weighing and measuring everything

ninejr

So do you still weigh and measure all your food? How long does it take to get a feel for how much you should be eating? I joined the site about 1.5 months ago and it is good, but weighing and measuring all my food is a bit tedious. I will keep doing it, because I really need to lose the weight, but I just wonder if I will ever reach a point where I will not have to measure so much.

scatmaster

I believe weighing and measuring is the key. I never did it until I joined MFP and I was always hungry. Now I am never hungry because I know at all times what my calorie count is and whether I can have a snack or not. I actually eat under my daily allowable most days and with exercise well the weight drops off faster and I can have another snack.

Katbaran

I don't measure every single thing, but I do measure the things I have a tendency to estimate high on. Like noodles or rice. I had a half cup of 1% cottage cheese and an orange and I ate the cottage cheese right out of the half cup measure. I'm really bad about estimating meat too, so I always weigh it. I don't know if you will reach a point where you don't have to but I think its just taking me longer to focus. I WANT to do this and I WANT to be accurate. I don't measure raw vegetables all the time but they are generally so low in calories a little bit won't matter. Higher calories foods, I measure.

raising2ells

Hi! I've been doing this since December 27, and I still weigh EVERYTHING!!!!!! I mean, everything!!!!!!
For me, I will probably always weigh and measure things because I don't want to find myself "cheating" and adding a little dash here and a few drops there until I'm back where I began.
Good Job so far and stay strong!

NoAdditives

I logged pretty religiously for about 5 months. I just recently stopped logging in an effort to reduce some stress. I've always been good at estimating things in terms of cups since I cook and bake a lot. I would give it more time if I were you, it takes a while to get good at estimating measurements.

bachooka

The longer you spend weighing and measuring your food, the less it will bother you. But you don't alway always have to measure and weigh... try looking up food guide recommended servings on the web. it gives you comparisons to use instead of actually weighing it. It doesn't have to be exact... but it will go faster if you keep weighing and measuring!

ronda_gettinghealthy

From what I have been told by people who are further along than I am-(because I have pondered the same thing) They said that eventually your eyes will become acustomed to what is a size but they say they still spot measure just to check themselves. One thing you can do is put what you think is a portion on your plate, then measure and see where your eyes are in judging sizes. Good Luck!

baisleac

I've always been good at visual estimations (comes from being a non-recipe following cook, I think), but I still measure stuff every once in a while to keep my brain fresh on what X amount of Y looks like.

Test yourself. Serve yourself "One cup" of whatever. Then put what you served yourself into a measuring cup and see how you did.

NoExcuseTina

I weigh and measure everything...I find using the scale to weigh things is actually easier and less stressful

I put the bowl on the scale...zero it out...then add the food...and if it contains multiple ingredients (like a salad with lettuce, spinach, avocado, egg, dressing)...I just zero out before adding the next item...using the same bowl

feliciapeters

i cook alot & im pretty good at measuring by sight. I know a 4oz piece of chicken is about the size of a deck of cards. One of my small serving spoons is about a 1/ a cup of rice etc.

You'll be surprised how soon you can "eyeball" something especially if its something you eat often

ninejr

@tinaswt - that is exactly how I do it, our food scale is my best friend.

healthyjen342

I agree, it does get tedious sometimes, especially if you're pressed for time, but I think it's worth it in the end. I dont like to "Guesstimate"..KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

luv2ash

totally worth taking the time to weigh an measure----when I think about it......its not weighing and measuring that got me to my obese state to begin with---its the lease I can do to help myself.

Losershawn

I don't trust myself so I measure everything!:happy:

marshmallowmind

I don't weight anything. Sounds bad, but most of what I eat has portion sizes written on the packets. Only a few things require measuring, like porridge or pasta/rice/spaghetti... Otherwise everything is already measured out for me, hah.
Then again, my weight loss goal isn't particularly that big, but if you feel you should, then do it, especially if it will help you feel better about what you're eating.