Food weighing scale miracles.....

Naruto4ever
Naruto4ever Posts: 112
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everybody,
After reading so much about food scales on forums here... I decided to try it... Though i was still reluctant to weigh each morsel i put into my mouth but desperate times call for desperate measures... When my weight stalled for more than a month with regular excercise.. I was at my wits end... I ordered a well reviewed food scale from amazon... And god!! Am i surprised!!!! Am stunned into silence about the underestimation of food quantities.... My everyday home made coffee was 125 kcal till now but with the scale i know it is 168kcal... I used to munch on peanuts in between work... And add the calories approximately.. Yesterday i measured each peanut i ate literally:noway: lo behold... It was 300 kcal unaccounted... I was underestimating my food intake by approximately 25% everyday.. So actually i was logging in 1300-1400 everyday.. When actually it was anywhere between 1800-1900... So how can i expect weight loss.... Thank god i didnt gain... It would have broken my heart:laugh: any way so here am proclaiming myself as a food scale convert forever..... When doing everything else scientifically... Why not food intake also... :flowerforyou: good day everybody... Happy measurings to me...
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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Good to hear you realized how useful those tools are...and congrats on the forthcoming weight loss...
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I am really glad that you've solved the mystery! Those little inconsistencies add up fast, don't they? Best of luck with your goals :flowerforyou:
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    well done - welcome to the "accurate logging helps me lose weight club" :)
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I may have to point to this thread as a "see, we all told you so" from here out.

    congrats OP, glad that the light has been seen!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I may have to point to this thread as a "see, we all told you so" from here out.

    congrats OP, glad that the light has been seen!

    I already have the link copied into my spreadsheet...:drinker:
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I may have to point to this thread as a "see, we all told you so" from here out.

    congrats OP, glad that the light has been seen!

    I was just thinking the same thing. Congratulations, OP. :smile:
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    Yep.

    Tried to explain to my mother why she gained 5 lbs over the holidays "when she didn't eat that much!". I was there, I maintained my weight because I weighed everything. She said I wasn't eating anything. If I ate what she ate I would be up more than 5 lbs. People aren't ready to get it until THEY want to get it.

    Congratulations to opening your eyes! You will lose much easier now.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I may have to point to this thread as a "see, we all told you so" from here out.

    congrats OP, glad that the light has been seen!

    Exactly why I replied to add it to my topics. This thread is going to see a lot of linkage, I think.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    yeah - I am usually surprised at how much I was overestimating. I weigh EVERYTHING at home, and when I pack my lunch - but often when out -well you have to guestimate. It sure has taught me what a real portion should be and I'm getting used to that being NORMAL now.

    I used to eat a 12-16 oz steak no problem - the other night, I couldn't finish 4 oz.! Amazing what you learn.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    This should be a sticky.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    This should be a sticky.
    agreed. sub headline = "doing it right works? COLOR ME SHOCKED!"
  • monikabenoit
    monikabenoit Posts: 43 Member
    Good for you!!! I just got my scale from Amazon.com about a week ago and I love it! Boy was I proud to have sliced one ounce of cheese by eye and see that I got it exactly right on the kitchen scale!
  • toofatnomore
    toofatnomore Posts: 206 Member
    Its amazing how poorly I was guestimating on food portions without a scale...
    Now my big miss is peanut butter...My tablespoon and and actual tablespoon are 2 completely different things...lol
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    I did lose weight (I'm quite athletic) but I'm going to try to attempt to jump on this too. I've been using "guesstimates" rather accurately (it worked) but I'd rather KNOW. The problem *whine* is that I make EVERYTHING from scratch with gluten free flour mixes of my own or pre-made gluten free flour mixes that I modify. Did I mention EVERYTHING? All breads, pizza, sauces....I have to figure out gluten free pasta next. Am I allowed to whine? I hate the pre- made gluten free stuff in packages. It's so disgusting I won't even eat it with the exception of one brand of cookies and donuts. :sad:
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
    I may have to point to this thread as a "see, we all told you so" from here out.

    congrats OP, glad that the light has been seen!

