Why is everyone so scared of weighing their food?

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  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    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.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
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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.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    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...
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    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.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    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.
  • SymphonynSonata
    SymphonynSonata Posts: 533 Member
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    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.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    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.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    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:
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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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.

    You call that an aggressive accusation? Oh boy -
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
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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.

    I use weights a lot in baking and preserving. Most older preserving recipes are in pounds but some newer ones are as well. All of the recipes I create are in weights as well.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
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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.

    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.
    you dont often see weights in canadian recipe books either

    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.

    Canadian here and weigh for baking and preserving recipes. Many older recipes are in weight measure and IIRC, the popular Company's Coming series when they were first issued had a lot of recipes in weight measures. I have a lot of recipe books that use weight measures. It just depends on the author.
  • Gregg8322
    Gregg8322 Posts: 47 Member
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    not afraid of it but i dont feel that its necessary for me to do
  • ParamoreAddict
    ParamoreAddict Posts: 839 Member
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    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?

    I weigh my grilled chicken every day. I was never scared of doing it. Just had to acquire a scale first. I don't think he's scared either. Probably just a case of laziness lol
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
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    Estimating is working for me because I'm set on MFP for a loss of 0.8lbs a week and I'm aiming at 0.5 realistically.

    Also, I want this to be something I stick to. I don't want to have to turn down invites to go out with friends because I can't weigh my food. It's not practical for a university student, imo.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
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    Is it me or does most of the population, including any friends or any people who I know, who are trying, or have lost weight, didn't use a scale to do it. I'm definitely the minority and considered obsessive.

    I did in the past with no problem. The only reason why I'm using one now is because I discovered MFP. Also weighing my food allows me too eat way more than I did in the past when trying to lose weight. I lost weight before coming on here and also lost the first few weeks on here, a lot actually, without weighing my food. Since weighing my food my weight loss has slowed down more than it has ever in my life. But that is because I'm not restricting calories and eating more than I would. So its a good thing. But honestly, I would have been at my goal weight by now if I didn't weigh my food! lol....But this way I have more of a chance of keeping it off and developing good habits along the way.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I remember reading a post on another forum years ago. Something to the tune of, "if you're not using a food scale , you may as well forget about losing weight". I'm thinking, WTF is a food scale?? For just a split second really. Then I forgot all about that

    Fast forward to realizing that despite a fair amount of exercise I was eating more than I burn. Started logging on MFP, decided I liked the numbers and calories in calories out concept and wanted to be accurate. Just like adding up numbers on a spreadsheet. I HAD to get the HRM and the scale. I would imagine some people would simply be turned off by this level of detail with numbers and not want to engage. Or maybe they're back where I was at the start and do not know WTF this food scale contraption is and can't be bothered to figure it out
  • CHC94
    CHC94 Posts: 55 Member
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    Yeah, same here.

    I do actually want to start weighing foods, but I'm not sure what kind of scale to buy.
  • traceywoody
    traceywoody Posts: 233 Member
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    I don't know why they are scared. All I know is that I am too scared not to. I am way too lenient with my amounts and that's what got me into this predicament, so I need to weigh and measure. Whatever works.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Yeah, same here.

    I do actually want to start weighing foods, but I'm not sure what kind of scale to buy.

    I really don't think brand is important. Some of the basic things I find useful in a scale:

    Digital
    Tare button. Zeros out the weight of anything on it.
    Unit button - you will likely mostly use grams but may find ounces, lbs or kgs useful from time to time
    Max weight depending on your needs could be around 2 kg or 5 kg
    Accuracy for most is 1g

    My scale was $11 and I have another $8 one arriving from Amazon (don't ask). Especially if cost is not too much of an issue , I'd just buy a cheapie one and start using it

    Edit: heh, just realizing the last statement makes no sense because why would you go cheap if cost is not an issue. I mean if it breaks or you decide it's a POS and don't want to use it anymore, then who cares, it's only 10 bucks

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