Why do people weigh their food?

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  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    Mostly because they can't take the time to learn visual measurements for portion control or they have made calorie counting into a hobby with accompanying behaviors and accoutrements. Compulsive weighers can sometimes lose the ability to eat out or go to a family member's house because they are so obsessed with accurate calorie counting that they can't enjoy the meal without precision. I think it's good to weigh things you're unsure of or a good training tool for a while til you get the hang of things, but there becomes a point where how you track your food can limit your ability to make good choices outside of a highly controlled situation.

    I can lose weight and maintain without counting calories at all by developing intuitive eating skills and making healthy food choices. I have. Calorie counting and weighing are good training tools to learn how to eat intuitively and with balance, but making them more than that is either lack of confidence or knowledge or fear of loss of control.

    Agreed. I also believe a lot of overweight people just don't "listen" to their bodies and continue to eat after they've had enough.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    Mostly because they can't take the time to learn visual measurements for portion control or they have made calorie counting into a hobby with accompanying behaviors and accoutrements. Compulsive weighers can sometimes lose the ability to eat out or go to a family member's house because they are so obsessed with accurate calorie counting that they can't enjoy the meal without precision. I think it's good to weigh things you're unsure of or a good training tool for a while til you get the hang of things, but there becomes a point where how you track your food can limit your ability to make good choices outside of a highly controlled situation.

    I can lose weight and maintain without counting calories at all by developing intuitive eating skills and making healthy food choices. I have. Calorie counting and weighing are good training tools to learn how to eat intuitively and with balance, but making them more than that is either lack of confidence or knowledge or fear of loss of control.
    I just really dislike the way you've lumped us into the same category as obsessive and compulsive behaviors because we prefer a scientific approach to tracking. Some of us are just scientists by nature. We want to measure and quantify. If that's obsessive-compulsive, well, then I guess that's what it takes to put human beings on the moon.

    Also, it's much easier to do IIFYM correctly if you weigh your food. If I need 7 more grams of fat, and 2 T of peanut butter has 16 grams of fat, how do I go about measuring out 7/16ths of 2 T of peanut butter? If I just go ahead and say, oh, well, I'll just eat 1 T, I might be overeating by 15-20%. Those 30-40 calories add up over time. It's better to just measure out 14-15 grams of peanut butter and then the error is probably 1/10th as much.

    I'd rather decrease my error by an order of magnitude. But if your way works for you, party on.
  • pps7
    pps7 Posts: 46
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    I'll be the dissenter here. I approximate and don't weigh. I'm sure I'm off by a little bit. But I'm trying to learn how to do this on a long term basis and I don't see myself weighing food long term. I've only been using MFP for 6 weeks and so far so good.

    Someone asked how do you do meat/produce without weighing? Most meat and produce is weighed when you purchase it at the store. For example, When I buy wild salmon, I ask for 1lb. I split this into 1/3 and 2/3 pieces. DH eats the bigger piece and I log the 1/3 lb. as 5.5 oz. Sure I'm eyeballing the 1/3&2/3 so I may be off by a little bit but I figure that will average out over time.

    I'm curious to know where you are in your weight loss, just because I know the closer you get to goal, there is less room for error when it comes to counting your calories.

    I wish I could buy wild salmon here. :grumble:

    Only 2lbs to go before I start maintenance! Part of it maybe that a lot of food that I eat doesn't need to be measured: eggs, sausage (calories are listed per link) etc. I do measure one cup of cereal bc I think that's an easy place to overeat, but I don't measure the milk. I guess I feel logging everything I eat is compulsive enough. And it's working so far, I'm losing 1/2 lb. per week. Hey, to each his own. I just wanted to chime in that some people can do it without measuring. Plus I travel a lot and eat out often- I need to learn how to do this without a scale.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Because eyeballing things is how I got fat.

    Duh.

