NOT Weighing Food?

diannethegeek

I don't weigh my food , and refuse to do it as well. I don't see myself weighing every meal for the rest of my life. I have 9kg to my goal weight, so really i don't care if i lose the weight fast or slow. I work out 6 times a week and i'm doing pretty well.

BUT, just out of curiousity, how would you weight let's say peanut butter sandwich ? do you take your PB with a spoon put on a scale? then put your bread on the scale ?? or bowl of cereal with milk ??? I find it will take a lot of time, doing this everyday. Or do you just weigh it once and "eyeball it " the next time ?
For me i use cups, i take 1 cup of cereal and 1/2 of milk, or 3 T of plain yogurt, and do the math. it's not hard.

I thought it would add a lot of time to my logging, too, when I first bought a food scale. But for me, it actually saves me time.

For a PB sandwich yes, you'd weigh your bread and log that, then hit the tare button to reset the counter at zero, then spread as much PB as you want on the bread and note that weight. It takes all of 2 extra seconds to tare the scale between ingredients and maybe 5 extra seconds to log the item by weight. Plus I don't have to wash all the measuring cups and spoons afterwards.

For cereal I put the bowl on a scale and again tare the scale so that it reads zero. Pour as much cereal as I want and log that. You can either tare again and switch the scale to mL for the milk or use a measuring cup (as measuring cups are still accurate for liquids).

asciiqwerty

BUT, just out of curiousity, how would you weight let's say peanut butter sandwich ? do you take your PB with a spoon put on a scale? then put your bread on the scale ?? or bowl of cereal with milk ??? I find it will take a lot of time, doing this everyday. Or do you just weigh it once and "eyeball it " the next time ?
For me i use cups, i take 1 cup of cereal and 1/2 of milk, or 3 T of plain yogurt, and do the math. it's not hard.

form my last peice of toast with peanut butter, i weighed the bread - toasted it - put it back on the scale and zeroed it, added the PB weighed it again

for my cereal I put hte bowl on the scale - zero - add cereal (get weight) - zero - add milk (get weight)

bcattoes

: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.

But...chopping up chicken into small pieces and shoving it into a cup is more mess, more time consuming, and less accurate than placing a whole piece of chicken on a plate on a scale.
Also, package weights for meats are typically not accurate--they always say serving size 1 breast (4 oz) or something along those lines, but if you had a scale, you would see that the breast is typically 6-8oz (or bigger).

If you're using measuring cups, you should use a scale. Measuring cups aren't even close to accurate for anything solid, they are more time consuming, and they are more wasteful.

If you're eyeballing and losing weight at the rate you want and aren't hungry, then obviously a scale wouldn't be beneficial to you.

Many people cook from recipes. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped chicken, then they are going to measure out one cup with a measuring cup to get the recipe right. Then weighing the chicken would be an additional step.

And for things like grains, the correct mix is usually listed by volume not weight in the US. So again, it would need to be measured with a measuring cup for volume, so weighing would be an extra step.

Not everyone cooks this way, but these are just a couple of examples of when you would be wrong.

gerla_k

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

Strokingdiction

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

diannethegeek

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

Most peanut butters are 190 cals for 2T (32g). Yes, you can do that as long as you continue to meet your weight goals. But if your weight loss were to stall, that's a really easy place to look to see what might be going wrong. Because your 2T may be closer to 40g and that would be a 50 calorie difference for 1 item. The little differences can add up. And, especially for those of us running closer to maintenance, that can be enough to wipe out the deficit you think you're getting.

Again, if you estimate and you're losing the amount of weight you want to lose, then you can do whatever you want. But if you stall and ask the boards what you can do to get losing again, we're going to recommend you get more accurate with your tools.

hstnljean

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!

I use cups spoons and scale but I never thought about putting my plate one the scale and measure by weighing each item on the same plate thanks for the idea
Jean

gerla_k

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

littlelaura

I over estimate if I do not weigh my food and therefore end up eating more calories than I think I am and then I don't lose or gain weight. I highly support weighing food.

amusedmonkey

If it's working for you then keep on with it! No need to force yourself to do something you are not comfortable with. For me, scale is more sustainable for the future, it's more accurate, faster and easier to use. With cups there are more dishes to wash plus I can't take my measuring cups everywhere, you know. Unless you like stashing dirty cups in your bag to take home. For eating out, I have formed a mental image how certain quantities look on my plate, so I just guess when I eat out - no biggie to guess every now and then. If it's something from a supermarket and I'm outside, I just scan it in. If it has more than one serving, guessing the serving is usually easy (example 3 biscuits from a 9 biscuit pack)

Strokingdiction

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

bcattoes

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

How does that work for something like a casserole or stew? Do you weight the casserole dish or pot, then weigh the whole thing again after it's done cooking, ten enter all the ingredients in the MFP recipe section and make the number of servings the number of grams the whole weighed, then zero out your plate and weigh the portion you are going to eat, and enter that you ate X servings where X = what the portion weighed in grams?

