Concerns over weighing food?

tyediri
tyediri Posts: 183 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone else had experiences of loved ones being genuinely concerned about you weighing all your food?

I recently experienced this myself when I was weighing 100g of Ben and Jerry's Phish food ice cream! :)
(The tub says 280kcals for 2 scoops or 100g. I did not have a scoop. lol)

I was a little angry to start with (kept telling myself, but it was ICE CREAM! I was weighing ice cream!), but I do understand why it might be worrying for loved ones. :)

Anyone else have any stories to share? How did you reassure them that there was nothing to worry? I also get told that I do not need to lose any weight, although I have only lost 1kg since Christmas last year, but lost 3 inches from my waist in the same time.

Replies

  • NancyKhuu
    NancyKhuu Posts: 87 Member
    Honestly I wouldn't let them see, that should solve it. My family didn't want me to lose an oz and didn't understand why I try to eat healthy either. They even tried to contact a specialist to consult about my "anorexia" and I was eating 1400cal a day at 5'2" 110lbs. They mean well I'm sure you know that but sometimes there are things that you have to decide for yourself without them.
    Best.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    nope not one member of my family has expressed concerns about me weighing my food...ever.

    Make fun of me absolutely...but I have a 20 year old son and brothers who are goofs.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Yeah they think it's weird. I mean, I understand the concern - it can seem borderline eating disorder to weigh everything you eat. It's only my mom and her boyfriend who saw me do it so far though, and my mom didn't care that much as she could see that it works. But as I get closer to my goal and she thinks I need to stop losing weight... yeah I'm expecting a LOT of comments when I see her in 3 weeks. Which I find hilarious because my issue is never going to be eating too little - it's a miracle nowadays if I stay under my goal 4 days a week because I love food too much.

    But whatever... it's my life.
  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member
    My mum used to find it odd when I'd visit the family home for a few days and get her scales out to weigh everything but she knows that is how I prepare my food so she just lets me get on with it & even though she doesn't count calories, she has actually started to weigh some high cal things herself as a result of watching me do it to limit her portions of "treat" foods.

    In my own house I have several friends who regularly pop round on weeknights to hang out and so often we end up eating as a group, they will laugh at me and make fun asking me so how many calories are in your 136.5grams of salad etc things like that when I 'm weighing out my portion or at the table they will be like so how many grams of chicken is that on your plate? I'll reply 200 & they'll then be like are you SURE, looks more like 207 to me..that kind of thing. I find it quite amusing and its said in a joking way.

    Only 1 of my girl mates has ever told me I shouldn't do it because its encourages a weird relationship with food but I take that lightly as she is very competitive with physical appearance and although she's stunning she is always frustrated by the fact she is 6 inches taller than me, a larger build and therefore higher weight/measurements and I'm used to her snarky comments regarding food/weight.
  • navygrrl
    navygrrl Posts: 517 Member
    My main issue is that my husband doesn't want to make me food anymore because he doesn't want to mess up my scale. I think he just secretly doesn't want to cook. :laugh: That's fine, though, since his cooking is usually called "take out."
  • spicegeek
    spicegeek Posts: 325 Member
    explain to them that you are just learning portion sizing - assure them that you are doing this so you can enjoy all food in moderation - which is sensible and healthy - Let them ask you questions - answer honestly and openly - I think it a natural for family to worry sometimes when people make a lifestyle change - it is a little unnerving
  • mummma
    mummma Posts: 402 Member
    yay! im proud of you for weighing that ice cream!

    because things like that for me are such a bad trigger and ill just end up eating the lot! you did the right thing for yourself. who cares what they think!
  • Kitship
    Kitship Posts: 579 Member
    Good job on weighing that ice cream! My family is mostly understanding; I did get a few strange looks at first, but when they saw my progress the strange looks stopped. Best of luck!
  • Val_from_OH
    Val_from_OH Posts: 447 Member
    If you're not obsessive about it, then they have nothing to worry about. In the case of weighing ice cream, I would just tell them that it is really hard to figure out how much is a serving, so I just pop it on the scale. If you are weighing green beans and grilled chicken though, they might have right to be concerned.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I don't live near or with my family. But I'm sure my mom would give me the strong side eye- but I look healthy and fine sooooo she can't complain too much.

    my BF usually lets me put food away because he dumps it all into one container- where as I pre-portion... but he gets it- he doesnt' give me crap about it.

