Is weighing food vital for losing weight?

cherrychubbs
cherrychubbs Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
I know nothing about weighing foods, what ounces are etc. Is it vital to weigh food? I usually just get one handful of things and put them on my plate. Am I doing something wrong?
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Replies

  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Some people don't need it. If you're achieving your health and fitness goals without it, there's no rule that says you have to.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    I know nothing about weighing foods, what ounces are etc. Is it vital to weigh food? I usually just get one handful of things and put them on my plate. Am I doing something wrong?

    No, but if you find you're not losing, overeating may be the culprit.

    And you don't know what an ounce is?
  • Beastmaster50
    Beastmaster50 Posts: 505 Member
    At first I would say yes. People have to learn what a cup is and what 6oz of meat looks like. Until you get a solid grasp of portion sizes, I think its a good habit to weigh and measure.
  • dandelyon
    dandelyon Posts: 620 Member
    It's a great tool but I lost plenty of weight prior to owning a food scale. I would also say that accuracy counts for more if you are eating closer to maintenance. If you have a 1000 cal deficit each day, surely you'll lose weight using measuring cups or partitioning things out.
  • marcotomas
    marcotomas Posts: 9 Member
    I used to eyeball things but recently caved and got a digital food scale. It was not expensive (I think it was only $10 on amazon) and it is a breeze to use. I recommend weighing, especially in the beginning, because it really helps you learn to grasp what a serving size actually looks like. If you are counting calories (and if you are on this site, I must assume you are), you want to make sure your totals are fairly accurate.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    It does depend to some degree what you are talking about. Misjudging your steamed broccoli isn't going to make much difference. Misjudging the amount of almonds you grab is going to make a HUGE difference.

    There are some other ways of determining serving sizes. For example, a 3oz. of meat is usually the size of a deck of cards; an ounce of almonds fits in an Altoids tin... http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/crc/documents/VisualizeYourPortionSize12-01-09.pdf
  • witmer1
    witmer1 Posts: 128 Member
    I believe it is at first anyway. When I started logging, I know my portions were off because of not measuring or weighing portions. I realized I was fat (still am) due to not understanding or being good at estimating portions. The scale takes that guess-work out of it.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    It depends on how far you want to take it. I think for most people weighing food is a great way to get a sense of proper portion size. I personally don't weight my food because I worry it will trigger an old ED. I've still lost weight, albeit maybe a bit slower.
  • dswolverine
    dswolverine Posts: 246 Member
    I love my food scale. It really was shocking to see how much I was over-estimating portions- esp for things like oatmeal and cereal! However, you don't NEED it to lose weight. Plenty of people have been successful without one
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I think its something people who become OCD buy and use......sorry.

    1) People become obese by being really, really good about deceiving themselves.
    2) Even registered dietitians have difficulty in eyeballing accurately.

    Therefore, the scale can be a very useful tool in overcoming self deception, rather than being an instrument of a severe mental disorder.
  • sheepysaccount
    sheepysaccount Posts: 608 Member
    Hey, I don't know what an ounce is either. Hooray for the metric system.

    That being said, if you know what 100g of potatoes, rice, apple... is you can get away with not measuring. If you're only just starting out, I would suggest weighing. It took me forever, but I now know what 10g of butter looks like for example, I barely ever have to measure it anymore. (I still sometimes do to make sure my judgement is not off.)
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    It's vital for accurately logging your intake. But if you can manage to estimate well enough to reach your goals, then kudos for you.
  • KatherinesRiver
    KatherinesRiver Posts: 128
    A good little digital scale and some measuring tools are helping me, especially with the high calorie stuff like peanut butter!:smooched:
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    It's vital for accurately logging your intake. But if you can manage to estimate well enough to reach your goals, then kudos for you.

    Truth.

    And just to add to this...because I don't use a food scale, when I'm in doubt, I ALWAYS round up on calories.
  • VioletNightshade
    VioletNightshade Posts: 197
    I think its something people who become OCD buy and use......sorry.

    ... *facepalm*




    Anyway...

    When I'm weighing and measuring my food (i.e when I get home from the grocery, weighing it into certain portions and labeling those with how many calories is in each, so when I'm preparing my food for the day or the next day I can at a glance know how much I'm taking in. It takes a large portion of the day-to-day effort of the whole ordeal out of it and makes my life easier), I lose weight much more quickly and predictably.

    For me, the answer is yes. It's not for everyone. It depends on your lifestyle and the ways which work for you.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    I think its something people who become OCD buy and use......sorry.

    Well at least I'm going to be a thinner in my OCDness.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I find weighing my food to be the best way of keeping me honest. Also, after doing it for a while you get a better sense of how big a serving is. I've been weighiing my food on and off since I was doing weight watchers in the 80s. As a member of MFP it helped me get to goal and now it's helping me stay at maintenance.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    I've been losing weight without a scale but I purchased one recently. I still eat pasta and weighing it first really helps me to keep control and not overeat. I was definitely eating 1.5 or 2 servings prior to this, and since it has a lot of calories, it allows me to still enjoy it yet keep within my deficit. So I don't think it's vital but certainly helpful when you know there are certain foods you overeat. And you can find pretty cheap ones.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    I would say since your alternative is just grabbing a handful and you don't know ounces or grams ... it probably is. If only because you'll have zero idea what to put in your food diary and therefore zero idea of how much you're consuming otherwise. Not too many entries for 'a handful' of anything.

    And if you're going to measure, might as well do it the most accurate way, right?
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
    I wouldn't say it is vital but it sure did make me aware of how much food I was putting into my body. We live in a supersized society where everything is giant...a serving of chips or hummus or crackers is not half the box. It opened my eyes and helps me be accountable!!

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