NOT Weighing Food?

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  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Personally, weighing food seems really obsessive and unhealthy to me... like it seems there's an underlying issue if you think you aren't losing weight because your calorie estimate is slightly off...

    I venture to say it is no more healthy or unhealthy as weighing your body on a scale. Both are important and very useful tools. Those who are still losing weight and say they don't use a scale, I will be very surprised if they are able to lose all the weight they want and keep it off without ever using a food scale.
  • cholepapi
    cholepapi Posts: 79
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    Yes...I don't scale and I've lost weight....:D but your right that it is an important tool if you need it...
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    You know, I used to feel this way as well... until I realized that weighing my food is actually easier than using measuring cups/spoons. You just put your plate/bowl on the scale and hit tare after adding each item - simple! No extra dirty dishes :)

    That said, if not weighing is working for you, then that's totally fine. It was working for me too, I just really like knowing exactly how much I am eating. Scales are cheap, you could always try it out... or not, your choice!

    Best of luck!

    Long thread, haven't read most of it yet, but this.

    I decided to get a scale because trying to estimate or measure was kind of a pain and made logging seem a chore. Weighing seemed easier and has proven to be, especially since most of the more accurate entries--as I understand it--have a 100 g option, which means that I don't have to mess with converting one measure to another, but can just see 63 g and stick in .63.

    I don't know if I will do this forever (presumably not if I stop logging), and I was losing before I started, but I find it no burden and kind of fun.
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    I just got a food scale recently. I certainly wouldn't do it for the rest of my life, but since I did not appear to be losing weight at a slight deficit, I needed the accuracy of it.

    And I imagine for many things it is much easier than measuring cups and spoons... how are you going to measure a chicken breast? Are you really going to chop it up just so you can measure it in a cup? Seems like less work to weigh...
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
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    I see there is talk of "obsessive" behavior in this thread.......... Nah.

    We're all "obsessive" here because we log everything we eat into an online database, and on TOP of the time it takes to do that, we're all here perusing the forums and debating on the benefits of weighing/measuring your food for the sake of calorie counting. Honestly, the word "obsessive" is meaningless if you're already on MFP.
  • fredgiblet
    fredgiblet Posts: 241 Member
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    Not so much reluctant as lazy in my case. I eyeball it and try to be on the low side. I weigh some stuff with the idea of trying to learn how to eyeball better, but mostly I'm just too lazy to go in on every meal and weigh everything.

    It helps that I'm eating mostly prepackaged stuff.
  • SarahCW1979
    SarahCW1979 Posts: 572 Member
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    I haven't weighed my food since me and me kitchen scale had a disagreement over what an ounce of grated cheese looked like. I can't say that eye balling works for everyone but so far I'm ok. I got way too obsessed with the numbers and trying to make everything fit, took the joy out of mealtimes and turned me into a psycho in the kitchen :laugh:
    Learning portion control is key, who wants to be weighing everything for life eh?
  • ErinMcMom
    ErinMcMom Posts: 228 Member
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    Just want to clarify that I definitely do not think that people who weigh their food are obsessive, just accurate and there's definitely something to be said for that!

    It's just not the right choice for me, and may not be right for many people that frequent MFP. I thought maybe this thread would help people that don't weigh their food feel okay about that choice. Since it seems to be a frequent reply in weight loss threads that if you aren't weighing your food you aren't "doing it right" or taking weight loss seriously enough.

    I think just the fact that we are all here discussing the reasoning behind our choices is wonderful and I love that there are so many different ways to take the journey towards a healthier lifestyle.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    :laugh: at the "won't use a scale, but hey I use measuring cups/spoons!!! :laugh:
  • Shropshire1959
    Shropshire1959 Posts: 982 Member
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    Wow .. look folks if your system is working and you don't weigh/measure but you are losing weight - then you are NOT the problem. It's the muppets on here who keep asking "Why am I not losing..." but can not possibly know how many calories that they are eating !!

    If you do NOT know exactly how much you are eating then there's very little point asking for advice an expecting anything other than folks asking you how much you consume accurately.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I haven't weighed my food since me and me kitchen scale had a disagreement over what an ounce of grated cheese looked like.

    :laugh:
    I can't say that eye balling works for everyone but so far I'm ok. I got way too obsessed with the numbers and trying to make everything fit, took the joy out of mealtimes and turned me into a psycho in the kitchen :laugh:
    Learning portion control is key, who wants to be weighing everything for life eh?