Francl27

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

No it just proves that not using a scale isn't a huge deal when you have a bigger deficit and don't eat back exercise calories. It's for people who don't have much to lose that it's more problematic... or I guess the former people once they start moving to maintenance, and end up gaining weight back because they don't realize they are actually eating 200-300 more calories than what they are logging and increased their calories back too much...

asciiqwerty

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

isn't everything!

from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160 average estimating error for people who know that the aim of the excercise if to be as accurate as possible is between 223 (dietitians) and 429 (others) kcal/day

for many - that ~400cal/day underestimate will wipe out their intended deficit

smn76237

: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.

But...chopping up chicken into small pieces and shoving it into a cup is more mess, more time consuming, and less accurate than placing a whole piece of chicken on a plate on a scale.
Also, package weights for meats are typically not accurate--they always say serving size 1 breast (4 oz) or something along those lines, but if you had a scale, you would see that the breast is typically 6-8oz (or bigger).

If you're using measuring cups, you should use a scale. Measuring cups aren't even close to accurate for anything solid, they are more time consuming, and they are more wasteful.

If you're eyeballing and losing weight at the rate you want and aren't hungry, then obviously a scale wouldn't be beneficial to you.

Many people cook from recipes. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped chicken, then they are going to measure out one cup with a measuring cup to get the recipe right. Then weighing the chicken would be an additional step.

And for things like grains, the correct mix is usually listed by volume not weight in the US. So again, it would need to be measured with a measuring cup for volume, so weighing would be an extra step.

Not everyone cooks this way, but these are just a couple of examples of when you would be wrong.

If you look closely at your labels, you'll notice the serving size of everything solid (including grains) may have volume as a serving size but then the weight is listed in parenthesis next to it. I never paid attention to that before I started weighing my food either, but it's there. Eg, white rice serving is 1 cup (95g). My measuring 1 cup will be different than your measuring 1 cup and therefore we will be eating different amounts of calories.

If someone is following a recipe that calls for 1 cup of chicken (for whatever reason), all you do is put your cup on a scale and hit tare (which takes 2 seconds), chop your chicken and put it in the cup, and see what the scale says that weighs. The "extra step" is 2 seconds.

asciiqwerty

How does that work for something like a casserole or stew? Do you weight the casserole dish or pot, then weigh the whole thing again after it's done cooking, ten enter all the ingredients in the MFP recipe section and make the number of servings the number of grams the whole weighed, then zero out your plate and weigh the portion you are going to eat, and enter that you ate X servings where X = what the portion weighed in grams?

yes

Strokingdiction

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

No it just proves that not using a scale isn't a huge deal when you have a bigger deficit and don't eat back exercise calories. It's for people who don't have much to lose that it's more problematic... or I guess the former people once they start moving to maintenance, and end up gaining weight back because they don't realize they are actually eating 200-300 more calories than what they are logging and increased their calories back too much...

I know, I said the exact same thing above. The different strokes for different folks is directly commenting on the difference between people with more and people with less to lose. I have less to lose, I use a scale. The other commenter has more to lose and is doing well with other measuring methods.

Different measuring methods (strokes) for people with different weight loss needs (folks).

gerla_k

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

No it just proves that not using a scale isn't a huge deal when you have a bigger deficit and don't eat back exercise calories. It's for people who don't have much to lose that it's more problematic... or I guess the former people once they start moving to maintenance, and end up gaining weight back because they don't realize they are actually eating 200-300 more calories than what they are logging and increased their calories back too much...

I don't have much to lose actually. I have about 9 kg to my goal weight which is on a lower end of my BMI.

Strokingdiction

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

isn't everything!

from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160 average estimating error for people who know that the aim of the excercise if to be as accurate as possible is between 223 (dietitians) and 429 (others) kcal/day

for many - that ~400cal/day underestimate will wipe out their intended deficit

No it isn't everything but it is something. People lost weight before without food scales. They are not the holy grail of weight loss though they can be a great tool. If someone loses weight without one or wants to lose weight without one, it does not suddenly negate the benefit of using one for people that use them.