    :laugh: Love this answer.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    Mostly because they can't take the time to learn visual measurements for portion control or they have made calorie counting into a hobby with accompanying behaviors and accoutrements. Compulsive weighers can sometimes lose the ability to eat out or go to a family member's house because they are so obsessed with accurate calorie counting that they can't enjoy the meal without precision. I think it's good to weigh things you're unsure of or a good training tool for a while til you get the hang of things, but there becomes a point where how you track your food can limit your ability to make good choices outside of a highly controlled situation.

    I can lose weight and maintain without counting calories at all by developing intuitive eating skills and making healthy food choices. I have. Calorie counting and weighing are good training tools to learn how to eat intuitively and with balance, but making them more than that is either lack of confidence or knowledge or fear of loss of control.

    Agreed. I also believe a lot of overweight people just don't "listen" to their bodies and continue to eat after they've had enough.
    A lot of our bodies don't "tell" us when they've had enough. We have to tell our bodies when they've had enough. And our bodies continue to argue back. Therefore, at least for myself, I would like to get the maximum bites of food I can fit in and still meet my macros. Are you saying there's something wrong with wanting to be able to eat as much as possible?
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    It's more accurate than volume measures like cups and stuff. To give you an example a cup of these nuts

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSps3S5GLP2FEGa0p8AVgSZiZbx0qWyMSmsCuAhYaxFhzNnRuwiOQ

    will weigh different and have different cals than a cup of these nuts

    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[/img]

    because of the spaces in between in the measuring cup.

    Make sense?

    Even though both are "almonds" the way they take up space in the cup is different and thus you'd be eating a different amount even if you had "a cup" of each.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Options
    Mostly because they can't take the time to learn visual measurements for portion control or they have made calorie counting into a hobby with accompanying behaviors and accoutrements. Compulsive weighers can sometimes lose the ability to eat out or go to a family member's house because they are so obsessed with accurate calorie counting that they can't enjoy the meal without precision. I think it's good to weigh things you're unsure of or a good training tool for a while til you get the hang of things, but there becomes a point where how you track your food can limit your ability to make good choices outside of a highly controlled situation.

    I can lose weight and maintain without counting calories at all by developing intuitive eating skills and making healthy food choices. I have. Calorie counting and weighing are good training tools to learn how to eat intuitively and with balance, but making them more than that is either lack of confidence or knowledge or fear of loss of control.

    Agreed. I also believe a lot of overweight people just don't "listen" to their bodies and continue to eat after they've had enough.

    And that's exactly why I use my scale. I'd never be able to just listen to my body and eat when I'm hungry. I'd be totally miserable. I don't know how people got here, really. But I did because I love eating, I think about food a lot, and I have cravings often. The scale is just another tool to keep me in line and stop me from overeating... I'm guessing it's easier for people who don't mind eating 'clean' though. I do mind... a lot.

    I'm not a slave to my scale by any means though, thank you. I'm totally fine going out and guessing when I have to.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    MFP database says "1 large Apple (~100 grams) 120 cal". I bought a few "large apples" the other day and just for my curiosity, I weighed one of these "large apples", it weighed 225 grams...No wonder I was not losing weight; I counted it as 120 cal instead of 240...
  • GothicaAdore
    GothicaAdore Posts: 82 Member
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    Insanity. Obsession. Weakness.

    Because its easier than weighing a cat.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    I'm in to see how many people are going to keep answering an answered question. 2 pages and counting...

    I'd just like to know why the OP thought she could count calories without weighing.

    Ditto
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
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    Beating a dead horse on p4 but my protein power says on the label 45g or a heaping spoonful. lol how would you ever know.
    you need to weigh stuff to know the correct portions
  • AlyssaJoJo
    AlyssaJoJo Posts: 449 Member
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    I find things to be easier to eat/figure out if weighed. Like chips. The likely hood that I'm going to find 17 unbroken chips isn't going to happen. XD So I just eat my 1oz worth!
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Because how would you know how many calories you're eating if you don't weigh the portion? The only things I don't weight are per-portioned things.
  • casiobarnes
    casiobarnes Posts: 78 Member
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    I do measure my wine and I really hate how small 4 oz. looks. Who do I see about this?
    Four ounces?! Dang girl, that's some self control! It's a solid 5 for me ;)
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
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    Insanity. Obsession. Weakness.

