eating more than you think....
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I mean most of these people on the street you see that have been skinny all their lives, they don't weigh out ....... corn flakes do they?!!! Instead they just get a bowl and tip the box until they see the amount they want
Seriously, you don't want to see my skinny son pouring out breakfast cereal, it has to be patted down to make room for the milk, he eats about 4000 calories a day and keeps his abs and 30" waist. So jealous
trust me its not all as it seems...
he might be more active or might not have much inbetween the day. there is always something
maybe even like my friend who has a fast motabilism and i didn't think that actually had a effect untill i met her, i just thought it was all myth0 -
I have slim friends and was in a healthy weight range for most of my life and I truly never gave a thought to eating or counting calories until my thirties. But I wasn't eating that much and I definitely wasn't eating that healthy. I was skinny fat and then I got actual fat. Now I know that I need a certain amount of protein, fat, micronutrients and fiber and counting calories is the way I know I'm going to get it. My slim friends who don't count calories may be eating intuitively, but they're not necessarily eating properly for optimum health and fitness: they just eat a lot of rabbit food and Lean Cuisines.I don't think the key to all of this is calorie counting I think it is learning how much your body needs and knowing learning to control your hunger basically just a regular healthy life style. I mean most of these people on the street you see that have been skinny all their lives, they don't weigh out peanut butter and corn flakes do they?!!!
Instead they just get a bowl and tip the box until they see the amount they want and the size portion for there body and this does not mean filling the bowl to the top and then flooding with milk then still having a costa hot chocolate on the way to work followed by a muffin :indifferent:
i try not to obbsess with that but thats just me and i do know there are very pro fit protien people out there0 -
This is why I bought a scale and weight everything that I can possibly weigh. I just hope that the information in the food database is accurate. Somehow I think that much of it is not.0
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I don't think the key to all of this is calorie counting I think it is learning how much your body needs and knowing learning to control your hunger basically just a regular healthy life style. I mean most of these people on the street you see that have been skinny all their lives, they don't weigh out peanut butter and corn flakes do they?!!!
Instead they just get a bowl and tip the box until they see the amount they want and the size portion for there body and this does not mean filling the bowl to the top and then flooding with milk then still having a costa hot chocolate on the way to work followed by a muffin :indifferent:
I think of it like needing glasses. I'm always going to need glasses or contacts because my vision can't be trusted. I plan to always count calories too because my idea of portion sizes can't be trusted. It's habit now, it takes me less than 10 minutes per day. Whenever I've tried to go back to not counting my weight has slowly crept up.0 -
unless it's water, it should be weighed before it touches your mouth.
"calorie counting" has become second nature to me. It takes me less than 10 seconds to plop a bowl/plate on my scale, put the stuff on it, then write it down on my dry erase board to log later. People who say it's too tedious aren't doing it properly.0 -
like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything0
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Yeah it's true. I still think in a pinch and for liquids measuring cups are acceptable and better than nothing.0
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Be aware that it goes the other way, too. I weighed the mayo on the last sandwich I made and what looked like a full tablespoon to me ended up being half of a one tablespoon serving going by grams.
And maybe I scoop differently than everyone else, but my 1T of peanut butter is actually 1T of peanut butter when I weigh it.0 -
So excited that my first food scale will be delivered tomorrow!0
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like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...0 -
like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Well it depends. Sometimes it's 10% more or something. In my experience tortillas are all over the place, but bread slices are about right. Then I eat those frozen grilled chicken breasts and the serving size is 1 fillet (170g) but most are between 140 and 150g... you definitely want to weigh that.
I never trust what the package says about number of servings in package either... it's always wrong. Like that soup that says 2 servings only has 1.7 or something. When you eat the whole thing and it's 200 calories a serving, it makes a pretty big difference... then you're hungry but don't want to go over your goal and end up being hungry for nothing.
And then you have those annoying things like frozen veggies, I never know if the serving is frozen or cooked.0 -
Everything I have weighed vs measured has been over. So when I am only eating at a 350 calorie deficit it does matter. ..to me. I want to lose the last 15 pounds. I don't want to maintain. Tomorrow I'm going to weigh everything that I normally would either measure or go off package. I'm positive there will be a significant difference. So it does matterlike said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...0 -
Everything I have weighed vs measured has been over. So when I am only eating at a 350 calorie deficit it does matter. ..to me. I want to lose the last 15 pounds. I don't want to maintain. Tomorrow I'm going to weigh everything that I normally would either measure or go off package. I'm positive there will be a significant difference. So it does matterlike said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.0 -
Thanks for reminding me to use the scale to weigh my portions. I too have been having difficulty with little or no weight loss.0
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Everything I have weighed vs measured has been over. So when I am only eating at a 350 calorie deficit it does matter. ..to me. I want to lose the last 15 pounds. I don't want to maintain. Tomorrow I'm going to weigh everything that I normally would either measure or go off package. I'm positive there will be a significant difference. So it does matterlike said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.
