Wieghing food

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.

beets_yum

I also weigh my food. A $25 scale (Escali) is the best diet money you can spend. I can guarantee you are not eating a single serving of cheese, 1 ounce, if you are eating cheese and crackers as an appetizer. An ounce is a pretty small amount. With some thing I eat often, like almonds, I can now pick up 28 grams in my "handful" because I'm sure of what it feels like. But I still always underestimate cheese sour cream and ice cream when I eyeball, guess or even half-a$$edly use a measuring cup.

Something that helps a lot with snacking: If I'm planning to eat say nut butter or hummus as a snack (something easy to eat a lot of if you aren't paying attention) I will weigh it out in the am and eat from a small bowl when I get hungry.

When I cook I will put everything into a tared bowl and figure out what each portion should weigh. This is especially helpful with something really yummy and calorie dense.

It's also much better to bake by weight rather than volume. Much better results.

mlogantra76

I weigh everything that I possibly can. I like how you can zero out the weight of the bowl you place on your scale. I like how there is less dishes to wash when you weigh. I always hated trying to get a Tablespoon clean after you have measured peanut butter in it.

eileen0515

I weigh or measure everything I possibly can! I've lost 40 pounds in 5+ months. Little inaccuracies add up. It has also trained me to visualize a portion. My vision of a portion was pretty skewed, this is critical when out and about and can't weight or measure. it's been an eye opener.

And don't forget weighing or measuring, can sometimes show you, you are eating too little.

nokanjaijo

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.

I know! You would have to puree broccoli to get it to sit in a measuring cup in any kind of meaningful way.

cwolfman13

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.

Often if you click on the "serving" it will give you other serving size options. I have no problem whatsoever logging all my food by weight, including my broccoli, carrots, etc.

houlenberg

I weigh everything! I don't trust measuring cups b/c you can squeeze more than the proper serving into the cup, depending on the density of the item. Weighing by grams is SO much more accurate and by doing it, I know I am getting exactly what I'm supposed to get. I eyeball nothing.

beachgirl172723

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.

I love irony.

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.

Often if you click on the "serving" it will give you other serving size options. I have no problem whatsoever logging all my food by weight, including my broccoli, carrots, etc.

Thanks. I often have to browse through lots of food options until I fing one that states, say '127g', and then I know there will be a 1g serving size option which I cam then multiply by, say, 40 to give the number I want. The 'cup' measurements usually have just that option -- a cup -- or sometimes also TSP, etc..... Which doesn't help at all.