Any success stories without weighing food

Ang108

I wonder why we are discussing this ?
The OP joined last May, started this thread in January with one single post and has since deactivated her account......

ThatSoundsHard

I measure but don't use a scale. I've had success so far.
That being said, as I get closer to my goal weight I'm going to have to get around to getting a scale soon. Weighing is just so much more accurate.

SezxyStef

I think it really depends on the person.

I know that I like to sneak food. A little extra bite here and there can really add up. I weigh EVERYTHING (even my protein powder) because I know if I don't, I'll grab an extra spoonful or two out of the container and eat my deficit away.

Other people aren't like that, and do fine without a scale. You can always try without...if you find yourself stalling or losing slower than expected, then it is probably time for a scale.

Interesting that you should mention protein powder. When I got my scale, I found out I was shortchanging myself on that! One scoop did NOT equal 30 g - more like 20 to 25 grams. Now, when I measure out my protein powder, I know I am getting the right amount.

This is what I found as well.

Cottage cheese serving 1/2c or 125g...125g is a lot more.

To the OP...I don't find it any more obsessive then balancing my budget or checkbook...

Not weighing can have consequences...

You may be short changing yourself out of calories you could have
You could be under estimating the calories you are eating

As mentioned I don't think we as North americans have a good handle on what a portion really is...

a serving of hard cheese for example is 30g...I now know I was eating at least 60g maybe 90 everytime...

I didn't use a scale or count calories for my first 25lbs...but I was on an eating plan..

When I started counting calories I didn't use a scale and I lost 3.5lbs in a month...not bad really but it could have been more...

I started using a scale and the next month I lost 5.5lbs...2lb difference so that means I under estimated my intake by 7000 or so calories...that's a lot of "under estimating"

Imagine doing that when you are trying to lose 1/2lb a week...

wyattj99

I have lost over 60 lbs in 19 months...I know to some that would seem slow but I wanted to learn, to teach myself this new lifestyle. I also work out but to answer your question I haven't used a scale yet! Since I close to losing weight and want to tone more I might get myself a food scale

psmd

I weigh everything and have lost about 50 lbs.

Since you eat the same stuff generally, why don't you (just as an experiment) weigh some of the foods you're eating, just to see if you're eating the amounts you think you are? If you are, then weighing may not be useful. But if you're not, maybe it's time to start.

It's quite eye opening.





I wonder why we are discussing this ?
The OP joined last May, started this thread in January with one single post and has since deactivated her account......


NEVER MIND!!! That's annoying.

ontherunat41

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

Yes. Let's start a support group for secret non-weighers.

hesn92

I lost 20 pounds without a food scale. I either measured or estimated. It worked find. Honestly, the calorie counts on the nutrition label isn't exact anyway. They round. I don't see anything wrong with estimating. Even if you're overestimating a little, you still have a 500 calorie deficit to eat up before you're actually maintaining or gaining your weight.

I have since bought a food scale and I do use it, but mostly for meat so I can know how many pounds I'm using. It's not just for calorie purposes, but I buy meat in bulk so if I'm using a recipe that calls for 2 pounds, i want to know i'm using 2 pounds.

chunkybun

I'm in total agreement. Just like an extreme diet, I think weighing everything is something that is not sustainable for me.

I may get a lot of flack for this, but what's worked for me so far:

1- Take my 'normal' portion, cut it in half. When finished, I'll drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes, if i'm still hungry, I'll take half of what's leftover.

2- eating more home cooked meals instead of pre-packaged stuff

3- Tracking water. After hitting a plateau, I started tracking this, and instantly noticed results

4-I still log all my meals Mon-Fri, (slack off most weekends) knowing full well it's not accurate, but keeps me accountable for the typse of food I am choosing to eat.