    Because its easier than weighing a cat.
    Whereas it's pretty easy to weigh my food, my cat will actually climb onto his scale and lie down while I'm walking on my treadmill. My food doesn't put itself onto the scale for me! :laugh:

    But I must be obsessed or insane or weak because I weigh my cats a few times a month, right? :wink:
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
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    Quite simple, people weigh their food because it is the MOST accurate indicator of portion size. A digital scale is best.

    Just like if you grab a measuring spoon and measure your olive oil, you are doing it to make sure you are using the amount you are recording, but a scale is more accurate than measuring spoons or cups, especially for things like peanut butter, that are easy to let "heap" over the edge a little, or things like dried oatmeal, that can be compacted down more or less depending on how it was handled. When you weigh how many ounces or grams it is, that doesn't change, no matter how you squish and squeeze it, the weight stays the same... so you can record the right portion, and therefore the right calorie count.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    This is an honest question. Why would you weigh your food? I get counting calories (duh). But the weight of something shouldn't matter. Am I wrong?
    Enlighten me please!
    How do you work out the calories then? Do the pixies tell you?
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    MFP database says "1 large Apple (~100 grams) 120 cal". I bought a few "large apples" the other day and just for my curiosity, I weighed one of these "large apples", it weighed 225 grams...No wonder I was not losing weight; I counted it as 120 cal instead of 240...

    Just to add to this, weighing now doesn't mean weighing forever. Weight was very important here as you can see. Double the apple, double the cals. Imagine an even more calorie dense food like pie/cake/etc?

    I have started weighing meat cuts recently since we started making roasts and the "deck of cards" thing didn't suffice in my mind because I literally can't picture a deck of cards when looking at meat. Also "palm of the hand"...who's hand? Mine or my husbands?

    So I measured my meat. I am at the point where I've measured enough pieces of meat that I am currently able to slice one clean piece in either the 100 grams or 200 grams or 300 grams I intend to eat for dinner that night. Usually this ends with my saying "BAM!" at the top of my lungs and smacking the counter when the scale readout shows up. Yeah, it's weird the things that excite me lately.
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
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    This can't be a real question....
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I'll be the dissenter here. I approximate and don't weigh. I'm sure I'm off by a little bit. But I'm trying to learn how to do this on a long term basis and I don't see myself weighing food long term. I've only been using MFP for 6 weeks and so far so good.

    Someone asked how do you do meat/produce without weighing? Most meat and produce is weighed when you purchase it at the store. For example, When I buy wild salmon, I ask for 1lb. I split this into 1/3 and 2/3 pieces. DH eats the bigger piece and I log the 1/3 lb. as 5.5 oz. Sure I'm eyeballing the 1/3&2/3 so I may be off by a little bit but I figure that will average out over time.

    This is totally fine, and a lot of people do this. But, if you ever stall out on your weight loss, or if you aren't getting the results you want, then you need to start weighing and measuring more accurately. But, if you're happy with the results, then it's no biggie.

    Typically, as people get closer to their goal, it becomes more critical and it's very difficult to get that last 10 lbs or so by guessing.

    But, I think it would be nice to just be able to do it this way without worrying about it. I just don't think I can because I lie to myself. I can't deny what the scale says, though.
    I totally agree with this but I think there is another way to look at it. If you eyeball your portions and your losses stop for weeks or months, you can either (1) start micro-measuring or (2) just lower your goal. It's extremely likely that you're underestimating. Both actions will have the result of you eating less and your losses will start again.

    But people don't like to just lower their goal because they're usually pretty sure they're eating what they record and that going lower would be dangerous or stupid. One study showed that people trained how to measure still underestimated by 25%.

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