Do you weigh your food?

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24

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  • Zylahe
    Zylahe Posts: 772 Member
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    I weighed everything for a few weeks when i was starting, then my scales broke.
    Now i guestimate and add 20%.

    (i heard that ppl underestimate what they eat by 20%)

    Its kinda weird though, i'll have some peanut butter on a knife and go is that a teaspoon or 1 1/2?, then when i log it its in g's so i need to convert it back.

    I will say that weighing stuff when you are starting, or new stuff really does help you to see how much you are eating and how much you should est.
  • tas3980
    tas3980 Posts: 93 Member
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    I weigh everything every day. It really helps. A good digital scale that switches between ounces and grams is a good way to go.

    ^^ this :)
  • kimdnewton
    kimdnewton Posts: 2
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    I weigh after it is cooked. Because I figure if you pat the grease off and It does shrink you are not eating as much as you put in the pan.
  • mscolleen2003
    mscolleen2003 Posts: 126 Member
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    The scale really opened my eyes to how much I was eating.
  • MammaC66
    MammaC66 Posts: 135 Member
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    I have a digital scale that weighs in both grams and ounces .I use them every day. They are a great tool and a big help. I weigh and measure everything. I weigh my meat after cooking. The calories I am consuming are in the cooked meat not the raw meat.
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
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    A food scale was a must for me, as is measuring everything out. It's amazing how inaccurate many product labels are. If I buy a bag of chicken breasts that are supposed to weigh 4 lbs each, I weigh each one (always before cooking) I have found that it can range from 3.75 to 4.15 lbs (as an example). Campbells roadhouse chili - there is actually one less serving in the can than it says on the label. If I didn't measure and weigh stuff out, I'd never know that. My kitchen scale weighs in 4 or 5 different measurements - I love it!
  • calitravelingal
    calitravelingal Posts: 53
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    It's easy if I buy food that has the info on it, but when I get meat/ham/chicken from the butcher or deli how I am supposed to track that?

    I asked my deli if they had the nutritional info for their items. She handed me a small booklet that had many of the meats and cheese that i like with all the info. Sometimes all u have to do is ask.
  • Cese27
    Cese27 Posts: 626 Member
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    Always,the scales don't lie.if I was to do it by eye I eat more when im hungry
  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
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    I try to weigh or measure everything. I find if I don't I don't lose as well.
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
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    You should weigh ur meat b4 cooking it, cuz it will often shrink when u cook it.

    I weigh my meat after cooking, especially beef, as a good bit of fat and juices cook away and are not consumed. I weigh pasta before cooking because the longer it is cooked the more water is absorbed and the heavier it weighs, though there is no calorie increase.
  • rladd6421
    rladd6421 Posts: 455
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    i always use my scale and weigh my food after it's cooked. I weigh my protein in oz and my carbs in grams. The only thing i use a measuring cup for are liquids and my kashi cereal.
  • fallonrhea
    fallonrhea Posts: 388 Member
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    You should weigh ur meat b4 cooking it, cuz it will often shrink when u cook it.

    I weigh my meat after cooking, especially beef, as a good bit of fat and juices cook away and are not consumed. I weigh pasta before cooking because the longer it is cooked the more water is absorbed and the heavier it weighs, though there is no calorie increase.

    ^^ Totally agree. The general rule of thumb is always weigh meats after cooking because they will shrink (mainly due to water loss). However, for items like fruit, veggies, pasta, etc. that expand after cooking should be weighed before you cook it :D
  • amnski
    amnski Posts: 251 Member
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    I agree with the above posters...a scale with g/oz is the way to go. Mine even has fl oz and ml on it and I paid less than $30. I weigh everything I can now. Before, it turned out I was eating less than I thought when it came to things like fruits and chicken/meat (which I weigh out after I cook it)...yet the supposed 3/4 c. serving cereal I was measuring out with the measuring cups was way more than the equivalent 30g serving size the box gives. Talk about over eating that stuff :noway: Live and learn
  • redmapleleaf
    redmapleleaf Posts: 56 Member
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    I use my scale almost daily. I even use it instead of pulling out tablespoons, cups, etc since all the items also have the servings in grams. The scale I have can go between grams, ounces, kiligrams and pounds.

    I love using the scale for peanut butter which is my favourite. I put the jar on the scale, zero it out then take the 32 grams needed for a serving which would show as -32 on the scale. Much butter then using a tablespoon to get all the peanut butter in then trying to get it all out so I'm not missing out on any of the serving.
  • Mangoose
    Mangoose Posts: 41
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    If you can weigh something without feeling like an idiot, then do it. Things like rice, cereal etc.

    I won't bother with some things that have fairly definable sizes, like 'a chicken breast'. Small, medium and large work for things like that.
  • Cazzy34
    Cazzy34 Posts: 159 Member
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    I love my scale! I am really bad for overestimating my portions, especially on things like peanut butter, nuts, seeds and other high calorie foods.

    It's also good for showing you what a portion should really be :)

    I would definitely recommend one. x
  • Sublog
    Sublog Posts: 1,296 Member
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    Sure, you can lose weight without weighing foods, but if you cannot, I highly suggest you start. You're more than likely eating more calories than you expect.

    I personally weigh everything and have been highly successful doing so.
  • LouiseRose92
    LouiseRose92 Posts: 112
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    I would strongly reccomend getting a scale. They're so cheap and they really help.
    I got mine free when I subscribed to a baking magazine and I use it everyday.

    Most foods on the database have cooked and raw information. Meat, I think, is better to weigh cooked and stuff that absorbs a lot of water during cooking, like rice, is better to do raw.

    I don't bother weighing very low calories things like mixed salad (the one I get is mostly leaves and about 10 cals a serving) or spring onions. I just eyeball it.
    But I always weigh ice cream, or cheese. It's just too tempting to go over :wink:
  • paulaviki
    paulaviki Posts: 678 Member
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    The scale really opened my eyes to how much I was eating.

    This. It's amazing to see how big portions you sometimes eat when not weighing. I was having 2 or 3 times the amount of cereal, pasta, rice etc that I should be having!
  • sandiburn
    sandiburn Posts: 149
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    When I first started I did. Now that I am used to eating the right size portions, I dont always.

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