How precise is everyone with food diary?

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  • hroderick
    hroderick Posts: 756 Member
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    Only use scales if you're committed to managing your weight and nutrition. Scales + MFP database = knowledge. Knowledge + Committment = Control.
  • Candyspun
    Candyspun Posts: 370 Member
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    I started out tracking without a food scale for about two weeks, because I had to wait that long to get one.

    I was guessing the weight of things, if you can imagine. I got the food scale and realised I'd been grossly overestimating the weights of foods. I'm a short woman, which means MFP only gives me 1200 calories to begin with. I was horrified to learn I'd been undereating before I got my food scale, but excited to learn I was going to be able to eat a LOT more with the food scale!
  • Candyspun
    Candyspun Posts: 370 Member
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    danasmashinggoals wrote: »
    alspran wrote: »
    Just wanted to note they are so cheap too. They offered 3 different ones at the Target by my house and they ranged anywhere from $10-$15...not a major investment, so i figured wth why not!
    I’m in Australia, nothing is cheap here 😂 but will definitely check out all the cheap stores, just something to get me started so I can see if my guesstimates are anywhere near the mark!

    Another Aussie here :) Ours was around twenty dollars at Big W
  • 1Nana2many
    1Nana2many Posts: 172 Member
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    My daughter was carefully measuring everything she ate and doing ok, but I bought her a scale and it made a big difference for her. Once you use one for a while, you get a much better idea of what a serving size really is. Some people do great without them, but most do better with. You may not have to use it forever, but it certainly opens your eyes to amounts and their correlation to calories! Doesn’t have to be fancy, but a good one will have ounces and grams and a tare weight so you can zero the scale between ingredient additions. Cost is under $20.00 U.S. in most any discount store you walk into. Leave it out in plain sight and use it consistently. Worth every penny.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    danasmashinggoals wrote: »
    sytchequeen wrote: »
    Get a food scale!

    I mostly cook from scratch, and it's astonishing how much estimates can be out of whack

    Is this how you reply?!

    That’s what I was worried about! I’m sure I’m being far too generous 😂

    I think she answered your question!
  • Candyspun
    Candyspun Posts: 370 Member
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    Also, I wanted to add that at first I didn't want to use one, because it seemed 'obsessive' and I like to avoid disordered behaviour. But honestly, it takes all the emotion and obsession out of it, because you are being as scientifically accurate as possible, which for me anyway, reduces my stress about losing weight. I feel secure in what I'm eating. And it's so much easier (and more accurate!) than measuring cups! It's no hassle at all to simply put the plate on the scales and assemble a sandwich, taring the scale before adding each new ingredient. It takes no time at all. I do it with my phone in my hand, and the great thing about that and the scales is that I can see very quickly if I want to add more calories or take some away. It becomes second nature very quickly, and I think it's the best way to learn about portion sizes and what is actually in our food.
  • Cheeseandcats
    Cheeseandcats Posts: 143 Member
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    When I was estimating, I wasn't losing weight since I didn't know what a normal portion size was (I was underestimating on my calories but way overeating) Now that I bought my food scale, I measure EVERYTHING. It's a pain at first but honestly, I feel weird if I don't portion things out now. It is so worth the $10-$15!
  • gstaubs1
    gstaubs1 Posts: 200 Member
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    I try to be as accurate as possible I don't weigh everything but there are some things I feel need weighed to be accurate like salad dressing, nuts, sauces etc... I have found that most packaged foods and restaurants can be found in the database and I even check online sometimes to confirm the calorie and macro data is accurate. I try to slightly over estimate if I have to guess to ensure that I am not adding too many calories to my day. Best of luck!
  • Candyspun
    Candyspun Posts: 370 Member
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    The other great thing I just thought of, is knowing what different weights of food look like (roughly), it makes it easier when you're eating away from home. I feel as though now, if I was given a bowl of rice, for example, I could guess the weight of it and be closer to being correct, than before I was weighing food, which in turn makes tracking easier.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    I would say if you're losing at or above the expected rate, you may be fine. If you're struggling with hunger or with weight loss, get a food scale. I don't use mine all the time, but I use it on new foods until I learn how to estimate correctly, and then I check my estimates every once in a while, particularly with calorie dense foods such as cheese and peanut butter.

    One "tablespoon" by weight of peanut butter less than fills a teaspoon. Weigh it!
  • Erinloveable
    Erinloveable Posts: 46 Member
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    I find I take comfort in either carefully measuring and logging everything.. or eyeballing and eating intuitively but not combos of the two. I weigh all my meat and most veggies on a scale and freeze them so there is no guesswork there.

    You got to watch out even while measuring. I found my 90 second keto bread varied in size based on how hungry I was, despite using measuring spoons. I know I can play fast and loose with that 1 tbsp measuring spoon lol.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,140 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    I will be the odd one in here and I will [probably get a lot of woos but here it goes.

