Weighing Food @ Work?

duckiec
duckiec Posts: 241 Member
edited January 18 in Food and Nutrition
I have an office where I could keep a food scale. But I'm torn if I want to buy one for work (have one for home).

Pros: Would help better calculate, ensure I don't overestimate (I do use measuring cups/spoons at work already)

Cons: I sort of feel this is bit "over the top." I want to live/eat healthier, not obsess about grams, at least for every meal. I often weigh things at home I pre-pack, or bring "quantity" items like 3 egg whites, yogurt cups, 100-cal microwave popcorn, etc).

Would the difference in calories between a measured cup of berries, vs grams of berries, make so much a difference in the long haul? Cereal? Stuff like that? Oh, and I don't weigh the berries before I pack them- i just bring the full container at the beginning of the week, or go the farmers market @ lunch. Ditto for cereal- just keep the box at my desk.

What works for you?

Replies

  • dawningr
    dawningr Posts: 387 Member
    If you're concerned about weighing at work, take the time to portion them out before you bring them. Not being aware of portion size or eyeballing it is how many of us got here in the first place.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    If you're concerned about weighing at work, take the time to portion them out before you bring them. Not being aware of portion size or eyeballing it is how many of us got here in the first place.

    Ditto. Every evening I get my lunch together for the following day. Even after maintaining my loss for over a year, I weight out my snack of almonds. I can easily underestimate the high calorie stuff (like nuts) so I just measure ahead of time. As long as you have the ability to plan, it is really no big deal to take care of at home.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    It's REALLY important to weigh your food if you want to be accurate. I honestly don't bother when it comes to veggies and some fruits, because the difference between, for example, 4 and 5 ounces of broccoli is so negligible that it doesn't really matter. And, over time, I've gotten better with eyeballing (ie, I can throw shredded cheese onto my scale and hit within 1/8 of 1 ounce where I want to be on the first shot almost all the time now)...but I still weigh. With stuff like cereal...yeah, I'd weigh it.

    Either bring the scale, or just take the time to weigh it at home. That's what I do. Even if you don't want to mess with packing all your food every morning, portion everything out into baggies or containers on the weekends and bring a week's worth on Monday or something.
  • jmparis65
    jmparis65 Posts: 58 Member
    I portion everything at home. Pre-made meats for my lunches, I just take them out of the freezer.

    I h ave found that works best for me
  • bigcle82
    bigcle82 Posts: 134 Member
    I agree with everything said, but if you want to buy a scale for work. Go for it, because they are inexpensive. I also measure out everything before I go to work so there's no issues about the grams or ounces.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    I weigh or measure out most of my week's food on Sundays, then I'm ready to go for the week. 5 Tupperware containers with 6 oz. lean protein and a complex carbs for lunches, and multiple baggies with Almonds, peanut butter, yogurt. I also don't worry too much about veggies. I also keep some protein powder and Quest bard at my desk. (chocolate whey or casein + plain yogurt is delish!)
  • CharRicho
    CharRicho Posts: 389 Member
    I weigh my stuff at home, put it into little baggies and then take them with me. (and before I get a lecture, I re-use the baggies!)
  • Kelley528
    Kelley528 Posts: 319 Member
    As long as you are rationing your servings at home and using pre-packed serving sizes like yogurts etc..., you can figure out how many calories are in an egg without weighing it. Being slightly off I have never been too concerned about like with the berries---the difference between a half cup or using a scale for grams....I dont worry about that. But stuff like cereal is tricky. I LOVED cereal as my breakfast food. I never measured it out and what looks like a normal serving to you can actually be 2-3x the actual serving/calories. Most cereals say a serving is 3/4 a cup. It is easy to miscalculate that without actually measuring or weighing it out and can screw up your calories for a day.

    For the boxed items you keep at work you can measure it out at home and put appropriate serving sizes in little zip-lock baggies so you have bulk servings stored up at work.
  • ElleM0
    ElleM0 Posts: 105 Member
    What works for you?

    Pre planning and weighing everything at home works for me. Sometimes I plan weekly, others I do it the night before. I also track my meals on MFP as I plan/pack. I make changes as needed -but they are usually small changes - IE what flavor yogurt I ate on what day.

    Good Luck on your journey! :smile:
  • terrappyn
    terrappyn Posts: 324 Member
    I use the postage meter's scale. People think Im crazy but whatever. I also work for a very small company and we are all a little weird. lol
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