Who has lost a lot of weight without using a food scale?

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  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    As a teen, I lost from 220 lb+ to 160 lb- by eating only dry popcorn. Then I lost more by getting sick. Then I got well and got a pizza. Then I got to 300 lb+ It took a while, but dry popcorn-only is not repeatable for me.

    As an adult I lost from 300+ lb to 200+ lb by stopping eating some drive-through things.

    In the recent 2 years, using a scale, I've lost from 200+ lb to 100+ lb by eating anything I wanted and being healthy.
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
    I lost 70ish pounds in less than a year without using a food scale. Oh, and have kept it off for over 2 years.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
    I lost 50lbs without a food scale, maintained, bulked, cut, maintaining....still don't have a food scale.
  • MeteoraTitanium
    MeteoraTitanium Posts: 102 Member
    Not me, I need my food scale. I guessed cereal before and added too much. I would be fatter without my food scale.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    edited April 2018
    I lost 140 pounds without using a food scale.
    I have been cooking & baking since I was very young and can estimate pretty accurately.
    I did purchase a food scale, but found that my estimates were really close and found using a scale too much of a hassle. My problem was/is keeping the weight off and sticking to portion sizes and not overindulging. Hence, like so many others, I gained back half of the weight I lost on MFP in 2012-2013 and am back. This time, I am hoping to be able to finally lose, and keep, the weight off.
    BTW, losing weight, and still not using a food scale, so it is doable.
  • Chunkahlunkah
    Chunkahlunkah Posts: 373 Member
    edited April 2018
    My brother lost over 100 pounds 15 years ago by counting calories but he didn’t use a food scale. He’s a had a few minor regains since then (20 pounds a couple times and 40 pounds once). He took that weight off w/o a food scale too.

    I’ve actually not (knowingly) known anyone who’s lost weight using a food scale. It’s a helpful tool but certainly not necessary for all people.

    About 10 years ago, I’d put on around 35 pounds. I lost it all without a food scale and even cut lower than my usual weight without using one either. I own one now. My eyeballed estimates are usually pretty accurate. I use it pretty often nowadays for calorie dense foods, and every now and then I weigh consistently to collect data.

    I use it for baking and find it really helpful for that.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    If people have been so successful at losing and keeping the weight off without essential tools, Weight Watchers, Herbalife, and all of the other fads would be out of business.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    ccruz985 wrote: »
    If people have been so successful at losing and keeping the weight off without essential tools, Weight Watchers, Herbalife, and all of the other fads would be out of business.


    Well that isn't quite true - I think WW is quite a reasonable system and Herbalife etc would be out of business if people understood fancy gimmicky foods aren't neccescary.
    The whole weight loss industry would be out of business if people just ate appropriate calorie levels, whether or not they use scales or calorie count.

    Myself I do use a scale - but have never done so vigilantly - I guesstimate lots of things and record every banana etc as being same without weighing.

    Works for me.


  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    When I started I had 70+ pounds to lose.

    The first 30 were easy peasy. Ate mostly the same way I had been eating, just less. Estimated and used packages.

    Then I decided I needed to focus on good nutrition, not just weight loss. That made it harder, since I was using primarily whole ingredients and cooking all my own meals. I bought a food scale and never looked back.

    I love mine. It's not even so much about eating too much but also eating just enough. If I had my way I'd eat a lot smaller portions of vegetables than I do, and more bread. By focusing on nutrition I realized I needed to eat larger portions of vegetables and fewer grains. Now I prepare 30g of rice, oatmeal, pasta etc. instead of the full serving.
  • sschauer513
    sschauer513 Posts: 313 Member
    I've lost 120 without a scale the scale is just a tool that helps with accuracy. If she has a lot of weight to lose won't matter much in the beginning but when getting close to healthy weight probably would help more but hopefully by that time she has learned portion size and can control more of the overeating aspect of everything. I think if she at least sees the weight at first and can see that 1 portion is x amount of grams then can do without the scale after awhile.

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