Weighing your food or not? Your take on it?

Deena_Bean

Using the scale even intermittently helps train your "eye" for portions.

This is an intelligent thought. You may have just sold me a scale :flowerforyou:

FireOpalCO

I would at least use some form of measurement, whether it's weighing or using dry and wet measuring cups. That way at least there is something there beyond "yeah that looks like a serving". Seriously go measure out a serving of cereal according to the box and see how different that is compared to what people pour into their bowl.

Some things I measure or count out, others I weigh. It depends on the item.

laserturkey

I love my kitchen scale and don't find it inconvenient at all to use it, so why wouldn't I choose to have the most accurate information I can get in my log?

Deena_Bean

I would at least use some form of measurement, whether it's weighing or using dry and wet measuring cups. That way at least there is something there beyond "yeah that looks like a serving". Seriously go measure out a serving of cereal according to the box and see how different that is compared to what people pour into their bowl.

Some things I measure or count out, others I weigh. It depends on the item.

I do measure food portions (cups/spoons, etc.) - I just don't own a scale. Yet. So my recordings are fairly close to accurate. Cereal portions are a sad story.

maz504

I'd say I weigh like 75% of what I eat. It takes a few days to get in the habit but it's really no more of a hassle than measuring things with like a measuring cup or spoons, and it gives me more peace of mind. Especially with meat and raw fruits/veggies. That said, I have also lost 30 lbs in the past without ever owning a scale and doing my best to estimate. So I don't fret if I forget one day to weigh my cereal or something.

ETA: I got my digital scale for <$20 at Target and it's awesome. So even if you don't end up using it a lot, it's not a ton of money out the window and it's great for the times you do use it. And +1 to whoever said it trains your eye with portion sizes. Very true!

I_Will_End_You

If you are seeing the results you want, then do whatever you want to do.

If you are not seeing the results you want, then weighing your food even for a few days can be an easy way to assess what may or may not be going wrong. At the very least you'll know that you have accurate numbers to work with.

This. I never weighed food and didn't have a problem losing. But if I did, I would have weighed it, and recommend it to anyone who posts asking why they aren't losing weight.

kbmnurse

Yes I do weigh most of my food.

Vailara

I started off doing the "No S Diet" (google it - it's only a few words!), and I did lose weight that way to start with. I felt it was a good way to control intake without weighing and measuring. I still use it, but mix it up with calorie counting, and plan to use it as my fallback in maintenance! It's worth a try if you want to avoid measuring.

BKNeenz

Weighing & measuring food isn't a big stretch for me since I cooked & baked often before I started MFP. What I'm weighing for is what has changed but it's no more difficult than it has been. If anything, it's helping me to gain an understanding of what a "serving size" of an item is, which helps when I don't have a scale.

Siriku

If the packaging doesn't clearly denote the weight of something (for instance, anything not in sachets or single packets) then always. Except for in restaurants and such, but half of the stuff I eat out has MFP entries or something fairly close to them anyway.

It's probably not as bad if you have a lot of weight to lose because you can afford to err a little bit, but when you hit the stubborn levels, weighing wherever possible is a helpful process. I eat similar stuff on most days and I still weigh it first because even with practice a person can still err, and with higher calorie foods that can be problematic.

smn76237

If you are seeing the results you want, then do whatever you want to do.

If you are not seeing the results you want, then weighing your food even for a few days can be an easy way to assess what may or may not be going wrong. At the very least you'll know that you have accurate numbers to work with.

Yes!

I'm not sure why food scales are such a hot button issue around here or why people are so quick to poo poo them. I love mine so much. It takes away any guesswork, I have accurate data in my diary, and I feel like I can eat a bigger variety of things because I don't have to be afraid that I might be going over my calories.

geebusuk

Calories in vs calories out.

All that matters.

Weighing food is one very good way to help ensure you are keeping the calories in less than the calories out.

It really doesn't take long to do - I just keep the scales on the worksafe - they can be zeroed with stuff on too, so it's minimal effort to get a few numbers to work out exactly what I'm eating.
And yes, this includes stuff like pouring a bowl of cereal with milk.

What in years gone by would be a 'medium' bowl of cereal for me (of which I could have several) is around double the suggested serving size.

SoosannahK

I weigh almost all my food now. I was disheartened when I seen that a 2 TBSP serving of peanut butter was not actually 2 TBSP. I was probably eating 4x the serving size just going by the good ol TBSP. Also cereal is another eye opener when you go from measuring cup to scale. Needless to say I dont eat much of either unless it is to fill some snack calories when I am almost at my daily goal. Now the food gets weighed. Things I skimp on weighing are probably fruit and veggies though I do try to remember to weigh those before I eat half of them. I am getting better at that.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

The problem is that when people don't weigh their food, their true calorie intake is much different than what they are putting in their diary by hundreds of calories, and that makes a huge difference.

Pretty much this

rm33064

How are you supposed to know how much you're really eating if you don't weigh and measure? Does guessing really work for people?

Achrya

Are you losing without the scale? Well then good for you, do what you do.

Stalled, even though you think you're in a deficit? Use the sclae.

Easy

Deena_Bean

Are you losing without the scale? Well then good for you, do what you do.

Stalled, even though you think you're in a deficit? Use the sclae.

Easy

I've always lost without a scale...now I'm stalled with about 15 pounds left to lose. Hence the question on this - I am going to buy one and see how it goes for a couple of weeks

rak173

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you want to jump start the last bit of weight loss, buying a scale may be worth it. I have just started my journey and have not been weighing everything(I have been using cup measurements), but after this past week, I am going to start weighing more! Initially it helped me most with protein items. I hope it will help push my weight loss along as well.

Nedra19455

If you are seeing the results you want, then do whatever you want to do.

If you are not seeing the results you want, then weighing your food even for a few days can be an easy way to assess what may or may not be going wrong. At the very least you'll know that you have accurate numbers to work with.

This! I weigh some things, but not everything. Basically I weigh the things I know I can't estimate, or can only find guidelines given in volumes.

If/when I plateau or slow down to a disappointing rate of weight loss, the first thing I will do is to start weighing more carefully.