Why is everyone so scared of weighing their food?

paulawatkins1974

I have to admit, I just started. Only because I live in a hick town, and hadn't gotten around to the 45 minute drive to buy one. I stopped losing at 24 lbs though so I knew I had to. I Do find it a little time consuming, as I work crazy hours and have to make 5 meals ahead on Sunday evening so, measuring it too is a bit tough. But....If you want some things to change, you gotta change some things. So far, I still don't measure things like kale and spinach. I am a work in progress

ThinLizzie0802

Weighing my food on a food scale has been how I've learned to correctly eyeball portions. When I'm home, I weigh, when I'm out I guestimate. But I'm pro-food scale. It has been the difference in weight loss for me.

keobooks

When you go to a restaurant or someone's house you can't take your scale.

I asked a few weeks ago for the simplest way to figure out the calories for a serving of soup I made. I was told to weigh each ingredient and count all those calories then weigh the whole thing and count all of the calories up by grams. Then take a serving and measure it in grams. Then divide the calories I took and divide it by the total calories.... On and on....

Very daunting. I just bought a scale and then I made a salad. I forgot to weigh each ingredient before I put it in the salad. I said awwww screw this and guesstimated on it ..like I did before I had the scale

PRMinx

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).

This is ridiculous. Maybe you personally can't maintain your weight without weighing every day, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm pretty sure that, barring a medical condition or pregnancy, my weight won't fluctuate much in the short or long term, whether I weigh my food or not. My diet is one part of a bigger lifestyle change that includes lots of exercise, lifting weights, eating more protein and a host of other things I won't get into here.

I've been able to develop a fairly good sense of what I'm eating and what I'm burning. I've been with a scale and without a scale. My weight is where I like it and it's not budged for 6 months. While I use a food scale now solely for protein measurements, I'm pretty confident that I won't need a food scale to crutch on for the rest of my life.

ETA: That said, I think measuring food is a helpful tool for some people, but it's not necessary for ALL people.

KnM0107

Some people simply don't have to use a scale to meet their goals. I always said that if I started stalling or if I was having trouble meeting my goals, I would use one. I have surpassed every goal I have set without one and I maintain without logging at all. You do you and leave your husband alone. It is just a tool and some people need/want to use it and some don't.

I think I was motivated and committed even though I didn't weigh my food or log 100% of the time...

ValGogo

I think it may be because the scale will show how small the portion is, and gawd fahbid American's make their portions smaller. (I'm american, by the way.)

I need to get a digital scale.

dsalveson

When you go to a restaurant or someone's house you can't take your scale.

I asked a few weeks ago for the simplest way to figure out the calories for a serving of soup I made. I was told to weigh each ingredient and count all those calories then weigh the whole thing and count all of the calories up by grams. Then take a serving and measure it in grams. Then divide the calories I took and divide it by the total calories.... On and on....

Very daunting. I just bought a scale and then I made a salad. I forgot to weigh each ingredient before I put it in the salad. I said awwww screw this and guesstimated on it ..like I did before I had the scale

All the more reason to be as accurate as possible when you can.

DawnieB1977

I only recently bought a digital food scale. We did have a non-digital one before, so I'd weigh porridge oats, and use it for baking, but I didn't weigh anything else. I'd been losing weight for a year before I discovered MFP, so I wasn't logging or weighing food. Shock horror! I still lost weight.

I've found that with things like cheese I'm pretty much accurate on weight. I weigh cereal and things like that, but I'm not obsessive about weighing veg and salad for example. Even if I estimate badly, it won't make a massive difference.

Heartisalonelyhunter

I think the OP's husband needs to get a new wife rather than a foos scale. One that won't belittle his attempts to lose weight behind his back on a public Internet message board...

happysquidmuffin

Last night, I made my husband and I some homemade "pizza" ... bread sliced from a large bakery style loaf, topped with marinara sauce, grated parmesan and smoked gouda cheese, chopped sweet mini peppers, and slices of tomato, broiled in the oven. I could have guestimated the amounts, and prepared it in less than 5 minutes. I spent at least double that time, because I chose to weigh every single ingredient, including the bread, and also weighed each ingredient again to split it perfectly in half so that my husband and I had equal amounts of everything (we both use MFP).
As a result, I knew that I had consumed exactly (or at least very close to) 447 calories, instead of the 350-400 I would have guessed. We were both starving-hungry and it was hard to take that extra time, but you know what? Those two slices of pizza tasted SO GOOD because I knew exactly what I was putting into my body. It was worth the extra effort. And, I finally ended the day under calories, which has been extremely hard for me to do thus far!
I think weighing helps some people (like me) to be more disciplined in their efforts. It might not work for everyone, but it has been working for me. For so long I've been stuck at 2-3 lb of weight loss, but yesterday I finally saw a new low on the scale. Up half a pound today so it says only 4 lb lost but that temporary 5 felt like a big victory.

Texsox

Everyone must lose weight the same way or there will be chaos. :-)

Keep the things that work,
change the things that don't.

The simpler and easier to follow,
the more likely it will become a habit.

My choices are based on being 52 years old with a life expectancy based on family health profiles of living to be 73. That means about 21 years of eating. That means approximately 23,000 meals to weigh, measure, log, and eat. If I spend just an additional 3 minutes on each meal weighing and cleaning the scale, I will spend the equivelent of 48 days of my life weighing food. As it is if I continue to log everything I eat for 20+ years I will be spending months of my life just logging. Everything has a cost and a benefit. I am going to continue to estimate, along with a once in a while calibration check, as long as it is working.

janiceclark08

I recently got a digital scale and I feel it has helprd me, the last 2 weeks my weight loss has been better. I still dont weigh every single thing. I dont want to start hating counting calories. However mine has helped me.

gaelicstorm26

Weighing my food actually helps me to enjoy it more because I know exactly how much I'm eating. I can weigh it out and make my plate and enjoy it without wondering how many calories I'm eating or if my portion sizes are off.

