Any success stories without weighing food

thundermoon11

I have been reading A LOT of posts on MFP lately and was wondering if there are any success stories of members who didn't weigh their food. I realize there are many who do and swear by it, but for me it just seems a little obsessive. I suppose if it seems that it is absolutely necessary then I could start but.......

I have quite a bit of weight to lose (shooting for about 75 pounds but probably should lose 100) and have heard that the weighing of food is good if you have a smaller amount to lose or you have hit a plateau. I have lost approximately 17 pounds since middle of October but I believe most of this is because I have cut out soda and tried to be more cognizant of what I am eating. I am also trying to walk at least 45 minutes a day, but most of the time getting at least 60 minutes. I tend to eat the same things daily, like salad (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes), eggs, bacon, English muffin, sometimes grilled chicken breast, hamburger, steak, sometimes baked potatoes (which I love). I also eat lean cuisine meals at work for dinner. I am a very picky eater as far as taste and have a limited "pantry" as which to pick from or I will just give up. I keep a paper food journal but have been keeping my calories between 1300-1500 daily for the most part (uhhh...except for Christmas). I originally was trying to keep it below 1200 but realized after reading numerous posts that this is too low.

Thanks for any responses.

Gettinghealthysarah

No success here! I am fat but my goal is to learn to eat normal with out measuring and weighing! Seems crazy to count and measure everything ! I feel I should be able to look at the palm of my hand and say 'there is my portion of meat', make a fist and say 'there is a portion of veges" you get it! Good luck to you !!!

DivaJadelyn

I didn't see success until I started weighing and measuring. However, I learned what these weighed and measured portions look like and can now eyeball it. It's a good learning experience. I recommend weighing and measuring until you're comfortable with knowing what a portion looks and feels like.

Barbonica

Before mfp I lost 45 pounds without weighing, logging, or counting. I changed my lifestyle by increasing exercise, added resistance training, and changed my diet to primarily meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and some dairy. Very little starch, very little processed sugar. I then stalled, when I had another 30 - 40 pounds to go. Since then I have been weighing, but only caloricaly dense food. I don't weigh veggies, and only infrequently fruit. I do weigh fruit and veggies occasionally to make sure my estimates are not way off. I also discount exercise calories to make up for poor estimates.

Try it, if you don't lose weight, modify something. It is harder if you don't weigh, but especially when you have a log to lose, I think you can still achieve a lot.

randomtai

No success here! I am fat but my goal is to learn to eat normal with out measuring and weighing! Seems crazy to count and measure everything ! I feel I should be able to look at the palm of my hand and say 'there is my portion of meat', make a fist and say 'there is a portion of veges" you get it! Good luck to you !!!

Seems crazy but it works.

thesupremeforce

I don't weigh my food, BUT I mostly stick to things that are easy to estimate with some accuracy (or already exist in a convenient single use serving). I wouldn't recommend even trying it if you eat a lot of complicated meals, especially if they involve calorie dense foods (nuts are particularly dangerous).

meshashesha2012

i lost 30 pounds between jan and aug 2012 without weighing and measuring. although i probably could have lost more :laugh:

spaingirl2011

Seems crazy but it works.

^This. I've been eyeballing it for three years, and eating much more than I needed. I was reluctant to weigh food for a very, very long time. Now that I am weighing food, I'm learning that I can eat more than I thought I could in some cases and in other cases, I was eating too much. If I could change anything about my "journey" it's that I would have started weighing things earlier. If I had, I'd probably be much further along right now-- maybe even maintaining.

DancingMoosie

I lost most of my weight without weighing food. I did not have a food scale when I joined, and I was losing weight at a good pace, just by measuring with cups, spoons, and using food labels. I bought one after losing most of the weight, just to be more accurate as I was trying to recomp a little, and to see how far off I had been. Using the scale makes me a bit too obsessive. I guess don't fix what isn't broken, or don't break what is working?

JanineFoster

I've only been trying for one week and I've lost 8 lbs without weighing anything. I mostly stick to recording what I eat and am trying to eat a balanced diet with sensible snacks instead of the high fat snacks I had before. So far this seems to be working. It might also have to do with the fact that I need to lose at least 100 lbs and as stated above, it's easier to loose without weighing when you have more to lose. Feel free to "friend" me and follow my progress.

QuietBloom

Some people find that once they are down to the last 20 lbs or so, a good scale is very helpful. I don't think there is anything particularly obsessive about weighing food though. How is it different from reading the calorie labels and entering information in to your MFP diary? If you are going to go to that trouble, might as well make sure your information is accurate.

bluntlysally

if you are going to track your calories, you pretty much have to measure somehow. most of us didn't get here bc we ate the right portions!! lol this process is really about retraining your brain (how much, of what, how often, etc), and for long enough to retrain your habits.

i started using a food scale in the past couple months bc there were a few things i couldn't really measure well (like meat) and wanted to see if my measuring using utensils was accurate. turns out my measuring was pretty accurate and i now have a handle on all the stuff i couldn't measure (or measure easily) before... but the biggest difference is how much EASIER it is to weigh than to measure with cups/spoons/etc... >>>i only wish someone would have told me sooner.<<

a food scale is relatively cheap ($20ish) and would have saved sooooo much time and cleaning along the way!! i would recommend it to anyone and everyone (counting/tracking calories or not). i heart the tare button!!!

ETA - i thought i would wait until numbers started slowing down, and i thought the obsessive thing too <<<100000000000x NOT TRUE!!!

Cindyinpg

I use a digital scale and weigh everything and out of the 126lbs I've lost, I probably lost 100 of them while weighing. I often have calorie dense food, peanut butter, ice cream, cheese etc and eyeballing portions would not work. In my opinion, not weighing food can lead to many people inadvertantly overeating and cutting into their deficit.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

FitnFeistyLyness

me too. i use it for my nuts mainly..

CassieReannan

I only starting weighing food a few months ago... lost 35kg without it.

SapiensPisces

One of the reasons I got to be so overweight was a skewed sense of portion sizes. Weighing and measuring helps to establish a new baseline for what a portion size really is.

It's tedious at first, but you get used to it.

MB_Positif

I do not and never did weigh my food. Never had a heart rate monitor either. All my secrets are out now.

amaysngrace

Yep, I don't own a food scale. I do use measuring cups and spoons though, which is not as accurate. I also eyeball stuff a lot. I don't own a HRM either, but I am doing something right I suppose.

mamma_nee

I eye ball everything

FitnFeistyLyness

i dont weigh anything but my nuts because thats a problem food for me.. i do watch my grain portions.. i follow eat to live. a nutrient dense eating plan