    Was just thinking the same thing! Way to go OP!
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
    Yay for food scales! I'm glad you recognized the usefulness of having one and glad that it's helped you. I think being 25% off on your intake when you are guesstimating is pretty normal and I've read that obese/overweight people tend to be even more off than that!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Its amazing how poorly I was guestimating on food portions without a scale...
    Now my big miss is peanut butter...My tablespoon and and actual tablespoon are 2 completely different things...lol

    I don't think I'll ever be good at eyeballing peanut butter. My idea of 1 tablespoon is more like a tablespoon and a half!
  • Naruto4ever
    Naruto4ever Posts: 112
    To think of it... I was worried sick i may have gone into starvation mode:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: the problem is not the lack of calories but may be a little too much of them... this situation reminds me of some thing i read somehwere..

    " to eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art!!!!" - La rochefoucald..

    And yes!!!! All of u said so!!!:smile:
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Nuts will getcha every time! You probably maintained because there were some days you thought you were eating 1300 and it was really 1000.

    Good luck!
  • Tiernan1212
    Tiernan1212 Posts: 797 Member
    Congrats and welcome to the scales-are-amazing-for-accuracy club! :flowerforyou:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Yup, I was underestimating my intake by 300- 600 calories depending on the day before I started using my scale. I don't have to use it for every little thing anymore as I have learned to be a much better judge over these last 18 months...but it was a great tool in helping me to see what these servings looked like.

    People assume small errors here and there won't make much difference...but those small errors in estimation add up and it really doesn't take a whole lot of error to wipe out a 500 calorie deficit...even smaller margin of error with smaller deficits. Calorie counting is about being as precise as possible which can sometimes be a PITA, but that's the way it is if you want it to work for you.

    I no longer use my scale for every little thing, but I still can't estimate 2 oz of dry spaghetti for **** and I still tend to underestimate a serving of almonds even though I eat them every single day.
  • trinity5703
    trinity5703 Posts: 78
    Yep, it makes a difference. A BIG difference.
    I have to travel on business a lot. My kitchen scale goes with me :)
    And yes, I have popped it in my purse and taken it to a resturant.
    I might get funny looks, but screw em :)
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    "Yep, it makes a difference. A BIG difference.
    I have to travel on business a lot. My kitchen scale goes with me :)
    And yes, I have popped it in my purse and taken it to a resturant.
    I might get funny looks, but screw em :)'

    I'll stop whining now. That is dedication!
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
    Thank you for this post! I need to be more accurate when using my scale. I feel like I'll use it for some things, but not everything. I had no idea coffee could have so many calories...I think part of my stall is not weighing absolutely everything I eat. Maybe I should invest in tupperware so I can pre-weigh and when I'm leaving my house I can grab a container depending on how many calories it has, instead of grabbing a bunch of food that I don't know the calories of and estimating later.

    I generally just weigh when I'm at home and cooking... so I'm probably off 25% of the time as well!
  • baderis07
    baderis07 Posts: 35
    My scale is on order. My husband thinks I am nuts but I've seen way too many of these posts to not believe how important weighing your food is.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    only useful scale there is lol
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    i bought an oober cheap one on amazon. worked ok at first then the weight kept fluctating wildly.

    drove me f-ing nuts. ended up putting my fist through it lol. went to walmart and spent like 10 bucks more, much happier.

    if its a Taylor your good tho
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I did lose weight (I'm quite athletic) but I'm going to try to attempt to jump on this too. I've been using "guesstimates" rather accurately (it worked) but I'd rather KNOW. The problem *whine* is that I make EVERYTHING from scratch with gluten free flour mixes of my own or pre-made gluten free flour mixes that I modify. Did I mention EVERYTHING? All breads, pizza, sauces....I have to figure out gluten free pasta next. Am I allowed to whine? I hate the pre- made gluten free stuff in packages. It's so disgusting I won't even eat it with the exception of one brand of cookies and donuts. :sad:

    I am the same way. I put my GF flour mixture into the recipe calculator and found an entry in the database that is really close in calories, so I just use that one when I use the flour mix. I wish MFP would come up with a way to put a recipe inside of another recipe, but until then, this works ok.
  • MelisMusing
    MelisMusing Posts: 421 Member
    Which scale?
  • babyj0
    babyj0 Posts: 531 Member
    I just bought mine yesterday along with some new measuring cups and spoons. Can't wait to start using them!

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