Why is everyone so scared of weighing their food?
Replies
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A lot of people have lost weight without weighing their food simply by using portion control (use a small plate of food, don't get seconds until it's been 20-30 minutes and you know if you're really still hungry or not, limit fast food to two small items, etc). This is very manageable for a lot of people and is a long-term solution for people who don't want to weigh their food for the rest of their lives. It's a hassle.
Logging food is a good idea though. Even if it's just an estimate (no weighing/measuring), there will be a close count on packaged foods and it's important for people to know approximately how many calories are in each thing they're eating. Learn the "value" of each food for a balanced diet and to know if a certain food is something one should rarely eat or if it's something like vegetables where the calorie count is so low you'd be full long before you went over your limit.
My biggest issue was that I ate food when I wasn't hungry (eating for taste) or I got too many items at fast food. Now I eat one plate or bowl of food. If it's a burger then that's usually the only item. I almost never get fries with my food anymore because it's extra calories and if I do it's a small order or I share the large with others. If it's pizza I eat two slices, instead of three like I used to eat. At Taco Bell I limit myself to two items. It's about moderation. I also eat smaller meals or two meals a day instead of three. My daily goal is 1200 so I don't eat a lot of snacks anymore. I used to go crazy with the cheddar and sour cream chips but now they're almost never in the house and if they are I limit myself to a kid-sized bowl instead of eating two regular-sized bowls of chips. I don't own a food scale but am still losing weight. I think part of it is that my daily goal is low so I have room to go over and still lose weight. I am not "scared" of weighing my food but I am also not eating a lot. If I were always hungry I think I would weigh my food because I would have to be more careful about not going over.0 -
At first my boyfriend wasn't interested in weighing his food at all. But he does use the scale very occasionally now for certain things. (Like almonds) He just started using it on his own. I think he realized how easy they are to over eat. I do the cooking so I measure out our meals, but he's lost 78 pounds in 6 months from mostly just estimating and eating the pre-measured meals I keep in the fridge and freezer. He doesn't keep track of what he eats either, he doesn't have a MFP account. Haha It seems to work fine for some.0
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PS: Re baking: In all my life I've never seen a recipe with the ingredients given in weights, although that makes a great deal of sense. My mother taught me to run flour through a sifter, then carefully spoon it into measuring cups in order not to compact it and then use a straight edge of some sort to level it off. Conversely, brown sugar is supposed to be pressed into the measuring cup (although how hard to compact it is somewhat arbitrary and a matter of experience.) I learn something everyday!
Conversely, I've never seen a baking recipe that wasn't given in weights, except for the liquid volume portion of course. You've just confirmed that using volume measures for solids just don't make sense.
Baking is the only time I'll weigh stuff, because in that case it does make a difference to the outcome.
But then I'm an engineer, so I use what's practical and useful, only when it's practical and useful
Maybe the lack of weights for baking is an American thing? English recipe books always seem to have weights for ingredients.0 -
I didn't want to weigh at first because I thought it would be a hassle and was going too far and unnecessarily time-consuming. And I was actually losing fine without weighing, but just ended up thinking it would actually be less of a hassle to weigh, since estimating was more of a pain. Plus, I got into wanting to know the details so I could number crunch better.
He might get more into it after starting, so I wouldn't worry if it takes him time. And if it works without it and he doesn't, no harm.0 -
I don't weight my food, I do follow the "sizes" that are listed so if its half a cup I use half a cup. I get it that it may or may not be the exact size. So far I've been losing slow but steady, i'm in no rush.
Just like I don't freak out on yogurt, ice cream and other things like that when weighed. I don't lick my bowl clean so there is guaranteed left over calories, and I have a toddler who tends to eat a good chunk of whatever I eat anyways.
If I stop losing and changing my routine isn't working, than i'll buy a scale till than I am not going insane.0 -
Ok, I get it, you can lose weight without a scale and without logging... I'm just wondering how sustainable it is long term?
Everyone I know who lost weight that way still think that eating a cookie or ice cream will mess up their diet. I can't imagine how that would be sustainable long term. I mean... I'm sure if I never ate sweets I wouldn't really need to weigh my food to lose weight either... but that wouldn't be much fun and frankly, me being me... I'd probably gain the weigh back later.
I guess we'll see how it works out (but yeah, he's a man, he got that on his side).
I don't think you get it...Food scale is must to have for some but not for others...There are people who can simply eat less and lose weight; there are who can't do it that way. Whatever works for a person is really relative...It's not black and white, has to be your way or no way. Just sayin~0 -
A scale is a valuable tool, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Some people are better at estimating portion sizes than others...I am not one of those people so a scale was very valuable in helping me to learn that. I still use my scale from time to time, but for the most part I'm now able to eyeball my portions without much issue; I tend to use it primarily for things like nuts and pasta, etc...these things I for whatever reason just can't eyeball properly.
