NOT Weighing Food?

I lost 50 pounds without ever using a food scale. I figured out how high to fill my cereal bowl with a serving of my favorite cereal, and things i wasn't familiar with I used my tablespoons and measuring cups for. I still lost weight without a problem. At the time I was eating [what I thought was] 1200 calories, so if the discrepancy between measuring with cups vs measuring with a food scale was 200 calories or something I was still plenty at a deficit even if in actuality I'd been eating closer to 1400 calories on a daily basis. The only time not weighing could really be "harmful" is if you're trying to lose weight but are eating very close to maintenance, for if you're eating more than you think you might just be eating at maintenance and not see the pounds shed off as fast.

But like I said, I was very successful without weighing my foods and I do not think it is as important in losing weight as it is made out to be.

I personally think everyone has their own opinion. If they don't weigh and lose weight, good for them. If they do weigh and lose weight, good for them. It's crazy how there are so many attitudes on this post (those who weigh vs those who don't) and even (those who weigh with cups/spoons vs those who weigh with scales). My goodness.

I view the scale as a tool to help me lose weight. I use it for accuracy and portion control. By the time I reach my goal weight I will hopefully have learned what a proper portion looks like. I will wean myself off the scale, but if I ever start to put weight on again, I will definitely pull out the scale again.

I don't weigh my food, or even measure it.

In the VERY beginning of when I joined, I did measure out whatever the box said a serving was because I was curious. And sometimes I counted out exactly 21 chips or whatever the bag said. I think I did that for a few weeks until I felt like I was getting pretty good at eye-balling portion sizes. I had one of those charts on my fridge that showed you portion sizes compared to an inanimate object, like a deck of cards. And I lost weight, even after I decided to stop logging on weekends. I agree that in order for this to be a sustainable, life long way of eating I need to be able to control my portions without being logged in MFP 24/7. Most of my "real life" inspriations of fit, strong, healthy women in my life aren't even MFP members. Fads come and go, including awesome website tools like this one, and one day it may not be here anymore. It is a tool, not a crutch.

I am in recovery from binge eating disorder and I'm not supposed to get too into weighing and measuring. It majorly screws up my brain because I feel restricted and that can trigger a binge. My motto is "close enough" as in "Meh, 1/2 cup chickpeas - close enough."

I've been successful losing with this strategy and haven't engaged in any ED behaviors since I started about 70 days ago.

That is awesome, way to go!

I know that most of the people around these parts are huge advocates of weighing food but I am really reluctant to do so. Am I alone on this?
What I'm doing here is supposed to be a sustainable lifestyle choice and I just can't see whipping out my scale and weighing everything I eat for the rest of my life. It seems like a miserable fate to be tied to that kitchen scale for eternity.
I know that I probably feel this way because I've been seeing results without weighing, maybe if my weight loss stalls out I'll be singing a different tune but right now I'm choosing not to weigh food and I'm happy about it. (I do however use measuring cups and spoons)
Any other measuring cup/spoon lovers out there?

I'm right there with you. And I only use measuring cups/spoons sometimes. You nailed it with "sustainable lifestyle choice." Also, meals have always been much more to me than just eating. I want to be able to sit down and have dinner and enjoy it....I get it that many people can do this and still use their scale, but not me.

A scale is one tool. A good one, albeit, and it works for lots of people, I won't argue that. But it's not my choice of tools in the toolbox.

I know that most of the people around these parts are huge advocates of weighing food but I am really reluctant to do so. Am I alone on this?

What I'm doing here is supposed to be a sustainable lifestyle choice and I just can't see whipping out my scale and weighing everything I eat for the rest of my life.

Youa re not alone, but there are very good reasons you see weighing recommended so often. Fact is, most people painfully underestimate portions and calorie intake, and that is a root cause for most gaining weight or not losing weight. So the first, best way to get an understanding of portion sizes and moderation is to, well, moderate everything you eat. that includes weighing.

It is not supposed to be for the rest of your life because once you see what 4 ounces of chicken looks like you can pretty much gauge it, as well as other foods. As long as you stay smart you won't need to break out the scale often.

