eating more than you think....

jillmarie125

I have read a lot of posts where people swear they are logging correctly and not losing. Many people respond with "well you are eating more than you think." While it can sound harsh to some it obviously true. Yesterday I read a post where a woman wasn't losing at 1200 calories. She was told by many people to weigh her food and not just measure with cups/spoons. It got me thinking....
See here is my problem. I have lost weight, I have about 15 pounds left to reach goal. I know how to lose weight. Well the scale has been going up and down 5 pounds over the last few months. I really thought something was wrong with me. But I am not a special snowflake, even though I would love to be. So I knew I had to really look in to my diet.

Well my friend and I decided to weigh and measure my foods. My 1Tbsp of peanut butter which should have been 16 grams was actually 23 grams. Yogurt - the package says 150g ...it was 159g. Arnolds sandwich thin- package says it is 43g....one weighed in at 50g and another one 51g. This one made me feel really dumb. Apples- I usually log as a medium apple, because well there are bigger at the store and smaller ones. (yeah I know...dumb!) Well a medium one is 140g my "medium" apple was 210.

So I am guessing I have been eating 300-500 calories more a day than I logged. And yes that is why I haven't lost anymore.

I guess I am posting this because hopefully someone reads it and instead of insisting they are right and their body is playing games, they really look at what they are eating. I was really shocked. And now kind of sad because I have to eat less.

smc864

I have read a lot of posts where people swear they are logging correctly and not losing. Many people respond with "well you are eating more than you think." While it can sound harsh to some it obviously true. Yesterday I read a post where a woman wasn't losing at 1200 calories. She was told by many people to weigh her food and not just measure with cups/spoons. It got me thinking....
See here is my problem. I have lost weight, I have about 15 pounds left to reach goal. I know how to lose weight. Well the scale has been going up and down 5 pounds over the last few months. I really thought something was wrong with me. But I am not a special snowflake, even though I would love to be. So I knew I had to really look in to my diet.

Well my friend and I decided to weigh and measure my foods. My 1Tbsp of peanut butter which should have been 16 grams was actually 23 grams. Yogurt - the package says 150g ...it was 159g. Arnolds sandwich thin- package says it is 43g....one weighed in at 50g and another one 51g. This one made me feel really dumb. Apples- I usually log as a medium apple, because well there are bigger at the store and smaller ones. (yeah I know...dumb!) Well a medium one is 140g my "medium" apple was 210.

So I am guessing I have been eating 300-500 calories more a day than I logged. And yes that is why I haven't lost anymore.

I guess I am posting this because hopefully someone reads it and instead of insisting they are right and their body is playing games, they really look at what they are eating. I was really shocked. And now kind of sad because I have to eat less.

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this!!! I try to make this point often but there will always be the "just eat more!" people telling you otherwise. As soon as I bought my food scale my eyes were finally open. Without weighing everything and I mean everything, there is no way to accurately log your good. Furthermore, the nutritional information is allowed to have a margin of error. I don't know the number off hand, but it can make a difference I'm sure!!

I wish I were a special snowflake... maybe one day! :happy:

Ninkyou

It's definitely an eye opener, isn't it? I was beyond amazed at how different my "measuring" was and how eye-balling was off when I got my food scale. I'm now beyond grateful that I purchased it. At first I was a little leary, because it seemed tedious and time-consuming to weigh all my food, but it's become second nature. I don't even think about it anymore.

jillmarie125

I have always weighed my meats on the scale but anything that was easier to measure with a spoon or a cup I would. I am really curisous about crackers/chips. We didn't have any in the office to check. We did weigh a Snickers bars. Package said 1.86 ozs and it was 2.0 ozs.

quiltlovinlisa

Yeah, right now I'm losing without weighing but I realize as I get closer to goal, I'll need to invest in a scale.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Good post-- did you by any chance log it all both ways to see the difference? I'd love to know what it was.

When I hit about 145 lbs I started bouncing around within the same 5 lb range. Until then I'd logged with measuring cups/spoons and it had worked fine, but once I got to the last little bit I had to start weighing.

Ice cream was the biggest shocker to me. But I also saw a huge difference in sweet potato fries, tortilla chips, and nuts.

gigglesinthesun

Yep, when I started logging I only estimated my veggies and fruit, and it was okay cause I was losing weight. Anyone looking at my diary would have said 'of course you are losing weight, you are logging 1100 cals'. I started weighing just for fun and right away I started logging 1350 cals, so had I started to eat more instead I would have gained weight.

The thing is there have been a couple of days when I truly did eat 1100 cals and I got the lethargy and every thing just moved slower, so when you hear about people who say they are much bigger then me (5ft 118lbs), eat 1200 cals or less and work out every day or every other day and fail to lose weight but feel fine and energised (and are not significantly older than I), I do question their calorie intake.

briabner

I know exactly what you mean. I always use my food scale now. I was finding that even with measuring cups the fat girl inside me would try to make them as full as possible lol. I have now lost 50 pounds and it is a huge success because I weigh EVERYTHING even mustard lol. It is such a great tool to have.

jillmarie125

Good post-- did you by any chance log it all both ways to see the difference? I'd love to know what it was.

When I hit about 145 lbs I started bouncing around within the same 5 lb range. Until then I'd logged with measuring cups/spoons and it had worked fine, but once I got to the last little bit I had to start weighing.

Ice cream was the biggest shocker to me. But I also saw a huge difference in sweet potato fries, tortilla chips, and nuts.

I haven't figured it out. But I am planning on doing that tomorrow. Logging my normal way vs weighing everything out. I eat eggs everyday, so I am guessing those are going to be off too.

