Weighing food when you have guests...

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?

My friends and family already think I am pretty crazy, so I figure they will just ignore it or get over it.

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.

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"Other people" don't have to live inside your body. Weigh your food, and let them worry about how they are treating their bodies.