me.

    I'm a proponent of the food scale to be sure...but some people take that to some pretty crazy extremes IMO...like taking it to other people's houses...out to restaurants, etc...some stuff is just too over the top for my taste.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Yeah, really. Please don't weigh pre-sliced bread. It's unnecessary and borderline psychotic. Losing weight should not be obsessive or stressful. The less stressed you are about the whole thing, the more likely you are to succeed. Companies have strict protocols, so I guarantee you that 99.999999% of the time, a slice of bread is going to be exactly what it should be. The times when it's not, the difference will be so negligible that it won't make a difference.
    Weigh foods that don't come with a per piece serving size. Weigh meat, veg, etc. Anything that can come in varying weights or isn't pre-packaged in individual pieces.

    Do Weigh:
    Things like meat, block cheese, veg, fruit, and -- my personal opinion -- any solid that you would normally measure with cups/spoons. I have a habit of heaping my measuring spoons. Weighing prevents me from doing that.

    Don't Weigh: Pre-packaged pre-sliced cheese, bread, crackers, basically anything that comes with a wrapper

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    You'll be surprised how many people do this and advocate it to others.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    I weigh some odd stuff periodically to be sure the packaging is correct. So I'd weigh a slice or two of the bread to be sure the package is correct, and then assume it's correct from then on.

    I've said this elsewhere, but the cereal I was having weighed 50% more than the package said for a cup. Package said 2/3 cup (45g). I was having a cup so used 1.5 servings. When I weighed a cup it was 97 grams, or about 50% more than I was logging. Different cereal was bang on the weight per cup on the package. My oatmeal is also bang on.
  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
    I weigh liquids too, if they have calories. My scale includes mls so it's just as easy to put my glass or bowl on the scale, tare it, and weigh my liquid. Plus, no measuring cup to wash.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    avskk wrote: »
    siraphine wrote: »
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Yeah, really. Please don't weigh pre-sliced bread. It's unnecessary and borderline psychotic. Losing weight should not be obsessive or stressful. The less stressed you are about the whole thing, the more likely you are to succeed. Companies have strict protocols, so I guarantee you that 99.999999% of the time, a slice of bread is going to be exactly what it should be. The times when it's not, the difference will be so negligible that it won't make a difference.
    Weigh foods that don't come with a per piece serving size. Weigh meat, veg, etc. Anything that can come in varying weights or isn't pre-packaged in individual pieces.

    Do Weigh:
    Things like meat, block cheese, veg, fruit, and -- my personal opinion -- any solid that you would normally measure with cups/spoons. I have a habit of heaping my measuring spoons. Weighing prevents me from doing that.

    Don't Weigh: Pre-packaged pre-sliced cheese, bread, crackers, basically anything that comes with a wrapper

    With regard to the bolded: your guarantee would be dead wrong. I weigh my pre-packaged, pre-portioned stuff and it is almost never the same weight indicated on the label. Sometimes it's a difference of just a gram or two; other times it's a different of 15-30%. Those calories do add up. They maybe aren't as important when you have a lot to lose, and thus a wide margin of error, but that doesn't mean they don't exist or don't matter.

    I will second this! Some brands are spot on and others, not so much.

    I would not take that guarantee.
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