I guess I knew it was my eating that was wrong. But it worked for 74 pounds so I was just stubborn I guess.

KateK8LoseW8

I haven't been bothering to weigh packaged foods like bread slices and rice cakes, but I'll definitely keep that in mind when I get closer to goal weight. I do weigh all my fruits and vegetables, cereals, meats, etc though! Fortunately the differences between the stated weight of a slice of bread and the actual weight hasn't caused any problems so far.

Qski

Great post.
I mostly weigh but have only just started and all the guestimates for calculating TDEE and calories burned and food is working ok for me because I have a large window to work with.

I have even gotten my partner to start weighing things so now when I say what is in this when he brings dinner he will say 222g chicken with 50g prosciutto and 100g potato in the mash with 15ml full fat milk and blah blah
I think it's adorable.

I know a couple of people though who are aware of packaging and measures innaccuracy who consistently under estimated so when they started weighing they realised they were being a bit paranoid and were feeding themselves too little.

Either way you give great examples too which will hopefully help lots of others.

jerryvo

GREAT POST!!! It was very eye opening when I started weighing my food. I mostly eyeball it now and don't weigh things with other measurements like cups / TBSP but I have learned where my balance it for accounting for these incidental overages and I usually end every day about 200 calories under my goal based on estimates of daily overages when I went from daily weighing to not. Everyone has to find what works for them but knowledge is power.

cevalid

I haven't been bothering to weigh packaged foods like bread slices and rice cakes, but I'll definitely keep that in mind when I get closer to goal weight. I do weigh all my fruits and vegetables, cereals, meats, etc though! Fortunately the differences between the stated weight of a slice of bread and the actual weight hasn't caused any problems so far.

Yeah, whenever I can scan a barcode/go off a packet, I prefer to do that. I saw it as a toss up between making recording more onerous and therefore more difficult to maintain long term, or going slightly over calories. I figure if my weight loss stalls for a few weeks, then I can take that as my cue to go down to 1 slice of bread or pick a smaller tub of yoghurt.

Still bought a food scale on Sunday though, for things like pasta and meat. These forums do wonders for food scale manufacturers and they should send you all a bunch of flowers.

I happily found that I have been overestimating the calories in each serving by quite a bit. I was losing weight really fast, but was also really lethargic and couldn't concentrate at work. Was also binging on the weekends. The scales also allowed me to see the real difference between home cooked meals and ready meals/fast food- when you weigh and cook a meal from scratch it really does mean fewer calories per serving and a greater volume of food than a Lean Cuisine dinner.

cwolfman13

Also recognize that when you still have a lot to lose, your margin for error is bigger...as you get closer to goal, that margin shrinks which is why it is important to be as precise as possible. That is a huge reason people plateau...they get away with imprecision for awhile, but it eventually catches up to you as your calorie requirements shrink and thus your margin for error.

prettyface55

I came across a post yesterday with a link to an amazing article which stated something very similar!! Awesome post, thank you for sharing :flowerforyou:

mrsmarit

I always try and weigh everything I eat and I notice alot lately that prepackaged foods (for the whole thing) overestimate the weight of the actual food.

What they say is like 2 servings is usually only 1 1/2. It makes a difference in the long run.

jillmarie125

I haven't been bothering to weigh packaged foods like bread slices and rice cakes, but I'll definitely keep that in mind when I get closer to goal weight. I do weigh all my fruits and vegetables, cereals, meats, etc though! Fortunately the differences between the stated weight of a slice of bread and the actual weight hasn't caused any problems so far.

Yeah, whenever I can scan a barcode/go off a packet, I prefer to do that. I saw it as a toss up between making recording more onerous and therefore more difficult to maintain long term, or going slightly over calories. I figure if my weight loss stalls for a few weeks, then I can take that as my cue to go down to 1 slice of bread or pick a smaller tub of yoghurt.

Still bought a food scale on Sunday though, for things like pasta and meat. These forums do wonders for food scale manufacturers and they should send you all a bunch of flowers.

I happily found that I have been overestimating the calories in each serving by quite a bit. I was losing weight really fast, but was also really lethargic and couldn't concentrate at work. Was also binging on the weekends. The scales also allowed me to see the real difference between home cooked meals and ready meals/fast food- when you weigh and cook a meal from scratch it really does mean fewer calories per serving and a greater volume of food than a Lean Cuisine dinner.

Picking a smaller container of yogurt wouldn't help me if i was tracking it wrong. And I would love flowers. :flowerforyou:

ElizabethFuller

I live in the UK so we don't really use cups and tend to weigh more, but it's scary that bought food in stated pack sizes can be so far over their stated weight. I never actually weigh stuff that's bought as a single serving. Oh no, something else to worry about :noway:

jillmarie125

Also recognize that when you still have a lot to lose, your margin for error is bigger...as you get closer to goal, that margin shrinks which is why it is important to be as precise as possible. That is a huge reason people plateau...they get away with imprecision for awhile, but it eventually catches up to you as your calorie requirements shrink and thus your margin for error.

100% agree. I was really hoping i was just on a 6 month plateau and that I was special. Nope. :sad:

Francl27

This is so true! I refuse to weigh yogurt though.. too many dishes. I just have a lower goal to make up for those things. But I try to weigh bread, tortillas, pretty much everything else. It is definitely an eye opener.

jillmarie125

I live in the UK so we don't really use cups and tend to weigh more, but it's scary that bought food in stated pack sizes can be so far over their stated weight. I never actually weigh stuff that's bought as a single serving. Oh no, something else to worry about :noway:

If what you are doing is working, then I wouldn't worry. It's when it's stops working then you need to worry!!