NOT Weighing Food?

I don't weigh my food , and refuse to do it as well. I don't see myself weighing every meal for the rest of my life. I have 9kg to my goal weight, so really i don't care if i lose the weight fast or slow. I work out 6 times a week and i'm doing pretty well.

BUT, just out of curiousity, how would you weight let's say peanut butter sandwich ? do you take your PB with a spoon put on a scale? then put your bread on the scale ?? or bowl of cereal with milk ??? I find it will take a lot of time, doing this everyday. Or do you just weigh it once and "eyeball it " the next time ?
For me i use cups, i take 1 cup of cereal and 1/2 of milk, or 3 T of plain yogurt, and do the math. it's not hard.

I thought it would add a lot of time to my logging, too, when I first bought a food scale. But for me, it actually saves me time.

For a PB sandwich yes, you'd weigh your bread and log that, then hit the tare button to reset the counter at zero, then spread as much PB as you want on the bread and note that weight. It takes all of 2 extra seconds to tare the scale between ingredients and maybe 5 extra seconds to log the item by weight. Plus I don't have to wash all the measuring cups and spoons afterwards.

For cereal I put the bowl on a scale and again tare the scale so that it reads zero. Pour as much cereal as I want and log that. You can either tare again and switch the scale to mL for the milk or use a measuring cup (as measuring cups are still accurate for liquids).

:laugh: at the "won't use a scale, but hey I use measuring cups/spoons!!! :laugh:

With the exception of this comment which is rude and unhelpful, this thread has been informative and eye-opening to see the different approaches and what works for different folks. I don't use a scale, but can see the benefit in some instances especially for calorie-dense foods like cheese, nuts, etc. I use a measuring cup as a scoop for cereal, for example. I use little plastic medicine cups for things like salad dressing. I use the package weight for meats (someone commented how do you measure chicken with a cup--cut it up into little pieces and shove it into a measuring cup?)

It's encouraging to see that folks are finding a variety of ways of "measuring" their foods, be it eyeballing and learning portion sizes or weighing to the gram. Thanks to the OP for opening up this topic for discussion.

But...chopping up chicken into small pieces and shoving it into a cup is more mess, more time consuming, and less accurate than placing a whole piece of chicken on a plate on a scale.
Also, package weights for meats are typically not accurate--they always say serving size 1 breast (4 oz) or something along those lines, but if you had a scale, you would see that the breast is typically 6-8oz (or bigger).

If you're using measuring cups, you should use a scale. Measuring cups aren't even close to accurate for anything solid, they are more time consuming, and they are more wasteful.

If you're eyeballing and losing weight at the rate you want and aren't hungry, then obviously a scale wouldn't be beneficial to you.

Many people cook from recipes. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped chicken, then they are going to measure out one cup with a measuring cup to get the recipe right. Then weighing the chicken would be an additional step.

And for things like grains, the correct mix is usually listed by volume not weight in the US. So again, it would need to be measured with a measuring cup for volume, so weighing would be an extra step.

Not everyone cooks this way, but these are just a couple of examples of when you would be wrong.

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

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!

I use cups spoons and scale but I never thought about putting my plate one the scale and measure by weighing each item on the same plate thanks for the idea
Jean

I over estimate if I do not weigh my food and therefore end up eating more calories than I think I am and then I don't lose or gain weight. I highly support weighing food.

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

No it just proves that not using a scale isn't a huge deal when you have a bigger deficit and don't eat back exercise calories. It's for people who don't have much to lose that it's more problematic... or I guess the former people once they start moving to maintenance, and end up gaining weight back because they don't realize they are actually eating 200-300 more calories than what they are logging and increased their calories back too much...

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

isn't everything!

from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160 average estimating error for people who know that the aim of the excercise if to be as accurate as possible is between 223 (dietitians) and 429 (others) kcal/day

for many - that ~400cal/day underestimate will wipe out their intended deficit

How does that work for something like a casserole or stew? Do you weight the casserole dish or pot, then weigh the whole thing again after it's done cooking, ten enter all the ingredients in the MFP recipe section and make the number of servings the number of grams the whole weighed, then zero out your plate and weigh the portion you are going to eat, and enter that you ate X servings where X = what the portion weighed in grams?

yes

But i guess my question is , if you know that one slice of bread is 120 cals and PB is what like 80 cals ( don't remember LOL), can i just assume that i ate 200 cals ? and then at the end of the day i always leave 200-300 cals in case if I under estimated my food intake.