    The way I feel about a scale is the same as any kitchen tool, to be honest. If I found a kitchen ladle that got the job done, would I wonder if I want to obsess over this ladle forever? No, it's just a simple tool that helps me get from A to B. But hey there was actually a topic recently where many people said they'd have no issues logging forever. Essentially it was five minutes out of their day (max) and they'd get to maintain their phenomenal weight loss
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    my food scale sits on the kitchen counter..when I am home and cook, I weigh my food, when I go out for dinner I just guestimate as best as possible, which is pretty good because i have taught myself portion size through weighing food...

    why is the implication that people that weigh food are a bunch of OCD nut heads who whip the food scale out at work, restaurants and ever other place they go?

    Like others have said, it is a tool to learn portion size and if you are already using measuring cups, why not just use the food scale as it is more accurate ...
  • lautour
    lautour Posts: 89 Member
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    I see there is talk of "obsessive" behavior in this thread.......... Nah.

    We're all "obsessive" here because we log everything we eat into an online database, and on TOP of the time it takes to do that, we're all here perusing the forums and debating on the benefits of weighing/measuring your food for the sake of calorie counting. Honestly, the word "obsessive" is meaningless if you're already on MFP.

    Truth. If someone is concerned about appearing obsessive this is the last place to be. Reading and talking on diet forums, logging everything that crosses the lips, figuring out BMR and TDEE and macros and all that other stuff normal people don't do? Tooooooooo late.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,835 Member
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    pro (ish) bodybuilders who track macros actually do take scales to restaurants :smile: Of course, this is not the norm for most and not required.

    Alternatively, they could just be "clean eaters" and not go out and socialize at all :laugh:

    And I wonder how many people who guesstimate cals are the ones stating threads about not losing weight on ridiculously low calories :tongue:
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I see there is talk of "obsessive" behavior in this thread.......... Nah.

    We're all "obsessive" here because we log everything we eat into an online database, and on TOP of the time it takes to do that, we're all here perusing the forums and debating on the benefits of weighing/measuring your food for the sake of calorie counting. Honestly, the word "obsessive" is meaningless if you're already on MFP.

    Truth. If someone is concerned about appearing obsessive this is the last place to be. Reading and talking on diet forums, logging everything that crosses the lips, figuring out BMR and TDEE and macros and all that other stuff normal people don't do? Tooooooooo late.

    LOL

    You just made eight people realize they need to go out and get a life.
  • lautour
    lautour Posts: 89 Member
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    I see there is talk of "obsessive" behavior in this thread.......... Nah.

    We're all "obsessive" here because we log everything we eat into an online database, and on TOP of the time it takes to do that, we're all here perusing the forums and debating on the benefits of weighing/measuring your food for the sake of calorie counting. Honestly, the word "obsessive" is meaningless if you're already on MFP.

    Truth. If someone is concerned about appearing obsessive this is the last place to be. Reading and talking on diet forums, logging everything that crosses the lips, figuring out BMR and TDEE and macros and all that other stuff normal people don't do? Tooooooooo late.

    LOL

    You just made eight people realize they need to go out and get a life.

    And I was talking about myself!!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    pro (ish) bodybuilders who track macros actually do take scales to restaurants :smile: Of course, this is not the norm for most and not required.

    Alternatively, they could just be "clean eaters" and not go out and socialize at all :laugh:

    And I wonder how many people who guesstimate cals are the ones stating threads about not losing weight on ridiculously low calories :tongue:

    amen brother...
  • kilsafari
    kilsafari Posts: 61
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    Everyone can do what they want. If it works for you, fine. Keep doing it. Good work. The end.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    I'm not going to get into the measuring cups vs. scale discussion, but my feeling (I'm a cup person myself), my biggest downfall is not thinking about what I'm eating.

    When I use some way of measuring what I'm eating I have to consciously calculate what I'm choosing to put into my body.
  • andielyn
    andielyn Posts: 233 Member
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    :laugh: at the "won't use a scale, but hey I use measuring cups/spoons!!! :laugh:

    With the exception of this comment which is rude and unhelpful, this thread has been informative and eye-opening to see the different approaches and what works for different folks. I don't use a scale, but can see the benefit in some instances especially for calorie-dense foods like cheese, nuts, etc. I use a measuring cup as a scoop for cereal, for example. I use little plastic medicine cups for things like salad dressing. I use the package weight for meats (someone commented how do you measure chicken with a cup--cut it up into little pieces and shove it into a measuring cup?)

    It's encouraging to see that folks are finding a variety of ways of "measuring" their foods, be it eyeballing and learning portion sizes or weighing to the gram. Thanks to the OP for opening up this topic for discussion.

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