    I only had about 12lbs to lose when I joined MFP 9 years ago. I didn't have a food scale (I am not a baker so I never needed one). I estimated everything and I used measuring cups for everything. Yes, even solids (OMG!).

    I lost the extra weight slowly but I didn't care and I was also expecting it. I exercised and I didn't eat all of my exercise calories, unless I was hungry. After being in maintenance for about 4 years I decided to get a food scale to keep better track of my macros (protein, fat and carbs). I became attached to the scale and I actually resented that attachment. I still do.

    I left MFP for few months to give myself a reprieve from logging, but I continued weighting the food according to packages' directions. For home cooked meals, I had printed recipes and good looking daily diary and they guided me during part of my journey. I came back few year ago just for the macros, but I had kept my weight down and under control.

    I give myself rest from the scale and the logging by not using MFP on vacation, while eating at friends' houses or a restaurants. I have been in maintenance for over 8 and half years, and I only give myself a two lbs, up or down, limit.

    I still weight my food, specially for my own homemade recipes by I am not OCD about it. I estimate a lot. So OP, just do what you think that is best for you and what gives you the best results.

    If you feel that you need to get a scale to make sure that all your macros are balanced, and because you are not losing weight. Go and buy one. It may help you to get a better idea of portions and reduce your anxiety about how much you are really eating. Be your best judge, you got good suggestions already.

    I'm not sure how this is different than what several of us have said already? Find a method that works for you. Stick with it. Adjust as necessary. For some of us that's a food scale. For others it's not.

    Sorry if my answer was redundant, but I had not read all the responses before typing mine. Should I hit myself with a bunch of wet noodles (weighted and logged of course...)?
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
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    I weigh most things when I am at home. I eyeball things at a restaurant or when my grandkids are here, because I don't want to give them the impression that you have to do this. They are young (7-11) and don't need to be thinking about these things.
  • jondspen
    jondspen Posts: 253 Member
    edited September 2018
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    First - Hand-guide-portion-control

    Second - even without scales, just about everything packaged has a serving size, so I just use that. If I make something, I just break it up into servings and add that to my diary as I eat it (i.e. some type of rice or potato casserol - 1 serving rice, 1 serving meat, 1serving veg #1, etc).

    Third - you can get a very cheap scale at just about any big box store. I used mine for about a week or two then stopped. At first I was WAY under-estimating my portions, but after a week or two, I had a pretty good handle on what a portion of grilled chicken looked like. I still use it on food that I don't have experience with (just did some eggplant, zucchini, and squash and wasn't sure the mass of each for 1 oz).

    Finally - Again, it's not necessary, but for beginners I would suggest getting a scale to start out so you can see how much an oz of different foods actually looks like. If you can get an idea in a controlled environment (your kitchen), when you go out to eat you have a pretty good estimate of what is on the plate. Many times I have realized that the meat and potato is actually 2 or 3 servings, so I just eat part and take the rest home for later. I am able to now guess-timate my foods accurately enough to still lose weight.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    edited September 2018
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    Get a scale. I probably would not be successful at losing weight without one, or it would take much longer with much more mental anguish.

    This is the one I have. I've literally had it most of my adult life, it takes regular batteries (AAA), not button batteries. Tare and lb/kg buttons are right on the top and easy to use. I got it for free because my mom bought one for my dad for Christmas to weigh his backpacking supplies, and then bought another because the shipping got delayed, so I got a bonus food scale.

    I bought a shinier pretty one recently when I moved and couldn't locate mine. It cost less (about $15), but it needed new batteries quickly (took button battery, which I don't keep because they are dangerous for kids), the lb/kg button is on the bottom so you have to remove the food, turn it over, and press the button (like on a human weight scale)....it was frustrating and I dug mine out of storage that day.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    Using a food scale has been a liberating experience for me. It took the guesswork out of my logging and turned losing (and maintaining, and bulking) into a peaceful experience. It's also faster than measuring and affords quicker clean up. And as someone who also cooks a lot from scratch, I greatly prefer using weights to volume measurements now.

  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
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    Fairly accurate. I log lettuce, limes, mustard - if it has calories if gets logged. 90% of everything gets weighed. (Leafy greens - I use the eyeball method as they are very low in calories, although I try to overestimate.)
  • iowalinda
    iowalinda Posts: 354 Member
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    I love my food scale so much I bought a second one to have as a back-up :) It's a very handy and useful tool.
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
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    I weigh most things, but I can't get too stringent about it or my old eating disorder habits come creeping back. So I will log 'one apple' instead of weighing it and inputting grams because I don't care if I'm off a bit on an apple. But I will weigh something like cheese or peanut butter. I just log 200 ml of milk a day for my coffees/tea as it's close enough and I'm not going to weigh every cup of tea.

    If I eat out somewhere where there isn't nutritional information, I guess as close as I can and move on.

    So I'm probably off a little, but not enough it affects my goals significantly but is better for my mental health.

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