THIS
However, I am not one of those who can do it by just eyeballing...my husband can totally do it with no problem.0 -
I have been weighing certain foods (especially cheese) for years. It's simple, easy and is such a habit I barely notice doing it anymore.because food is supposed to provide pleasure not torture...weighing before eating that's just too much hassle and takes away the fun...
I still enjoy my food. *shrug*
It's only torture if you make it torture. It adds no extra time (maybe a split second) and sometimes actually allows me to eat more than I thought I could.
Good for you then. All I was saying there is to answer OPs question from one possible angle... 0 -
My husband has decided to lose weight, but he doesn't want to weigh his food (or log his food really). He said if he stops losing, he'll consider it.
I don't get it... Why not start with something that works if you're really determined to do it?
Because your way is not the only way that works...:)0 -
PS: Re baking: In all my life I've never seen a recipe with the ingredients given in weights, although that makes a great deal of sense. My mother taught me to run flour through a sifter, then carefully spoon it into measuring cups in order not to compact it and then use a straight edge of some sort to level it off. Conversely, brown sugar is supposed to be pressed into the measuring cup (although how hard to compact it is somewhat arbitrary and a matter of experience.) I learn something everyday!
Conversely, I've never seen a baking recipe that wasn't given in weights, except for the liquid volume portion of course. You've just confirmed that using volume measures for solids just don't make sense.
Baking is the only time I'll weigh stuff, because in that case it does make a difference to the outcome.
But then I'm an engineer, so I use what's practical and useful, only when it's practical and useful
Maybe the lack of weights for baking is an American thing? English recipe books always seem to have weights for ingredients.
American's don't typically own food scales unless they are trying to monitor their food intake in the manner being debated in this thread.0 -
you dont often see weights in canadian recipe books eitherPS: Re baking: In all my life I've never seen a recipe with the ingredients given in weights, although that makes a great deal of sense. My mother taught me to run flour through a sifter, then carefully spoon it into measuring cups in order not to compact it and then use a straight edge of some sort to level it off. Conversely, brown sugar is supposed to be pressed into the measuring cup (although how hard to compact it is somewhat arbitrary and a matter of experience.) I learn something everyday!
Conversely, I've never seen a baking recipe that wasn't given in weights, except for the liquid volume portion of course. You've just confirmed that using volume measures for solids just don't make sense.
Baking is the only time I'll weigh stuff, because in that case it does make a difference to the outcome.
But then I'm an engineer, so I use what's practical and useful, only when it's practical and useful
Maybe the lack of weights for baking is an American thing? English recipe books always seem to have weights for ingredients.
American's don't typically own food scales unless they are trying to monitor their food intake in the manner being debated in this thread.0 -
you dont often see weights in canadian recipe books eitherPS: Re baking: In all my life I've never seen a recipe with the ingredients given in weights, although that makes a great deal of sense. My mother taught me to run flour through a sifter, then carefully spoon it into measuring cups in order not to compact it and then use a straight edge of some sort to level it off. Conversely, brown sugar is supposed to be pressed into the measuring cup (although how hard to compact it is somewhat arbitrary and a matter of experience.) I learn something everyday!
Conversely, I've never seen a baking recipe that wasn't given in weights, except for the liquid volume portion of course. You've just confirmed that using volume measures for solids just don't make sense.
Baking is the only time I'll weigh stuff, because in that case it does make a difference to the outcome.
But then I'm an engineer, so I use what's practical and useful, only when it's practical and useful
Maybe the lack of weights for baking is an American thing? English recipe books always seem to have weights for ingredients.
American's don't typically own food scales unless they are trying to monitor their food intake in the manner being debated in this thread.
I wonder if it's mostly Americans and Canadians that are resistant to weighing their food since it's otherwise not done.
Anyway, we digress....sorry, OP.0 -
Maybe the lack of weights for baking is an American thing? English recipe books always seem to have weights for ingredients.
I generally see weights in baking books (I'm in the US). I don't much like baking because I'm a just put in what seems good and is on hand sort of cook and don't like following recipes, but I used to bake bread on occasion and all the resources I used focused on weights being much more accurate. I never bothered then, though.0 -
Weighing your food is totally a "first world problem"....that's just it.0
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This is my personal observation and opinion: There is a belief shared by many that taking this concept of logging and micromanagement to THAT level is a sign that you have taken it to an unhealthy obsession. While this is not true in many cases, I think it is a valid and logical fear given the prevalence of eating disorders in modern society.0
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I wonder if it's mostly Americans and Canadians that are resistant to weighing their food since it's otherwise not done.
