eating more than you think....
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like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Well it depends. Sometimes it's 10% more or something. In my experience tortillas are all over the place, but bread slices are about right. Then I eat those frozen grilled chicken breasts and the serving size is 1 fillet (170g) but most are between 140 and 150g... you definitely want to weigh that.
I never trust what the package says about number of servings in package either... it's always wrong. Like that soup that says 2 servings only has 1.7 or something. When you eat the whole thing and it's 200 calories a serving, it makes a pretty big difference... then you're hungry but don't want to go over your goal and end up being hungry for nothing.
And then you have those annoying things like frozen veggies, I never know if the serving is frozen or cooked.0 -
like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...0 -
like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.0 -
Thanks for reminding me to use the scale to weigh my portions. I too have been having difficulty with little or no weight loss.0
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like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.
Flour is a big one. There's usually about a 25% difference.
I think people think it's going to be really time consuming, but it isn't once you get in the routine, just like logging in general.0 -
like said previously, i only weigh food im cooking myself (meats, veggies, etc). i never thought about weighing packaged foods but when it comes down to it i don't care all that much, their labels are estimates anyways and i can afford to be a few grams off. i absolutely love my food scale though, before it i really had no idea how much i was actually eating and under/over estimated practically everything
same! I never thought about weighing packaged foods because i think it is a bit over the top and i also think im better off not knowing in a way because once i start that i dont ever think i will be able to stop plus really what difference will it make?! i mean com on people we are talking 2 or 3 grams and I just think whenever it could weigh more than its amen to there would be times when it has weighed less and that has made no diffrence...
Yes I agree.
And I know... some people lose weight without weighing their food, but they typically follow a diet that will be lower on calories. That's where MFP is actually dangerous - people assume they can eat what they want within their calories (which is mostly correct), but then they don't weigh it and overeat. You're less likely to go over your calories when you only eat lean meats, veggies and fruit really... I mean yeah, you could underestimate your veggies and eat 20 extra calories- but when you have a 'diet' that lets you eat peanut butter, nuts or pasta, you can easily overeat by 100 or 200 calories.
And that's why measuring doesn't cut it either, I measured a 1/4 cup serving of flour everywhere from 34 to 56g (!) and a serving is 32g. That's why I don't really understand the reluctance to weigh things - are people afraid to realize that they can't eat as much as they think? I mean I don't blame them, but you either want to lose weight or you don't... you're only cheating yourself.0 -
Another issue is that the cup sizes vary in different countries. In the US a cup is 240ml or slightly less whereas in the UK it is 250ml. In Australia the cup is the same as the UK, but their tablespoon has 20ml instead of 15ml like the UK. Those differences also add up :-)0
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Thanks so much for this post!! will start weighing!!0
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I have a skinny daughter and skinny husband. I used to be jealous - they could eat anything and not put on weight. But guess what - when I really looked, they ate A LOT less than me and moved around more!
My son who has a similar build to me - not overweight yet but not a bean pole like his sister - eats more and moves around less!
I eat when I am bored, I also like eating so that has always been an issue.
I also stopped weighing for a while so I weighed my standard lunch this morning and had been underestimating by about half!
So I didnt get the loss I wanted last week - Cos I ate more than I was supposed to - Simples :-)0 -
Bump!0
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This has been on my mind for awhile now. I plan to look for a nice digital scale on black friday. I have lost a steady 1.5-2 lbs. a week since mid-April this year by measuring only. However, I feel that with my goal weight in sight I need to start weighing everything. I have this looming "plateau is imminent" feeling and if I do stall out it will definitely be due the way I measure food.0
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It's so true. I normally don't weigh foods like eggs. The other I did out of curiosity... My scale was right there so I thought why not? My large egg was 61g instead of 53 like the label said.0
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It's too bad that thread got locked-this would have been perfect for it. But your point on fruit is dead on-estimating the size of an apple or a potato is not as easy as it sounds.0
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Great post.
It's remarkable to me how many people seem to deny this.0 -
It's so true. I normally don't weigh foods like eggs. The other I did out of curiosity... My scale was right there so I thought why not? My large egg was 61g instead of 53 like the label said.
I just weighed my two eggs this morning. Normally I would have just logged as 2 large eggs which would have been 140 calories. But with weighing them its 173 calories0 -
I don't think the key to all of this is calorie counting I think it is learning how much your body needs and knowing learning to control your hunger basically just a regular healthy life style. I mean most of these people on the street you see that have been skinny all their lives, they don't weigh out peanut butter and corn flakes do they?!!!
Instead they just get a bowl and tip the box until they see the amount they want and the size portion for there body and this does not mean filling the bowl to the top and then flooding with milk then still having a costa hot chocolate on the way to work followed by a muffin :indifferent:
I'm one of those skinny people you see on the street, and yes, I do weigh my food. It keeps me from becoming one of those fat people on the street.
And there have been numerous studies on these people that seem to or say they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight. If they eat a large amount of calories one day, on that day they are more active/fidget more, and in the following days they consume less than they normally do. Or, they're like my stepsons who claim they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight, but what they eat really isn't much. They get satiated very quickly (I can eat WAY more than they do, and they're teenage boys!), so while they think they're eating a lot because they're full, the amount of calories really isn't huge.
Sorry folks, but it really is calories in/calories out.0 -
INteresting:flowerforyou:0
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Can we make this post a sticky?!
Brilliant!0 -
Weigh everything and for the guys and gals that take protein supplements weigh those too, the scoops in the containers can be off by 5-7 grams. Unfortunately, I found this lesson out the hard way.0
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great post! i never thought of weighing packaged foods , i just assume it is what is says (little do i know...) but i had a real eye opener when i weight a small banana. what i thought was small. and it was 150 gram vs. the 100 gram that *a* banana is listed as. so yes, i also always tell people to weigh everything. a kitchen scale is cheap enough.0
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