That would work if you had a lot to lose but if you're just trying to shave off a few pounds, a 200-300 calorie unknown is a lot. I'm only at a 200 calorie deficit at the moment and this method would leave WAY too much to the guesstimate gods for me.

I'm on 800 cal deficit, plus I exercise so for me these un-eaten 200-300 cals at the end of a day not a big deal.

Then this is a 'different strokes for different folks' type of situation. :drinker:

No it just proves that not using a scale isn't a huge deal when you have a bigger deficit and don't eat back exercise calories. It's for people who don't have much to lose that it's more problematic... or I guess the former people once they start moving to maintenance, and end up gaining weight back because they don't realize they are actually eating 200-300 more calories than what they are logging and increased their calories back too much...

I don't have much to lose actually. I have about 9 kg to my goal weight which is on a lower end of my BMI.

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

How does that work for something like a casserole or stew? Do you weight the casserole dish or pot, then weigh the whole thing again after it's done cooking, ten enter all the ingredients in the MFP recipe section and make the number of servings the number of grams the whole weighed, then zero out your plate and weigh the portion you are going to eat, and enter that you ate X servings where X = what the portion weighed in grams?

For recipes such as these, I usually use the about.com recipe calculator. It usually lists the total weight of the whole recipe. I then just make a rough guess how much water may have evaporated, then I weigh in whatever portion I feel like eating. It's actually much more flexible. Rather than having to stick to a certain number of portions I can have anywhere between 1 and 3.277 of a portion without needing to restrict myself to a certain size.

:laugh: at the "won't use a scale, but hey I use measuring cups/spoons!!! :laugh:

With the exception of this comment which is rude and unhelpful, this thread has been informative and eye-opening to see the different approaches and what works for different folks. I don't use a scale, but can see the benefit in some instances especially for calorie-dense foods like cheese, nuts, etc. I use a measuring cup as a scoop for cereal, for example. I use little plastic medicine cups for things like salad dressing. I use the package weight for meats (someone commented how do you measure chicken with a cup--cut it up into little pieces and shove it into a measuring cup?)

It's encouraging to see that folks are finding a variety of ways of "measuring" their foods, be it eyeballing and learning portion sizes or weighing to the gram. Thanks to the OP for opening up this topic for discussion.

But...chopping up chicken into small pieces and shoving it into a cup is more mess, more time consuming, and less accurate than placing a whole piece of chicken on a plate on a scale.
Also, package weights for meats are typically not accurate--they always say serving size 1 breast (4 oz) or something along those lines, but if you had a scale, you would see that the breast is typically 6-8oz (or bigger).

If you're using measuring cups, you should use a scale. Measuring cups aren't even close to accurate for anything solid, they are more time consuming, and they are more wasteful.

If you're eyeballing and losing weight at the rate you want and aren't hungry, then obviously a scale wouldn't be beneficial to you.

Many people cook from recipes. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of chopped chicken, then they are going to measure out one cup with a measuring cup to get the recipe right. Then weighing the chicken would be an additional step.

And for things like grains, the correct mix is usually listed by volume not weight in the US. So again, it would need to be measured with a measuring cup for volume, so weighing would be an extra step.

Not everyone cooks this way, but these are just a couple of examples of when you would be wrong.

If you look closely at your labels, you'll notice the serving size of everything solid (including grains) may have volume as a serving size but then the weight is listed in parenthesis next to it. I never paid attention to that before I started weighing my food either, but it's there. Eg, white rice serving is 1 cup (95g). My measuring 1 cup will be different than your measuring 1 cup and therefore we will be eating different amounts of calories.

If someone is following a recipe that calls for 1 cup of chicken (for whatever reason), all you do is put your cup on a scale and hit tare (which takes 2 seconds), chop your chicken and put it in the cup, and see what the scale says that weighs. The "extra step" is 2 seconds.

