Weighing food when you have guests...

Anyone else feeling extremely self-conscious when you have guests? Put food on plate, sneak in the kitchen to weigh it... What a pain. Do you do it? And with Halloween two days ago it's definitely not one of those 'whatever if I go over' days...

Replies

  • khadijak17
    khadijak17 Posts: 393 Member
    i do it regardless of where i am, if im at my mums her scales come out too, its my journey at the end of the day and i know im happier when i know what and how much of something im eating.
    I do get strange looks though lol but it doesnt bother me im so used to using the scale and hey its a lifestyle change right?
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    It's just a matter of training your brain to not give a carp about what other people think. I have brought my scale to the table and plonked it right next to me on numerous occasions ;) If you don't have a scale that's different but why be self-conscious of something that has already improved your life so much? You have lost even more than me :) so at this point you KNOW it works.

    If you get the strange looks its because people are not normally dedicated enough to put work into anything so when they see someone who is they can't process it - Just keep doing what you're doing and let the results speak for themselves ;) Great work on your loss too!
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    My friends and family already think I am pretty crazy, so I figure they will just ignore it or get over it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    My friends and family already think I am pretty crazy, so I figure they will just ignore it or get over it.

    I like the way you think.
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
    to be honest, after a few months, if I was eating familiar foods then I can do it roughly by eye and I am not worried about not being exact with veg. I would also make sure to just have one or two potatoes and not bother with mash if it is there. Any meat again I can tell roughly by size on plate but it would be the sauces and extras or dishes like pastas that would fool me!!! In that case I would just go for a portion smaller than usual and hope for the best.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    My friends and family already think I am pretty crazy, so I figure they will just ignore it or get over it.

    I like the way you think.

    :smile:
  • dlionsmane
    dlionsmane Posts: 674 Member
    I don't do this at all, when I have guests I just try to be conscious of not over doing it. One ladle full or half of something instead of whole... but anyway.. if it really bothers you then why not weigh your portion onto your plate before you take everything out to everyone ? You are already in the kitchen, measure your plate first, then bring everything out, then go back for your plate.?

    Edited - because spelling....
  • I do it in front of guests all the time. People I know can see I have lost weight, and I would think they know better than to assume it came off magically. Obviously, I'm dieting. If they haven't figured it out, oh well.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • CharChary
    CharChary Posts: 220 Member
    I know how you feel completely. The answer is YES I do. Even in the beginning of my relationship, I tried to re-weigh so my boyfriend wouldn't see. He totally knew I was trying to be healthier/lose weight but I didn't want him to think i was being obsessive. People that don't measure or weigh (i'm not talking about the people who can do it with their eye-ball. I can't wait to get to that stage...) don't know how difficult it is get the right serving. I don't want to over or under estimate, so I weigh everything. When i know guests other than my close friends/family/boyfriend who know what i'm doing come around, i will pre-weigh things (I pre-weigh a lot of the things I eat regularly anyway though to save myself time. Things like: nuts, cereal, mixes, grapes, carrots, banana slices for smoothies, etc.) so its not bad. Pretty soon people will start asking about your weight change and what you have been doing and you can proudly say that you've been weighing food portions! ha
  • MickeyBoo
    MickeyBoo Posts: 196 Member
    I did care initially, but now I don't. If I'm in my house then I do what I need to do and if they have an issue with it they can ask, although I usually only have friends over who wouldn't blink twice at it as they know I am trying to lose weight. If I'm at someone else's house then I don't make a big deal out of asking for scales I just guesstimate and work a bit harder in the gym if I think I may have overdone it. I think over time as well as you get used to portion sizes it's a lot easier to work out how much to put on your plate with weighing.
  • carpetbagger12000
    carpetbagger12000 Posts: 41 Member
    I don't have a problem with this as a host, because I put my bowls on the table and let my guests serve themselves. Let them be their own calorie-control boards! No, the problem arises when I eat out at places where the host brings the plates to the table, already filled. It's very difficult to just eat half (or even less, in some cases) and not insult the cook.
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    I cannot eyeball measurements to save my life so I use my food scales, if they say anything then I'll just explain that I like to keep track of everything.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    We don't have space in our apartment for overnight guests, so all our guests would likely be here to eat a meal I've prepared. In that case, I have already done all the measuring I need to do before it goes on the table. If someone brings a contribution to the meal, I'd probably just estimate for the sake of not taking time away from the fellowship. If we did have overnight guests, I'd assume they are part of the household (albeit temporarily) at that point and would go about business as usual. Maybe they would learn how convenient it is to measure out portions and take an interest in doing that for themselves. Maybe not. Doesn't matter.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I want to design a set of nice looking tableware and dishes with measurements on the inside for dieters (1 cup, 2 cups, etc.), and become a millionaire. :laugh:
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    At home, I just use my scale. Anyone who is over for dinner knows that it's just what I do. Out for dinner, I estimate, knowing that slight over or underestimations for one meal, every once in a while aren't the end of the world.
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  • I think when you generally eat the same foods after so many months you get a good idea of portion size. Just like staying on Jenny craig or Nutritionist forever isn't logical, neither is weighing or logging your food for 20 years.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    I don't have guests over very often so I just don't weigh my food those days.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    After several months of weighing food and paying attention to portion size, I am relatively confident in my ability to gauge how much food I am eating. I know the difference between 3 oz of roast beef and 7 oz. I know the difference between 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes and 1 cup. I know the difference between a 1/2TBSP pat of butter and a whole gob of butter. So what if I'm not 100% accurate on the occasions when I go out to eat or have guests? A =/- 10-15% margin of error isnt' going to kill me. Even if I eat a huge 700-800 calorie meal, the margin of error is just 70-120 calories. That's a quick 15 minute walk to burn that off.
  • iamafoodaholic
    iamafoodaholic Posts: 46 Member
    I weigh it even in front of people. I can not eyeball anything. When I try I short myself food. I over estimate. I think 1 oz is 3. I did weight watcher's for years, weighed everything because I never could judge it right.
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 540 Member
    I want to design a set of nice looking tableware and dishes with measurements on the inside for dieters (1 cup, 2 cups, etc.), and become a millionaire. :laugh:

    Weight Watcher's actually sells a great set of serving ladles...they look like regular, brushed silver ladles/spoons, but ever-so-discreetly have the measurements of 1/2 cup and 1 cup hidden in the bend of the handle. I use them routinely whether people are around or not when I want a "cup" measurement. I don't know if they sell them in shops, but I bought mine at a meeting a few years back (one of their more popular items).

    With chicken or fish (since like another poster said, I usually weigh my food when alone and can make a pretty close "eyeball" judgement) I use the standard "tips' for portion size, such as the size and thickness of a deck of cards. I figure since eating with company is generally not the norm, if I am off by a few calories for the special dinner, it won't blow my calories for the day.

    Oh yeah; and I always do a bit of extra excercise and "save calories" for later in the day when I know a special dinner is coming up, just so I can leave a bit of wiggle-room.
  • exercise2day2
    exercise2day2 Posts: 46 Member
    I have a set of serving spoons from weight watchers that I use. One is half a cup and the other is one cup. By using them to serve, I can measure without being obvious about it. With meat, sometimes I will weight is before cooking. You could do the same with any serving spoons just by using a measuring cup to figure our how much each holds.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    "Other people" don't have to live inside your body. Weigh your food, and let them worry about how they are treating their bodies.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I don't even like to weigh my food in front of people I live with. But I'm getting over that since my scale hasn't been very nice to me lately!