Is weighing food really necessary?

karialiwest

Has anyone lost weight without constantly weighing and measuring food? I started logging a month ago but my food diary is most likely wildly inaccurate. Obviously I'm eating less than I used to because I'm still losing weight but is it sustainable without weighing everything? I've read through a couple of discussions and I'm starting to feel like if I don't measure all my food I'm doomed for all eternity.
I'm 5'4 and 166 at the moment looking to get to 140. MFP has set me at 1200 to lose 2lbs a week but I eat a little more or less depending on how I feel that day.

kommodevaran

It's necessary if you don't lose without it.

livingleanlivingclean

Not weighing/measuring works... Until it doesn't.

I weigh and measure everything because I have specific goals, and I want to know that I'm making the best effort I can to achieve them - part of achieving them requires monitoring my calorie intake.

Blythmag

I never weigh.i estimate and im doing fine

malibu927

Some people can lose without weighing their food. Others (like me) can wildly underestimate how much they're eating and not end up in a deficit.

edlanglais5

Only helps you to be more accurate. I’ve been losing without it but many poorl might cook from scratch more than I do. With me, it’s mostly sandwiches, fruits , smoothies, protein powder, almonds, healthy box dinners, and then some home cooked meals from time to time. I scan bar codes and measure how many servings (how many nuts, scoops). The biggest obstacle is homrcooked casserole dishes. I usually estimate my best. I may accidentally fall into maintenance calories on home cooked days but done gain either.

Honestly, it falls down to what works for the individual. Obvisiuky, if you’re not getting results without a scale, I would recommend purchasing one.

sijomial

Necessary no - but it's very educational.
Even if you only do it for the aspect of understanding how tiny suggested portion sizes are and where personally your calories are coming from then it's time well spent.

I weighed carefully for a while then settled into a more lazy (but consistent) logging style and now don't weigh or calorie count but I remain calorie aware.

Jancandoit7

I weigh/measure most of what I eat- this has created far more success than I've had in the past. It keeps me consistent, more accountable, and just becomes a habit really- but different things work for different people.

CarvedTones

What's the point in tracking if you aren't weighing? Just to get a rough estimate? I lost a lot of weight without tracking and once I started MFP and begin tracking and reading I found out I was eating at an unhealthy low level. You don't really know until you track and you can't track accurately without weighing and measuring. I did estimate some portions at Thanksgiving, so I don't feel like it has to be 100% of the time.

When practical and easy, I weigh. It's usually easy. I usually use the Tare feature and weigh liquids also and keep zeroing and weighing things as I add them. Last night I had pecans on ice cream. I put the ice cream container on the scale and zeroed it. I scooped out a few spoon fulls until it read -65 grams (serving size from label). I put the bowl with the spoon in it on the scale and zeroed it and then added 14 grams of pecas. This added only a few seconds to getting my 237 calorie treat. This is an example of something where guessing could easily be off 100 calories.

rebben23

Im also 5’4” and am currently at 138lbs (down from 163lbs in May). I do not weigh my food, but I’m getting the results I wanted (my goal was 140lbs, too). If I’m unsure of something, I look across MFP and select the choice that falls in the middle/higher end.

If I wasn’t seeing results after three weeks, then I would weigh/measure.

(I’ll also add -since our stats are similar- I average 1600 cals/day)

SuzySunshine99

It depends.
You can try estimating for a while and see how it works. If you don't lose weight, then you may have to start weighing your food.

I did not weigh my food and still lost weight I wanted to.....very sloooowly. I would have lost at a better pace if I was more accurate in my logging, but as long as I was losing, it didn't bother me how long it took.

karialiwest

I think I might buy a scale and compare what I've been logging so far to see if there's really a huge difference.

ninerbuff

Necessary no.

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

WinoGelato

I must confess, I don't use a food scale. When I first started on MFP nearly 5 years ago, I had never "dieted" before and I didn't know about food scales for accurate logging. When I started reading the boards and finding out how helpful they are, especially when someone thinks they are in a deficit but not losing, I considered getting one. I told myself if I hit a plateau that I couldn't get past I would immediately start - but I never did. I lost the weight I wanted to lose in about a year, and have been successfully maintaining ever since, without ever using a food scale. I may just be good at estimating - I'm not a big snacker or volume eater so I think that helps.

That said, I am a huge proponent of them and always recommend them to those just starting out.

brittneyalley

I've recently started weighing my food, and I'd recommend it. I underestimate certain things and overestimate others. It's helpful because I know how much I can actually eat without feeling guilty.

glassyo

I envy anyone who can reach their goal without weighing their food. I do not envy myself.

Do what you're doing until it doesn't work anymore.

Lounmoun

People do lose weight without calorie counting, logging, trendweight app, fitbits, going to a gym, weighing food, etc. These are tools and none are necessary for all people. Some people find them very helpful though.

If you are doing fine without weighing food then great. If you stop losing at the rate you want, logging inaccuracy is often the problem. A food scale is a good tool to increase your logging accuracy.