I wasn't talking about serving sizes, I was talking about ingredients and mixing proportions (for grains). I've never seen grains that said "add 2 cups water (X grams) and 1 cup rice (X grams).

Also, not talking about the method used for weighing. I was simply responding to the derisive post saying that using measuring cups was an extra step by providing examples where the scale would be the extra step.

You do realize that it is much easier and quicker to use a food scale than it is to use measuring cups, right? It's actually more sustainable, as well. But to each their own. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I don't realize this because it's not a hard and fast rule. It's a lot easier to use measuring cups when I make rice or use chickpeas or shredded carrots or any number of foods. Am I supposed to weigh ingredients when I'm making a cake or is it ok to use measuring cups for flour?

You realise baking is the one area that weight based cooking is almost mandatory for recipes to work properly. Pick up any professional baking cookbook, it will either give weights or more frequently proportions that require weights to implement. Baking is as close to science as cooking gets. a cup of flour will vary in weight for a myriad of reasons which is why there are standards for what they weigh. I had a kitchen scale long before this specifically for baking (And I baked for a living for a while)

♦ All-purpose flour 1 cup = 4.25 ounces

♦ Bread flour 1 cup = 4.5 ounces

♦ Cake flour 1 cup = 4.0 ounces

♦ Sugar (both granulated and brown) 1 cup = 7.0 ounces

You do realize that it is much easier and quicker to use a food scale than it is to use measuring cups, right? It's actually more sustainable, as well. But to each their own. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I don't realize this because it's not a hard and fast rule. It's a lot easier to use measuring cups when I make rice or use chickpeas or shredded carrots or any number of foods. Am I supposed to weigh ingredients when I'm making a cake or is it ok to use measuring cups for flour?

You realise baking is the one area that weight based cooking is almost mandatory for recipes to work properly. Pick up any professional baking cookbook, it will either give weights or more frequently proportions that require weights to implement. Baking is as close to science as cooking gets. a cup of flour will vary in weight for a myriad of reasons which is why there are standards for what they weigh. I had a kitchen scale long before this specifically for baking (And I baked for a living for a while)

♦ All-purpose flour 1 cup = 4.25 ounces

♦ Bread flour 1 cup = 4.5 ounces

♦ Cake flour 1 cup = 4.0 ounces

♦ Sugar (both granulated and brown) 1 cup = 7.0 ounces

All-purpose flour 1 cup = 4.40 oz = 125g = 455 cals

Bread flour 1 cup = 4.83 oz = 137g = 495 cals

Cake flower 1 cup = 4.83 oz = 137g = 496 cals

Sugar, granulated1 cup = 7.05 oz = 200g = 774 cals

Flours unsifted.

You do realize that it is much easier and quicker to use a food scale than it is to use measuring cups, right? It's actually more sustainable, as well. But to each their own. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

I don't realize this because it's not a hard and fast rule. It's a lot easier to use measuring cups when I make rice or use chickpeas or shredded carrots or any number of foods. Am I supposed to weigh ingredients when I'm making a cake or is it ok to use measuring cups for flour?

You realise baking is the one area that weight based cooking is almost mandatory for recipes to work properly. Pick up any professional baking cookbook, it will either give weights or more frequently proportions that require weights to implement. Baking is as close to science as cooking gets. a cup of flour will vary in weight for a myriad of reasons which is why there are standards for what they weigh. I had a kitchen scale long before this specifically for baking (And I baked for a living for a while)

♦ All-purpose flour 1 cup = 4.25 ounces

♦ Bread flour 1 cup = 4.5 ounces

♦ Cake flour 1 cup = 4.0 ounces

♦ Sugar (both granulated and brown) 1 cup = 7.0 ounces

I wish more recipes did it by weight in Canada...I have yet to find a cookbook with weight.

It would make my life so much easier...put bowl on scale add flour by weight tare, add powder by weight, tare..and lots less dishes...

For me all the cookbooks I have do it by cups...although the assumption is flour is all purpose unless specified.

If you find you aren't getting the results you want with your recipes, you could use the NI from the packages to calculate weight > cups. If the flour says 1/4 C weighs X grams, then 1 C should way 4X grams. Same for sugar, etc. You would only have to calculate this once and then just write the info somewhere you can reference it easily.