I rarely weigh things anymore but know I am withing a few hundred calories each day. Some people that might be too much, so weighing is something they will do.

What I'm doing here is supposed to be a sustainable lifestyle choice and I just can't see whipping out my scale and weighing everything I eat for the rest of my life. It seems like a miserable fate to be tied to that kitchen scale for eternity.


Any other measuring cup/spoon lovers out there?

This makes no sense. You're willing to use measuring cups/spoons for the rest of your life but not a scale which takes an equal amount or less effort?

Personally, weighing food seems really obsessive and unhealthy to me... like it seems there's an underlying issue if you think you aren't losing weight because your calorie estimate is slightly off...

When I started out, someone told me that a one ounce serving of almonds was a decent handful for rough estimate...i said, meh...sounds good enough. An ounce of almonds is far less than a decent handful for me...I figured this out when I started using a food scale...I was logging 1 oz of almonds at 160 calories but a decent handful in my hand is about 3 ounces of almonds and 480 calories...so I wouldn't exactly say that is "slightly off". Right there is 320 calories per day...considering my deficit was 500 calories per day...well...you do that math...it pretty much wipes it out.

Add to that I was logging chicken breasts as 4 oz because my packaging said, "serving size 1 breast, 4 oz"...so that's what I logged but the actual breasts themselves were closer to 8 ounces. All of these things I didn't know until I started using a scale. All in all I was underestimating my intake by a good 400 - 600 calories per day which is why I wasn't losing...my 500 calorie deficit was being completely wiped out by being "slightly off" on my estimated intake.

There is nothing unhealthy about learning what a proper portion is. As others have noted, it's not really a forever kind of thing...it's a tool to help teach and show you how much you're eating and/or supposed to be eating. I would add that most of the "real world" would consider logging and counting calories to be rather obsessive and unhealthy as well...but I've found it to be a good tool for losing and putting what I learned into practice maintaining this past year without logging. A scale is just a tool just as a diary and calorie counting is just a tool.

I'm incapable of guessing portion sizes correctly, apparently.

Not to mention, the nutrition label is often contradictory...if it says a serving is so many cups and so many grams. I find these don't match if I actually weigh it.

Personally, weighing food seems really obsessive and unhealthy to me... like it seems there's an underlying issue if you think you aren't losing weight because your calorie estimate is slightly off...

I venture to say it is no more healthy or unhealthy as weighing your body on a scale. Both are important and very useful tools. Those who are still losing weight and say they don't use a scale, I will be very surprised if they are able to lose all the weight they want and keep it off without ever using a food scale.

You know, I used to feel this way as well... until I realized that weighing my food is actually easier than using measuring cups/spoons. You just put your plate/bowl on the scale and hit tare after adding each item - simple! No extra dirty dishes

That said, if not weighing is working for you, then that's totally fine. It was working for me too, I just really like knowing exactly how much I am eating. Scales are cheap, you could always try it out... or not, your choice!

Best of luck!

Long thread, haven't read most of it yet, but this.

I decided to get a scale because trying to estimate or measure was kind of a pain and made logging seem a chore. Weighing seemed easier and has proven to be, especially since most of the more accurate entries--as I understand it--have a 100 g option, which means that I don't have to mess with converting one measure to another, but can just see 63 g and stick in .63.

I don't know if I will do this forever (presumably not if I stop logging), and I was losing before I started, but I find it no burden and kind of fun.

I see there is talk of "obsessive" behavior in this thread.......... Nah.

We're all "obsessive" here because we log everything we eat into an online database, and on TOP of the time it takes to do that, we're all here perusing the forums and debating on the benefits of weighing/measuring your food for the sake of calorie counting. Honestly, the word "obsessive" is meaningless if you're already on MFP.

I haven't weighed my food since me and me kitchen scale had a disagreement over what an ounce of grated cheese looked like. I can't say that eye balling works for everyone but so far I'm ok. I got way too obsessed with the numbers and trying to make everything fit, took the joy out of mealtimes and turned me into a psycho in the kitchen :laugh:
Learning portion control is key, who wants to be weighing everything for life eh?