5- Cutting out the extra calories from 'sampling' while cooking

6-Reducing the number of snacks I have. Asking myself why I want to eat and stopping myself if the answer is 'boredom', 'stress' or 'I just want it'....

spicegeek

sort of - I tend to cook in bulk and freeze / refrigerate so if I`m making chicken I weight it all in one go - lets say I have 1 lb - that is 4 portions for me - I`ll eyeball the split into 4 platters - maybe I`ll be a bit over one day or a bit under another - I figure it all comes out in the wash

cathylopez1975

I pretty much lost it all without a food scale, but I did use measuring cup and spoons. I have been maintaining through the winter months and decided early in March to start the push to lose the last 10 lbs. My body seems happy to stay where it is, so I've upped the game by getting a digital food scale and a Fitbit. Most of my portions have been accurate. The surprise was ground beef. I have been OVERestimating my portions by eyeballing. What I thought was a 3 oz hamburger patty was really only 2 oz. That one ounce makes a difference in calories and macros.

sentaruu

I don't really weigh my food and i have lost over 50 lbs.

i still use a measuring cup sometimes for things like cottage cheese and other snacks. but for the most part i guesstimate.

i assume that as i get closer to my target weight, i will have to be a little more careful about measuring but for now it's working out fine.

ihanna37

I can't weigh my portions--I am on a full meal plan (21 meals/week), so it's like eating out every night. I don't have access to a weigh scale or measuring cups in the dining hall. I just don't eat back exercise calories, stay on the low side, and avoid complicated foods that I can't estimate well. It's a bit aggravating since I know it is slowing me down and/or preventing me from eating some of the more hard-to-estimate foods I like, but I am still losing, even though I'm a short girl with only the last 10 pounds to go.

nik_nak_1983

If you don't want to weigh food have you considered Slimmingworld? They base their diet.on unlimited amounts of certain food. If you want to calorie count (which is essentially what MFP is you need to get into weighing otherwise your just guessing. Just find an eating plan that suits you....maybe MFP isn't it?

Slim_strategy

I don't , I use cups , and for the longest time I didn't even have cups + just estimated , I still lost a few stone that way
I tried weighing for a while but it seemed a little too obsessive and also time consuming for me

Debbjones

I don't weigh and seldom measure my food! Never, ever, weighed my food! Just scaling back and estimating has worked for me and I lost over 85 pounds!

harlanJEN

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.

EXCELLENT EXCELLENT advice. The point in weighing your food is to become mindful and aware of how much we are eating and what a serving truly is - it can be very eye opening. calorie dense foods can totally wreck your train if you are not keeping it REAL by knowing how much you are truly eating. A TB of peanut butter " eyeballed" can be quite different measured/ weighed. Same with any food really - even packaged foods. Those are estimates. Example: my 40g serving of dried apricots DID NOT = the approximated 1/4 cup.

The goal is to learn and be AWARE then develop those habits and skill sets to use for the rest of your life.

Hovercat

I actually stopped weighing and tracking food the last month. I think I can visualize pretty good by now. If I start stalling, I'll pick it up again, but I want to be able to eat and not have to count everything. I don't think I'd be able to stick to eating better if I have to constantly track everything.

tammcclure

I just joined here but in the last 21 months I've lost 87 of the 238 pounds I'm trying to lose. I have not been weighing my food. I do count and measure but I don't mess with weighing everything. I have tried to do the weighing but it just seems a waste of time to me. I do carefully measure though. If a recipe says 8 servings then I divide it into 8 separate servings and just eat my 1.

bikinisuited

Great suggestions. It is so easy to underestimate...

CoderGal

I've went without and I've went with and I've went without again. Obviously if you want accuracy you do with. And even if you're going without, if you want it to work for sure, I suggest you weigh food for a while. Many people come on here saying they're gaining weight or not losing when they're eating x many calories when their guestimate is very very off.

kirtschneider

I started weighing or measuring all my food but then over time I'm better at guessing with an occasional spot check using a scales. I'm right on track with my goals. My problem was that I got distracted last year, stopped tracking my foods and stopped exercising and I gained half of my original weight back. So I've lost 10 pounds twice and another 10 pounds that stayed off.

DucklingtoSwan

I don't weigh food on a scale much though I do use measuring cups and spoons when the need arises. I had more success that way. My simple rule is that basically I can eat whatever I want IF I know exactly how much I am eating and what the nutritional story is (and logging everything, even if I make a wrong turn). Especially in the begging, I stuck to a lot of pre-packaged stuff just for the convenience. (I do allow myself pretty much unlimited green veggies like beans, broccoli, spinach etc and if I'm having fruit I just stick to the basics like i orange or 1 banana, 1 apple etc.)