Gisel2015

I lost all my weight without using a kitchen scale. I used measuring spoons, estimation and even generic entries. I didn't have much to lose (10 to 12lbs), I was not in a hurry and I was exercising, but not eating all of my exercise calories. Maybe that gave me a little bit of room to compensate for inaccuracies. Portion control and commitment were my everyday tools (still are).

I bought a kitchen scale when I switched to maintenance because I wanted to have control of my macros. Sometimes I wish I never had, because I am now a slave of the scale and sometimes a recent that. So I take scale and logging breaks (vacations, eating out, etc.) so I don't get overwhelmed.

My husband prepares breakfast in the morning and he doesn't weight or measure anything; so what I enter in my food diary is an estimation, but since his "recipes" are very consistent a have a pretty good idea of the portions. So far so good.

Just do what is best for you and what allows you to reach your goal. Some people can lose or maintain without measuring and/or strict logging, others can't lose even when they log and weight everything. We are all different.

HellYeahItsKriss

You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.

pogiguy05

karialiwest wrote: »

I think I might buy a scale and compare what I've been logging so far to see if there's really a huge difference.

I think your gonna get a surprise when you see how much a serving really is.

pogiguy05

Package says 40g but also 1/2 cup dry. This is both measured out.

40gm 150 calories
1/2 cup 51gms 191.25 calories

karialiwest

HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »

You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.

Why is that?

malibu927

karialiwest wrote: »

HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »

You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.

Why is that?

1200 is the lowest amount of calories MFP will assign to women. In order to lose 2 pounds a week you would have to burn 1000 more calories than you consume. Plus you don't have a lot of weight to lose, so 2 pounds is very aggressive. A pound a week is going to be a better rate to aim for, and with that will come the need for greater accuracy in your logging. You might find a scale even more beneficial in that case.

kommodevaran

HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »

You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.

Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.

ptrcmcc6

I don't weigh and other than the normal fluctuations on the scale, I've been losing.

ogtmama

I lost 40 pounds in 6 months without weighing or measuring...Had I struggled though, I would have done it.

rheddmobile

If you're losing consistently, keep doing what you're doing and don't stress about it. I'm down 108 lbs and I don't usually weigh. However, I do weigh once when I first eat a food, and then once in a while with calorie dense foods so my portions don't creep up. Peanut butter, salad dressings, and oils - basically anything which is mostly fat - are easy to underestimate. Lean meats, on the other hand, I tend to overestimate and when I weigh I find out I can eat more than I thought I could.

If you have a small footprint kitchen scale which is capable of having a large pan put on it, and a tare button to reset it to zero, weighing complex meals is very easy. When making a recipe, put your pot on the scale and measure food directly into the pot. When serving yourself, do the same with your plate or bowl.

batorkin

I lost 32 pounds in 2 1/2 months back in 2012, and 21 in the last 2 months without counting or weighting anything.

It's not needed if you don't have problems losing the weight. Even if you have trouble, you can count calories and weigh food for a month and probably won't need to do it anymore. It's as simple as getting use to smaller proportions and eating less.

karialiwest

Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.[/quote]

I see. I thought it was because I was estimating instead of weighing my food. I still lost weight though so something is going right.

spiriteagle99

When I started using mfp I measured the foods I normally eat, like cereal, to see how much i generally put in a bowl. After that I just use the same entries without remeasuring every day. Estimating works for me because I burn more exercise calories than MFP gives me since I walk and run in a hilly area. I also cook for two. When I enter the foods in my diary, I assume I'll eat 1/2 of the total. Reality is I usually give my husband a bit more than half (not a lot more because he doesn't exercise much and has weight to lose), so my calories are less than stated.

If you find that you are not losing weight, it is worth getting a scale to figure out exactly what you are eating. OTOH, if you are losing weight, then I wouldn't worry about it. Starting out, it is easy to lose weight if you cut out some of the more fattening foods that are normal for you. The closer you get to target weight, the harder it gets because you simply need less to maintain that weight.

Tacklewasher

karialiwest wrote: »

Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.

I see. I thought it was because I was estimating instead of weighing my food. I still lost weight though so something is going right. [/quote]

Here's the thing with MFP. Based on your stats and activity level, if figures out how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight (your NEAT). From this it deducts 500 calories per lb of desired weight loss per week, so 1000 calories for 2 lbs per week. If your NEAT is 2000 calories (probably close in this case), then MFP won't go below 1200 and you will (if everything is done right) lose ~1.5 lbs per week regardless of your goal.

This is because it is dangerous for women to go below 1200 calories per day (1500 for men).

Re-do your MFP setup with 1 lb per week and use that as your goal.

As to do you need to weigh food or not, if you are losing weight at your plan loss rate without, then keep going. If it slows down and you aren't sure why, a food scale is the first recommendation. I weigh most things as I can't eyeball it well enough. I'm learning and hope to be able to put the scale away when I've lost another 20 lbs or so, but I may not be able to and may need it for years to come.