What I'd observe isn't so much resistance to weighing food, but many people not seeing the point.
For me, I end up with such large deficits after a decent training session then I'm unable to consume the volumes. There is absolutely no value to me in adding hassle.
What I find interesting is that for many threads there is an instant do you weigh... response, without any real exploration of the context. For many people weighing and measuring just isn't practical.
Of course the same thing applies in fitness threads when some respondents just weigh in regardless of the question asked and give a very simplistic answer. In the absence of context, mostly it's meaningless.0 -
This is my personal observation and opinion: There is a belief shared by many that taking this concept of logging and micromanagement to THAT level is a sign that you have taken it to an unhealthy obsession. While this is not true in many cases, I think it is a valid and logical fear given the prevalence of eating disorders in modern society.
I tend to agree with the core of your message...although I see warning coming...you will be jumped all over...LOL0 -
I wonder if it's mostly Americans and Canadians that are resistant to weighing their food since it's otherwise not done.
What I'd observe isn't so much resistance to weighing food, but many people not seeing the point.
For me, I end up with such large deficits after a decent training session then I'm unable to consume the volumes. There is absolutely no value to me in adding hassle.
What I find interesting is that for many threads there is an instant do you weigh... response, without any real exploration of the context. For many people weighing and measuring just isn't practical.
Of course the same thing applies in fitness threads when some respondents just weigh in regardless of the question asked and give a very simplistic answer. In the absence of context, mostly it's meaningless.
the motto of this forum is (or at lease one of them) "you don't weigh your food, you deserve to fail".0 -
I can see both sides of the coin when it comes to people who haven't had results and ask for help. If they aren't weighting their food, that could be a big reason why they are not losing weight. It's a fair question.
That said, I've never seen any of the posters on here jump on someone if they say they don't weight for personal reasons. I'm pretty sure a lot of the really smart people on here add the caveat of "you may want to avoid weighing if it's a trigger for unhealthy behavior."
For me personally, my goal is to live a happy, healthy and well-balanced life. For me, personally, this precludes obsessive weighing, special ordering at restaurants (for the sake of diet alone), staying home because it's easier to hit my macros, etc. I believe that it is possible to manage calorie intake without weighing all the time PROVIDING that the person doing it is realistic with what they think they are eating. If I'm unsure of something I ate, I round up. If I'm unsure of how much I burned, I don't eat back all those calories. This in no way means I am any less dedicated to my health and fitness and, quite frankly, I'm offended at the posts on here that say as much.0 -
The commercial you saw was specifically talking about the Quick Start program, which I believe is a version of the old Core (on which a LOT of people had great success, BTW) and is only supposed to last I think two weeks. Then you have to start weighing and measuring. It's more a way to ease people into the program than meant as a long-term solution.I think that people don't want to know how much they're eating of calorie dense things. Weighing makes you accountable. People want to believe that they can just do one small thing and then fix all of their problems. Just look at the diet industry. 21-day fix. 7 day juice cleanse. People want someone else to do all the calculating and then just sit down at the table and eat.
Yay for oversimplifications and generalizations. So awesome.
i think she's right. not about people on MFP, but people as a "whole". the sheer yearly revenue of the fad/gimmick diet industry seems to support her argument.
i even saw a weight watchers commercial the other night that proudly proclaimed that there was "no weighing. no counting." IIRC.
Anyway, no, I don't think people who are not trying to lose weight (or not seriously and actively, anyway) care or want to know about how many calories they're ingesting. But I also don't think that's a full and accurate description of why many people don't want to use a food scale. If you can have success without it, why bother?
It's been mentioned a few times in this thread but the bold is dead on, IMO.
I think short term food scale use is a great idea if you want to become better at portion estimation. I think physique athletes and people who desire "extreme" levels of leanness may potentially need the accuracy that a food scale provides. I think a food scale is a great tool to use if you are at a weight loss plateau because it will give you a good piece of information as to whether or not your intake was simply too far above your target.
But beyond that, if you're losing weight at a reasonable pace I don't see an immediate need to have people weigh their food meticulously.0 -
I personally saw my best results when I was paying attention more to WHAT I was eating than to how much of it. I don't like to chime in on those IIFYM vs. Clean Eating debates, but in terms of overall fitness and body composition, I was MUCH better off when I was merely eyeballing/guesstimating the quantities but following a mostly paleo (nothing but meats and fresh fruits & veggies mostly) eating style than when I was following an IIFYM plan where you monitor quantities closely but don't try to restrict what you're eating exactly.0
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I wonder if it's mostly Americans and Canadians that are resistant to weighing their food since it's otherwise not done.