I only use the actual scale when necessary, which for me isn't that often. But measuring has helped me very much, and I am much better at eyeballing serving sizes for the things I eat regularly, and am getting pretty good at eyeballing food in restaurants if it isn't something likely to be in the MFP database already.

I know the OP is in the wind but I'm lad this turned up; hopefully it will help someone, I personally found a lot of the answers very insightful.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I lost my first 20 lbs without weighing, although I did still measure.

Weighing isn't strictly necessarily. However it can be extremely helpful. My advice is to try it your way and see how it goes. Reevaluate later if needed.

The reason many people suggest it, especially at first, is that studies show that non-dieticians underestimate by over 400 calories, dieticians by over 200.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160

nancyluckhurst3

I measure but don't weigh. When it comes to meat/fish portions can come pretty close to 4 oz just by the way I package my meat/fish/poultry when I put it in the freezer. I buy 10 lbs of lean ground beef and put it in 10 equal sized packages in the freezer. 1/4 is very close to the 4 oz serving. But usually I do enough exercise in the day that it is not a real issue as I usually way under my calorie goal for the day.

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.

sweetpea03b

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.

That's me too.... I was dead set against weighing my food but I only lost 8# in 7 months until I started weighing everything... now the weight is just falling off. I was apparently grossly under-estimating my portions.

xmichaelyx

The longest prep time I have for any meal I make is 15 minutes *without* weighing anything. If I weigh everything, it takes 15 minutes and 30 seconds. That doesn't strike me as particularly onerous or obsessive, considering the valuable information it gives me.

ShrinkinMel

I will measure by way of cups/spoons. Weight Watcher sells great 1/2 cup and 1 cup measuring spoons. I lost mine in moves but may go buy more because they are quite helpful. I bought a food scale on the cheap and rarely use it right now, someday I may.

kelsully

I became aware of portions and did a little bit of measuring with measuring cups etc early on but I do not own a scale. I use estimates such as the below that I saw at
http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions

The Grain Group
1/2 cooked cup rice ---- tennis ball
1 pancake (1 ounce or 5") ---- compact disc (CD)
1 piece of cornbread (2 ounces) ---- bar of soap
1 slice of bread (1 ounce) ---- audiocassette tape
1 cup of pasta/spaghetti (2 ounces) ---- a fist
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) ---- a fist

The Vegetable Group
1 cup green salad ---- baseball or a fist
1 medium baked potato (1 cup) ---- computer mouse or a fist
1/2 cup cooked broccoli ---- light bulb
1/2 cup serving ---- 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots; 1 ear of corn on the cob

The Fruit Group
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) ---- light bulb
1/2 cup of fresh fruit ---- 7 cotton balls
1 medium size fruit ---- tennis ball or a fist
1 cup of cut-up fruit ---- baseball or a fist
1/4 cup raisins ---- large egg

The Milk Group
1 1/2 ounces hard cheese ---- 9-volt battery or your index and middle fingers
1 ounce of processed cheese ---- your thumb
1 cup of ice cream ---- baseball

The Meat and Beans Group
2 tablespoons peanut butter (= 2 oz. meat) ---- ping-pong ball
1 teaspoon peanut butter (= 1/3 oz. meat) ---- fingertip
1 tablespoon peanut butter (= 1 oz. meat) ---- thumb tip
3 ounces grilled/baked fish or chicken ---- checkbook
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry ---- your palm, a deck or cards or a cassette tape



Read more: When You Can't Measure, Estimate Portions http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions#ixzz2xOskoQc4

It is not perfect but a good estimate...it has worked for me but I think I likely underestimated my daily activity..ie I determined my calorie goals stating that I am lightly active and then I added exercise..well I am the mom to 4 busy kids and I teach and am on my feet ALL day and I walk ALL over our huge school...since I move more than I accounted for the possible calorie overages don't cause any issues.

bigbelly54

I don't weigh any thing and have lost 46 pounds, 38 before mfp. Just changed my diet and started to exercise. Reading some of these success stories helped motivate me .I exercise 90 minutes a day, 7 days a week, all cardio. Good luck!

40DayFit

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