Wieghing food

lovinmomma

I have a food scale but honestly never used it. I log food by how much, cup ect.. but i am wounding if this is not accuret and if I should start wieghing my food. does anyone out there wiegh their food? has it helped be accuret?

paperpudding

I use scales but I think a cup can be accurate for some things, especially liquids, if it is an actual measuring cup with markings.

Other things, like mashed potatoes, would be hard to accurately cup measure IMO

pastryari

Weighing your food is more accurate than using measuring cups. I would suggest you start using your scale.

Sarauk2sf

Weigh your food. Watch this - it's an eyeopener.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

MommaChocoLatte

I weigh every thing.

Ecce_Signum

As above, yup, I weigh most everything I eat and measure all liquids. Am one of those 'same food' eaters so some things I now guesstimate but after 4 months of weighing I'm normally pretty close (I think).

Then of course there is the can of worms that gets opened when you try and choose the correct food item from the database

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I measure liquids, and weigh everything else. It does make a huge difference.

bronnyd

Yes, use your scale! It makes a huge difference.

dakitten2

I measure liquids, and weigh everything else. It does make a huge difference.

This for everything!

jeslaughter

I have a food scale but honestly never used it. I log food by how much, cup ect.. but i am wounding if this is not accuret and if I should start wieghing my food. does anyone out there wiegh their food? has it helped be accuret?

I use both..depends what it is...I measure liquids, and some other items like that but I weigh my meat and veggies usually.

soaringlikeaneagle70

I weigh most of my food and measure liquids

lovinmomma

thank you everyone I am hoping this will help !!

queenbear5

I also weigh everything. Precision is key when you're counting every calorie.

lovinmomma

and how do i log by grams does anyone know?

Melo1966

Even my scoop of protein powder was not equal to a serving it was a very rounded scooped I did not know this until I weighed it and a cup of raspberries were falling off the rounded cup before I got to the serving weight. So I was under eating without weighing.

haroon_awan

I haven't weighed in ages, just use cup measurements, nothing wrong with it. I don't want to be weighing my chicken when I'm 80 or counting calories, so just don't do it. You eventually learn to eye ball most things.

JosieRawr

Weigh your food. Watch this - it's an eyeopener.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

2 seconds after watching this is when I started diligently weighing (almost) everything... j/s... especially anything high cal... I still might measure cups of veggies, but pb oil anything like that is by weight...

Sarauk2sf

I haven't weighed in ages, just use cup measurements, nothing wrong with it. I don't want to be weighing my chicken when I'm 80 or counting calories, so just don't do it. You eventually learn to eye ball most things.

The issue is, you need to know how much a serving is in the first place when trying to ensure you are on a deficit. I agree, that after a while it may not be necessary and when trying to maintain you should be able to intuitively eat. However, when starting out and trying to get some sense of accuracy, it is a very good idea. It is even more important when you are not getting the results you expect.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

and how do i log by grams does anyone know?

When you weigh your food, use the grams measurement, then if the food you want to log doesn't have a gram measurement in the database, or is entered as "1/2 c (40 g)", you can always change it if you have the information from the packaging. Produce and meats (and maybe other items) that are entered in the database by MFP don't have a * next to them, and they will give you the option to enter your servings in grams. If I'm entering something I eat often into the database, I'll enter the serving size in grams first, then the cup measurement in parentheses so that people who don't weigh their food still see the serving size. I edit stuff a lot, too, so the measurement is in grams.

lovinmomma

Weigh your food. Watch this - it's an eyeopener.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

thank you!!! I think this is what Im doing wrong!

concordancia

As above, yup, I weigh most everything I eat and measure all liquids. Am one of those 'same food' eaters so some things I now guesstimate but after 4 months of weighing I'm normally pretty close (I think).

Then of course there is the can of worms that gets opened when you try and choose the correct food item from the database

I get myself - I get out what I think is right, then double check.

quiltlady77

I also weigh or measure everything even though I think I can "eye it", I don't take any chances. I'm surprised how much meat is in 3oz, it's almost more than I can get down, which really surprised me. I have checked my scale against something that I know, and it is right which makes me feel less apprehensive.

Embera

i find it much easier to weigh i had a scale and you could put your plate on it and add food to calculate it also uses less dishes which if your like me and hate them is your best friend. but i agree with an earlier poster that its hard to find it in the items sometimes if you have one like i did i recommend noting the grams and the ounces because you'll find both in the database.

benflando

I weigh everything. It's necessary

ron2e

I weigh when I have to, for example raw meat or flour, however a lot of products in the UK have nutritional info on the label that gives the calories per slice, per 100g or something relevant so accurate estimation is much easier. One of the surprises is how often user entered food on MFP database (with an asterisk when listed *) is inaccurate or incomplete (ie listing calories, but not carbs, sugars, etc). I often overestimate too if I'm in doubt, I'd rather be a little over than under. The most difficult of all is restaurant food (which I eat a lot as I travel a lot) so I sometimes even try and recreate the recipe to give me the basics for counting, then add 10% to allow for that bit extra olive oil or whatever that may have been used in the kitchen. It's a pain, but so far it is working, and I'm starting to recognise what is likely to fit in with my targets and what is not.

elephant_in_the_room

It's one of the things that irks me in the MFP food database. I search for 'carrots' and up comes 'one cup'. Pray how do people measure 'one cup' of whole carrots? What, damn, is a cup of broccoli? Potatoes? I make porridge with half a cup of oats and know from that that it is anywhere tween 40 and 60 grams.140 or 210 calories.

sozisfitnow

I find weighing an essential as a learning tool and for accurate intake calculations:happy:

haroon_awan

I haven't weighed in ages, just use cup measurements, nothing wrong with it. I don't want to be weighing my chicken when I'm 80 or counting calories, so just don't do it. You eventually learn to eye ball most things.

The issue is, you need to know how much a serving is in the first place when trying to ensure you are on a deficit. I agree, that after a while it may not be necessary and when trying to maintain you should be able to intuitively eat. However, when starting out and trying to get some sense of accuracy, it is a very good idea. It is even more important when you are not getting the results you expect.

Very well said.

chrisjathompson

I just started weighing today, but I have to say it is a lot quicker than measuring, also less items to wash after cooking. Just keep 0'ing out the scale when you add ingredients, or weigh directly to your plate/bowl/ect.

vanguardfitness

I weigh everything. Even things that come pre packaged. I found out recently 2 MetRx 100g protein bars came in at 103g and 113g.

Poptarts have been dead on at 50g though so far.

Dlacenere

I always weigh and measure everything, and If you are serious about trying to lose weight; it's pretty crucial as you are probably inadvertently eating more than you think.