I actually just have the scale next to me during dinner with a little piece of plastic wrap on it. I put things on the scale, log with my mobile app, put on my plate, and enjoy! I find that weighing really only takes a minute or two per meal.

But...I'm Type A and I work with numbers for a living. I enjoy statistics and research design, so weighing food is interesting and enjoyable for me. I'm fortunate that my husband isn't bothered by it at all. I don't care if he doesn't weight his food. I'm just worrying about me right now.

martinel2099

If he's staying consistent, making reasonable estimates and still losing weight then all the power to him, let him do it the way he wants. What's important that he is watching what he is eating and losing the weight safely.

I will say this, I do agree with you that weighing food now makes more sense. Eventually he will hit a plateau and if he's even off by a little bit in his day to day estimates that would stall weight loss or cause him to gain again.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Remember that. Leading by example he will catch on that weighing and recording is smarter.

Ely82010

Weighing can be a real hassle and is tough to deal with eating when away from your scale.

Estimating works just fine too, especially once you become well practiced at it.

Exactly! I weigh my food at home but it is a pain in the neck for sure, and when I eat at friend's house or in a restaurant, then I have no choice than estimate and use generic entries.

Bottom line is not that people are scared, is that they don't just want to do it. That's all.

janine2355

Because the food scale doesn't lie and it will show him how much that say "cake" is that he thought was just a little piece.

lthames0810

I'm in the "not weighing your food" camp, but I admit to being a little conflicted about it.

The reasons I don't weigh:

1- All parts of the deficit equation are estimates. Your BMR/TDEE are estimates. So are your calorie burns. How much precision can really be gained by attempting to be accurate with only your food intake?

2-The manner in which I'm trying (and slowly succeeding) to lose weight is to adopt the habits I intend to keep for the rest of my life. I don't see weighing every morsel of food to be a desireable habit for the long term. I'm trying my best not to have to resort to that.

3-Laziness. And this also goes for measuring with cups and spoons, too. I don't want to make extra dishes that have to be washed. If I can eyeball my portions, then I don't have to wash the things I used to measure or weight them with.

4-Admittedly shallow, but I'm a little embarrased to be seen weighing my food.

Hmmm.

1-So, because you are going to have (let's throw out a wild-*kitten* guess) ~20% variance in your calorie allowance estimates anyway, it's a good idea to not try to limit that variance as much as possible because you can never get it to 0%? I disagree. If you are as accurate as you can be (i.e. confident) with your intake, it would make it easier to identify where other estimates might be off and know where to make adjustments.

2-Weighing some food doesn't mean weighing all food. Many people who weigh only do it at home, and some only weigh certain foods. I don't bother weighing lettuce, for example. I also don't weigh at restaurants. Obviously, weighing is probably not terribly practical if you almost always eat out.

3-Psst - one big reason to weigh is because you get precise measurements for a dish without having to dirty more dishes. I love to bake and a scale is a godsend for consistent results. Just weigh into one bowl. I guess if you don't do mise en place and are putting ingredients into a pot/pan on the range that's an issue.

4-Yeah, I can see this one.

Basically, it's a personal decision and can be a useful tool. But, only if using it doesn't drive you away from moving towards a better diet.

I like it because I know how much I can eat and because I R a scientist and like to be as precise as possible. Helps me to know that yesterday's fluctuation is just that and not a sudden fat gain OR loss and I am on target.

Ok. I absolutely see all your points. Can't dispute a single thing you said. (And the glacial pace of my weight loss seems also to argue for a change of philosophy.)

I'm ashamed to say it never occured to me to use the same bowl / plate to weigh everything. (duh) I could just put my empty dinner plate on the scale, zero it out, then add my steak and get the weight, then add my potato then get the cummulative weight, etc. Is that what you mean? I think even I could manage that.

Consider me converted. I guess I'll check out the food scales at Walmart the next time I go.

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!

karmac0matic

There's clearly something about weighing food that makes them uncomfortable. They're not just doing it out of laziness, because that's not even something to possibly be lazy about.

Maybe they just don't want to tell you why. And I'm also with Paige, there are tons of people (myself included) who would be so triggered to get obsessive about weighing things that it would make eating the worst hassle and stressor.

klfaircloth

Can definitely understand your point of view! I talked myself into buying a food scale because I thought it would help me get a better handle on what I was eating.

Until I bought a scale, I guesstimated all the things I consumed for my food journal. After my food scale, I was shocked at the amounts I was REALLY using. Previously, I had always logged my coffee as having 2 TBSP of cream and 2 small teaspoons of sugar (I know how bad that it -- I'm slowing reducing the amount of each ingredient with a goal to drink it black!). The truth of the matter is I was using 2 OUNCES of creamer. That's 4 TBSP! Twice what I thought. And sugar? I was loading my coffee with 15 grams per cup.

Pasta? Rice? Potatoes? Cooked hamburger? Steaks! Chicken! Sauce! Toppings! Oh, my. I couldn't even believe how wrong I was about my calculations.

My food scale seems a little obsessive even to me, but I'm so grateful for it now. Definitely gave me a reality check about how much I was really eating. I'd recommend one to anybody!

MeanderingMammal

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