Do you weigh your food?

mckant
mckant Posts: 217 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently bought a food scale and I love it! I have really been underestimating portion sizes. I'm worried that weighing my food is going to create a monster, though. I know I've made it this long without it but what do I do when I can't weigh? Will "practice make perfect" and I'll get to the point where I can eyeball things pretty well? Just curious how you handle situations where you can't weigh your portions out...

Replies

  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
    Believe it or not i haven't been weighing my food that long and i can already estimate very accurately without weight. If put in a situation that i can't weigh my food i would use this new found talent.
  • ThisCanadian
    ThisCanadian Posts: 1,086 Member
    I have a digital food scale and I still weigh most of the food beforehand even though I've been counting calories for about 2.5 months now. I will ease off once I hit maintenance, but for now I rather be more accurate. I personally tend to underestimate the amount of food on my plate.
  • shellsies93
    shellsies93 Posts: 88
    I've been weighing my food for the last few months and when I don't have a scale, I've been able to eye ball it...so I think practice does make perfect.
  • rjj714
    rjj714 Posts: 2
    Hi "MC" -- I just purchased a scale about a week ago myself and I have to say I like it. What surprises me the most is how much I underestimated what I was eating. I've not only purchased the scale, but I have a great wall chart someone gave me which compares portion sizes in relation to the palm of your hand, a deck of card, a baseball, etc.

    It's CRAZY how much I was overeating because I didn't realize that my portion sizes were so off. Hopefully the food scale and my wall chart will help me on my weight loss journey.

    Regards -- RJJ
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
    I was underestimating too! I measure meats, rice, pasta, cereal and nuts on my scale. My family gets a kick out of watching me at dinner time, with my food scale and measuring cups. lol. I have even started pouring my skim milk into a measuring cup then into my glass. Hey, I want to get every darn ounce I can in my 1200 calories a day! (5 foot 2 inches) lol
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    i always weigh and will continue to do so even when i hit goal weight
  • lyndausvi
    lyndausvi Posts: 156 Member
    I weight pretty much every thing I eat at home. At first I seemed to underestimate some items, overestimate other. After 2 months I've gotten much better at estimating. Just the other day I pulled out exactly 2 oz of pasta, I was pretty proud of myself.

    I've decided weighing foods at home with continue for a while in the future.
  • ness12346
    ness12346 Posts: 65
    I agree - I think practice makes perfect! Someone once suggested that you should weigh all your food for a month, and then you become quite efficient at it. They suggest taking a week or so every year to 'brush-up' on your eye-balling techniques and to weigh everything again for that week.

    I used to always over-estimate portions, too. So glad I bought a scale!
  • mckant
    mckant Posts: 217 Member
    Thanks, guys!
  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
    We've had a food scale for a few years to weigh food to get accurate carb counts for my daughters (both Type 1 Diabetes). Now the scale also gets passed around the table to me as well to count calories. :smile:

    I can easily estimate the carbs in just about anything, anywhere because of consistently doing it at home.

    The issue I'm running into is I automatically think carbs of any food item and if it's lower I think "oh that's good" but then I remember "no calories silly, check calories" :laugh:
  • Eumoher
    Eumoher Posts: 3
    You will get to the point that you can eye ball the approximate portion. I have lost 64 lbs, and have been at this journey for almost 6 months. I still weigh and measure everything.
  • zipnguyen
    zipnguyen Posts: 990 Member
    I weigh my foods during contest prep dieting. Off season I weigh but not to the "gram" and such.
  • kimswisher
    kimswisher Posts: 32 Member
    I recently bought a food scale and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! I do know a few tricks for portion control when you are w/out your scale.
    Thumb to the first knuckle=appx. 1 tbsp.
    forefinger to the first knuckle= appx 1 tsp.
    whole forefinger=appx 1 oz
    palm of hand=appx 3 oz
    Those are measuring tricks that I learned at weight watchers. Having the scale is good. We are staying true to ourselves. Keep up the good work. I hope that I was a little helpful.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Still weigh pretty much everything. I'm the oddball that tends to overestimate when just eyeballing - I'll be scooping out my peanut butter, swearing I'm taking two tablespoons, and only have 1.25 usually.
  • AstroRocket
    AstroRocket Posts: 119 Member
    Nope, not often anyway. Only for baking cakes or something. Only other thing I might weigh is pasta, I had a habbit of cooking to much as I'm a savoury addict lol
  • neutralhills
    neutralhills Posts: 9 Member
    I either weigh food or measure portions using scoops or measuring cups. I'm pretty accurate with guestimating, but find I take more reasonable amounts when I am tracking food intake. I can fit WAY too much onto a plate, probably enough to violate several laws of physics if I am being honest.

    I firmly believe that any type of measurement that causes you to consider your food intake carefully is a worthwhile investment.
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    I only weigh food about half the time now, most of the time (like my breakfast in a restaurant yesterday with fruit) when I don't have my scale, I can guess at how many grams my pineapple is, or based on my history weighing watermelon guess how many grams of that there are. It will make it so much easier. When I make a salad, I write down every little bit I put in...

    Makes things that much more accurate, and your data that much more reliable.
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    I weigh most things, up until I've weighed them enough times to guestimate.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Guess, on the high end.
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    Yes, I just bought a scale and currently I weigh everything!
    I'm just getting started counting calories and making portions so I have no idea what the correct amount looks like.

    I don't want to do this forever, just until I learn how much is the right amount for me to eat.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    I tend to weigh and measure for a week or so then slack off. once the weight loss slows (or God forbid I gain) then I go back and weigh / measure again till I re-set my eyeballs!
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    You will get to the point that you can eye ball the approximate portion. I have lost 64 lbs, and have been at this journey for almost 6 months. I still weigh and measure everything.

    Congrats! Your before and after photos are stunning!!
  • Wildflower0106
    Wildflower0106 Posts: 247 Member
    Nope. I didn't weigh food while I was losing and I don't now that I am maintaining.
  • julianadelbosque
    julianadelbosque Posts: 84
    I don't, but if I didn't have 4 other roommates I totally would! I just use measuring cups for everything, but I know that's not super efficient. But I also try to overestimate when I'm logging just to be safe.

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