Flour is a big one. There's usually about a 25% difference.
I think people think it's going to be really time consuming, but it isn't once you get in the routine, just like logging in general.0 -
I agree. I thought about just doing a 1200 Cal plan knowing I was logging wrong. Ultimately eating 1500 to 1600 calories. But I figure it's better to do it the right way....so I only have to do it once.
Everything I have weighed vs measured has been over. So when I am only eating at a 350 calorie deficit it does matter. ..to me. I want to lose the last 15 pounds. I don't want to maintain. Tomorrow I'm going to weigh everything that I normally would either measure or go off package. I'm positive there will be a significant difference. So it does matterlike said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.0 -
Another issue is that the cup sizes vary in different countries. In the US a cup is 240ml or slightly less whereas in the UK it is 250ml. In Australia the cup is the same as the UK, but their tablespoon has 20ml instead of 15ml like the UK. Those differences also add up :-)0
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Thanks so much for this post!! will start weighing!!0
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I have a skinny daughter and skinny husband. I used to be jealous - they could eat anything and not put on weight. But guess what - when I really looked, they ate A LOT less than me and moved around more!
My son who has a similar build to me - not overweight yet but not a bean pole like his sister - eats more and moves around less!
I eat when I am bored, I also like eating so that has always been an issue.
I also stopped weighing for a while so I weighed my standard lunch this morning and had been underestimating by about half!
So I didnt get the loss I wanted last week - Cos I ate more than I was supposed to - Simples :-)0 -
Bump!0
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This has been on my mind for awhile now. I plan to look for a nice digital scale on black friday. I have lost a steady 1.5-2 lbs. a week since mid-April this year by measuring only. However, I feel that with my goal weight in sight I need to start weighing everything. I have this looming "plateau is imminent" feeling and if I do stall out it will definitely be due the way I measure food.0
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It's so true. I normally don't weigh foods like eggs. The other I did out of curiosity... My scale was right there so I thought why not? My large egg was 61g instead of 53 like the label said.0
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It's too bad that thread got locked-this would have been perfect for it. But your point on fruit is dead on-estimating the size of an apple or a potato is not as easy as it sounds.0
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Great post.
It's remarkable to me how many people seem to deny this.0 -
It's so true. I normally don't weigh foods like eggs. The other I did out of curiosity... My scale was right there so I thought why not? My large egg was 61g instead of 53 like the label said.
I just weighed my two eggs this morning. Normally I would have just logged as 2 large eggs which would have been 140 calories. But with weighing them its 173 calories0 -
I don't think the key to all of this is calorie counting I think it is learning how much your body needs and knowing learning to control your hunger basically just a regular healthy life style. I mean most of these people on the street you see that have been skinny all their lives, they don't weigh out peanut butter and corn flakes do they?!!!
Instead they just get a bowl and tip the box until they see the amount they want and the size portion for there body and this does not mean filling the bowl to the top and then flooding with milk then still having a costa hot chocolate on the way to work followed by a muffin :indifferent:
I'm one of those skinny people you see on the street, and yes, I do weigh my food. It keeps me from becoming one of those fat people on the street.
And there have been numerous studies on these people that seem to or say they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. If they eat a large amount of calories one day, on that day they are more active/fidget more, and in the following days they consume less than they normally do. Or, they're like my stepsons who claim they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight, but what they eat really isn't much. They get satiated very quickly (I can eat WAY more than they do, and they're teenage boys!), so while they think they're eating a lot because they're full, the amount of calories really isn't huge.
Sorry folks, but it really is calories in/calories out.0 -
INteresting:flowerforyou:0
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Can we make this post a sticky?!
Brilliant!0 -
Weigh everything and for the guys and gals that take protein supplements weigh those too, the scoops in the containers can be off by 5-7 grams. Unfortunately, I found this lesson out the hard way.0
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great post! i never thought of weighing packaged foods , i just assume it is what is says (little do i know...) but i had a real eye opener when i weight a small banana. what i thought was small. and it was 150 gram vs. the 100 gram that *a* banana is listed as. so yes, i also always tell people to weigh everything. a kitchen scale is cheap enough.0
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