Call me a dumbass but this has to be said (DOH)

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james6998
james6998 Posts: 743 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have just switched to using a food scale instead of going by cups, measurements, ei, small, med, large and so on. My wife loves sweet potato fries so i basically make them every night for her with supper. Keeping in mind this was the first day with a scale to weigh our food. I was shocked to see that the sweet potato that was going down as generic =114 calories in fact after weighing the potato i was normally using. 32oz worth= over 700 calories, OMG what have i done moment right there. Just wanted to share my little adventure so the next time you tell yourself "I dont know why i am not losing weight, doing everything right" Think again, i did and i am a better person for it now i am on the right road. DOH! I dont mind looking like a dumbass so you dont have to. <3
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Replies

  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    yeah, i did this with ketchup. im a ketchup addict. i never used to count it, because i didnt think it added up much. i would "eye ball" what i thought was a tablespoon... one day i decided to weigh and log all my condiment use (lots of ketchup, cream for my 6 cups of daily coffee, a tad of bbq sauce, etc) and i was shocked to find out that it added almost 300 calories to my day... that day i decided that EVERY CRUMB THAT GOES INTO MY MOUTH GETS WEIGHED AND LOGGED!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    I've had similar experiences.

    After a food scale, I noticed that some of the common foods I was eating were actually 2 servings according to weight rather than the 1 serving according to volume.

    Sometimes, it wiped out my entire deficit for the day.
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
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    It's so true. And the "good for you" stuff like sweet potatoes, corn, and nuts tend to be the biggest shockers because we just assume that "healthy" means low calorie.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Good on you for getting a food scale. You're not alone on missing the boat with some things. I'm sure you're aware, but some entries are royally f'd up in the database too. It's good to be thorough and ask "does this make sense?" with the inputs.
  • wildrose53
    wildrose53 Posts: 1,342 Member
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    Ugh...now I need to get a food scale!
  • kinzerbud
    kinzerbud Posts: 42 Member
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    I just bought a digital food scale today. I expect I'll have quite a few of these moments over the next few days as I start weighing stuff instead of using measuring cups and "guesstimating". Maybe it's the nerd in me, but I'm really curious to see the cup vs gram comparisons. I'll just apologize now if you see a lot of it on my status in the coming days!:laugh:
  • laylaness
    laylaness Posts: 262 Member
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    My eye-opener was cereal. R.I.P., "one cup" of Peanut Butter Panda Puffs.
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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    I have just switched to using a food scale instead of going by cups, measurements, ei, small, med, large and so on. My wife loves sweet potato fries so i basically make them every night for her with supper. Keeping in mind this was the first day with a scale to weigh our food. I was shocked to see that the sweet potato that was going down as generic =114 calories in fact after weighing the potato i was normally using. 32oz worth= over 700 calories, OMG what have i done moment right there. Just wanted to share my little adventure so the next time you tell yourself "I dont know why i am not losing weight, doing everything right" Think again, i did and i am a better person for it now i am on the right road. DOH! I dont mind looking like a dumbass so you dont have to. <3

    Congratulations for your progress. I had the same experience. I was "eyeballing" food and I found out I was grossly underestimating the correct weight and hence the calories.
    A kitchen scale and proper measuring cups and measuring spoons are the best investment. They are not expensive either.

    Good luck in your journey
  • lindustum
    lindustum Posts: 212 Member
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    Weighing my food has gotten me better at guesstimating though. I think there can be a life after the scale so to speak! I now know how a "tablespoon" of peanut butter looks like for it to be 100kcal. I don't intend to weigh everything forever, certainly not when maintaining. I think it will be the case of periods of weighing to "get back on track" etc because we humans are just bad at keeping the numbers straight!

    //Edit: One thing I will weigh though is the amount of milk into my cereal bowl. With solid foods I find it easier to guess than with liquids. I mean it's crazy. My idea of 100ml is around 300ml! :P
  • TravelDog14
    TravelDog14 Posts: 317 Member
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    I hear you OP, and you're not a dumbass. My inability to know what a proper portion was played a huge part of why I got fat.

    One of the best things I did 14 months ago when I started on this journey was to buy a great digital scale. I weigh everything. Still to this day, and I've been at maintenance for 5 months.

    I honestly think being diligent with weighing everything is part of the reason I never once plateaued during the 9 months I was losing weight. I didn't cheat on my food portions or on logging it, and it's paid off in the pounds lost.

    So congrats on your food scale awakening!
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member
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    This topic is "Right On"

    I bought a decent food scale after I read this post:


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    It really is amazing how much I was off just "eye-balling" stuff.
  • Tigg_er
    Tigg_er Posts: 22,001 Member
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    Bump !
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
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    I hear you OP, and you're not a dumbass. My inability to know what a proper portion was played a huge part of why I got fat.

    One of the best things I did 14 months ago when I started on this journey was to buy a great digital scale. I weigh everything. Still to this day, and I've been at maintenance for 5 months.

    I honestly think being diligent with weighing everything is part of the reason I never once plateaued during the 9 months I was losing weight. I didn't cheat on my food portions or on logging it, and it's paid off in the pounds lost.

    So congrats on your food scale awakening!
    Well we are very poor as a result of my disability,( still fighting workers comp 10 years now) so i had to dust off one we had from years back. Had to fish out a plastic container that met the proper weight to =0. Sometimes i really hate what happen in our lives but we appreciate even the little things now. The worst part is worrying about having enough money to keep my wife on her diet. Good food is expensive, but someday we will get a good digital scale and life will be great. :)
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
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    Yeah, that's why I use a scale as opposed to volume measurement or guessing. Reality can be a real witch sometimes.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    DOH! I dont mind looking like a dumbass so you dont have to. <3

    Oh, man, thanks for sharing and highlighting the importance of weighing. But don't sweat it - I bet every person here who made the leap to weighing has an equally DOHish moment! Mine involved granola. :)
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
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    Thank u for posting!!!!
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    I found out the same way as you did, now I weigh EVERYTHING!!!! :happy:
  • ellis222
    ellis222 Posts: 59 Member
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    Well we are very poor as a result of my disability,( still fighting workers comp 10 years now) so i had to dust off one we had from years back. Had to fish out a plastic container that met the proper weight to =0. Sometimes i really hate what happen in our lives but we appreciate even the little things now. The worst part is worrying about having enough money to keep my wife on her diet. Good food is expensive, but someday we will get a good digital scale and life will be great. :)

    It doesn't matter what the scale looks like as long as it works! And yeah, good food is expensive, but being healthy is cheaper in the long run. My husband is on MFP too and I can't wait til he can ditch his blood pressure and high cholesterol meds.

    BTW, after getting a digital scale I realized I was underestimating proteins and over-estimating everything else!
  • jsandie76
    jsandie76 Posts: 201 Member
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    The first day I got my digital scale I weighed EVERYTHING for the fun of it... My husband was annoyed with me, but I was astonished when I went to make a turkey lunch meat sandwich and although it said that 4 slices (thinly sliced) was 56g it took only 3 slices to reach that and sometimes it is MORE! Now I weight practically everything I put in my mouth
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
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    At least i know what i want for Christmas hehe.

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