What I'd observe isn't so much resistance to weighing food, but many people not seeing the point.
For me, I end up with such large deficits after a decent training session then I'm unable to consume the volumes. There is absolutely no value to me in adding hassle.
What I find interesting is that for many threads there is an instant do you weigh... response, without any real exploration of the context. For many people weighing and measuring just isn't practical.
Of course the same thing applies in fitness threads when some respondents just weigh in regardless of the question asked and give a very simplistic answer. In the absence of context, mostly it's meaningless.
the motto of this forum is (or at lease one of them) "you don't weigh your food, you deserve to fail".
I should have added this as another reason I haven't been weighing my food: Contrariness in response to the aggressive accusations in other forum threads, "you don't weigh your food, you're eating more than you think you are."
I also had a huge deficit on Saturday after a 4 hour bike ride with hill repeats that flamed my legs. The next day I had gained three pounds from fluid retention, seemingly wiping out two weeks worth of weight loss. Had I whined about it in a forum post, I have no doubt I would have been called out for not weighing my food.0 -
That said, I've never seen any of the posters on here jump on someone if they say they don't weight for personal reasons.
Are you reading a different forum site?
Lots of judgemental garbage when someone says no, because...0 -
That said, I've never seen any of the posters on here jump on someone if they say they don't weight for personal reasons.
Are you reading a different forum site?
Lots of judgemental garbage when someone says no, because...
I've never seen someone here get yelled at for not weighing IF they disclose that they don't weight for mental health reasons.0 -
I've never seen someone here get yelled at for not weighing IF they disclose that they don't weight for mental health reasons.
That's a fairly weighty caveat, and assumes that someone is going to disclose the information. Having seen some of the cr*p handed out it might be enough to convince someone even if they don't want to though.0 -
First of all, congrats on YOUR weight loss! :drinker:
Second of all, let hubby find his own way. I've brought the food scale to my husband's attention, but until he is ready to use it and/or or log food, he won't and I can't make him (nor would I want to). But I do gently remind him of WHY he is not losing weight if he chooses to complain about it. Heheh.0 -
Does it really bother anyone if another human being doesn't put their food on a scale prior to eating it? Who cares. If someone is losing weight with a scale, great. If someone is losing weight without a scale, great. Not everyone needs to weigh, not everyone needs to track their intake on a diary daily, different ways of approaching dieting work for different people. Structure is great for some, not so much for others.
also lol where is this everyone who is scared of weighing food? I pictured someone with a serious phobia about weighing their food, like they'd totally lose their cool when a scale came into the kitchen.0 -
That said, I've never seen any of the posters on here jump on someone if they say they don't weight for personal reasons.
Are you reading a different forum site?
Lots of judgemental garbage when someone says no, because...
Judgmental garbage? Really? Do tell... I only bring up food scales when people are in a plateau, or gaining weight and don't know the reason. When they are having trouble and ASKING for help. And I've never seen anyone given a hard time about not using a scale because of behavioral issues.0 -
Does it really bother anyone if another human being doesn't put their food on a scale prior to eating it? Who cares. If someone is losing weight with a scale, great. If someone is losing weight without a scale, great. Not everyone needs to weigh, not everyone needs to track their intake on a diary daily, different ways of approaching dieting work for different people. Structure is great for some, not so much for others.
yeah...and someone (I think is OP?) mentioned methods not involving weighing food is not sustainable....ironically I think weighing your food might be short term solution...I can totally see someone relapses after period of time doing so...but please don't beat me. Like this poster said "structure works for some; not for others". :drinker:0 -
I wonder if it's mostly Americans and Canadians that are resistant to weighing their food since it's otherwise not done.
What I'd observe isn't so much resistance to weighing food, but many people not seeing the point.
For me, I end up with such large deficits after a decent training session then I'm unable to consume the volumes. There is absolutely no value to me in adding hassle.
What I find interesting is that for many threads there is an instant do you weigh... response, without any real exploration of the context. For many people weighing and measuring just isn't practical.
Of course the same thing applies in fitness threads when some respondents just weigh in regardless of the question asked and give a very simplistic answer. In the absence of context, mostly it's meaningless.
the motto of this forum is (or at lease one of them) "you don't weigh your food, you deserve to fail".
I should have added this as another reason I haven't been weighing my food: Contrariness in response to the aggressive accusations in other forum threads, "you don't weigh your food, you're eating more than you think you are."
I also had a huge deficit on Saturday after a 4 hour bike ride with hill repeats that flamed my legs. The next day I had gained three pounds from fluid retention, seemingly wiping out two weeks worth of weight loss. Had I whined about it in a forum post, I have no doubt I would have been called out for not weighing my food.
You call that an aggressive accusation? Oh boy -0
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