Weighing "everything"

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Replies

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    hamelle2 wrote: »
    I buy individual servings of yogurt, cottage cheese and peanut butter. I haven't been weighing those. Do you actually dump those out and weigh them?

    No, I never once weighed a single-serving packaged item. I don't actually eat many foods that fall into that category, however. If I'd had issues losing maybe I would have started, but there's so much else that's an estimate (any meal I don't make myself, exercise calories, guessing at the right entry to use for certain cuts of meat, etc.) that it just didn't seem worth it to add the extra time, especially since if I eat a single serving it's usually when I'm not at home.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    edited February 2019
    hamelle2 wrote: »
    All of your feedback has been so helpful and I thank you. I believe alot of "weigh everything" advice is geared toward those who are not losing steadily or are very close to goal. I've always been a rule follower. :)

    ^ Indeed. It's important when it becomes important. I lose on about 200 calorie deficit so I did weigh packaged foods when losing. Before I did that, I could easily overdo by about 50-100 calories some days; so 25-50% of my deficit.

    At maintenance now, it's not as important.
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    edited February 2019
    To add to what everyone else as said, a trial period of weighing and logging every flipping thing gives you first-hand experience of what things you personally should prioritise weighing in future. For example, I know that I should weigh peanut butter. I've also learned that if I can't be bothered to weigh everything, I can eyeball how much margarine I use pretty well. Oh, and I can estimate the volume of the tomatoes, and skip entering the lettuce at all.
  • Mistizoom
    Mistizoom Posts: 578 Member
    I don't, as calorie counts are inherently not exact anyway, but I do account for approximate serving sizes. Let's say I eat a 250 g can of soup for lunch, and it says serving size is 110 g, servings per container are "approximately 2". I will use the correct multiplier to get the right amount for the entire can. I do buy one brand that has both "one serving" and "entire can" listed, which is nice.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    If you are losing weight to your satisfaction then I would say that it's not necessary just yet. As your margin of error becomes smaller as you lose more weight, then those sorts of things really start to matter.
  • durhammfp
    durhammfp Posts: 493 Member
    edited February 2019
    Maxematics wrote: »
    I once weighed a granola bar that was 75 calories more than it was supposed to be. At the time I was running a 250 daily deficit and something like that can easily cancel it out.

    For some reason, the box of rolled oats I buy states that one serving is 1/2 cup or 40 grams. Anytime I weigh out a 1/2 cup, however, it's actually 60 grams.

  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    I have been maintaining for years and I still weigh my meat, avocado, some starchy veggies (carrots, potatoes, corn), bread, cereal, and my oats. I don't weigh anything packaged and I have maintained my weight. It became to obsessive for me to everything and I had to take a step back.
  • Remoth
    Remoth Posts: 117 Member
    I really only weigh stuff if I'm curious or really dont have a clue on what it contains, but i imagine it's more important the less you are trying to lose. I have a lot to lose and an extra 10% of my daily calorie goal wont make much difference. An extra 200 calories for someone in a 1500 calorie deficit isnt as critical as for someone in a 250 calorie deficit.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    admaarie wrote: »
    When I first started using a food scale I weighed EVERYTHING. I mean every single thing. Lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, onions.. in hindsight it became just way too obsessive for me. Like another posted mentioned I’m a lot more relaxed with tracking & don’t feel the need to weigh out every single thing anymore and still obtain results. For me this works better.

    I weigh low calorie veggies so that I will eat MORE of them.
    • I aim for 28 g / 1 oz lettuce per sandwich and previously was eating less than half an ounce.
    • For broccoli I aim for 100 g per servings and was previously eating @ 70 g.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    hamelle2 wrote: »
    I am having great success with CICO and my food scale.
    However I have a few nagging questions.
    I buy individual servings of yogurt, cottage cheese and peanut butter. I haven't been weighing those. Do you actually dump those out and weigh them?
    Someday I will reach the point of where every calorie will count...someday.
    Please feel free to ask any of your food scale questions here if you'd like.
    Thanks!

    I do not and never have.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I only weigh things like cashews.

    Once a month maybe I pull out the scale to make sure I’m eyeballing close enough, but that’s it. I’ve never weighed prepackaged foods.