    I've taken my scale to dinner with me before- he doesn't care.

    People are way to uptight about stuff.
  • jpapp13
    jpapp13 Posts: 73 Member
    When I bought my food scale and started using it at home, my mom and sister both would give me strange looks or poke fun at me. They thought because I was weighing my food that I was eating less, fast forward to 1.5 years later and the comments have stopped for the most part.

    It's something I use as a tool to help learn what a portion of something looks like as we all know when we eat out etc, that it's not really a 'standard' portion .. I've since gone into maintenance mode and don't weigh / log weekends just so that I can learn that I can eat using what I've learned.

    When friends/family show concern that I'm eating to little I show them what my daily intake looks like or take them out to dinner and eat them under the table .. :D
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    My husband is the only one that sees me regularly weigh my food, and he loves the results it brings me, so he doesn't say anything.

    When my parents visit, we're usually eating take out or fast food most of the time anyway, so they don't really get to see me weigh. If they did, I'm sure they would think it was unnecessary. They know me well enough to know better than to say anything, though.
  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member
    If you are weighing green beans and grilled chicken though, they might have right to be concerned.


    .......is it not just as easy to underestimate how much chicken you are eating when you are eyeballing your portions instead of weighing them as it is with ice cream? If you only weigh out foods you think are "bad" then you are not really accurately logging everything else you eat. Which is fine if you are only trying to control portions of certain things but those of us who like to know exactly what we eat and track it to meet a specific target/goal weigh everything (even greens) and it doesn't mean there is a reason to be concerned.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    If you are weighing green beans and grilled chicken though, they might have right to be concerned.


    .......is it not just as easy to underestimate how much chicken you are eating when you are eyeballing your portions instead of weighing them as it is with ice cream? If you only weigh out foods you think are "bad" then you are not really accurately logging everything else you eat. Which is fine if you are only trying to control portions of certain things but those of us who like to know exactly what we eat and track it to meet a specific target/goal weigh everything (even greens) and it doesn't mean there is a reason to be concerned.

    Absolutely. It's going to derail you just as fast to have an incorrect portion of steak and mashed potatoes as ice cream.

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  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member


    Absolutely. It's going to derail you just as fast to have an incorrect portion of steak and mashed potatoes as ice cream.

    d939b3ae7c768a19ebf30e7aca60e3fb.jpg

    :laugh:
  • ThinLizzie0802
    ThinLizzie0802 Posts: 863 Member
    Thankfully, my family has been very cool about me using a food scale. If you are tracking calories, it absolutely makes 100% perfect sense. To bash on it is just silly and clearly shows a lack of understanding. It's way too easy to under and over estimate what you are eating so why not have a clear picture?
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    Unless you're anorexic or have other health issues, I don't think it's anyone else's business. I weigh mine and I don't care who sees me. I'm doing this for my health!
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Nope. My BF and our parents know that I weigh everything and are always very accomodating and encouraging. In fact, his parents decided to buy a food scale the last time they stayed with us because they see how well I'm doing with my weight loss and want to do the same. And that's a bonus for me because I don't have to drag my scale to their house anymore :wink:
  • Llamapants86
    Llamapants86 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I just tell them that I want to make sure I get a full serving. A scoop could jip me a bite or two of icecream.
  • Val_from_OH
    Val_from_OH Posts: 447 Member
    If you are weighing green beans and grilled chicken though, they might have right to be concerned.


    .......is it not just as easy to underestimate how much chicken you are eating when you are eyeballing your portions instead of weighing them as it is with ice cream? If you only weigh out foods you think are "bad" then you are not really accurately logging everything else you eat. Which is fine if you are only trying to control portions of certain things but those of us who like to know exactly what we eat and track it to meet a specific target/goal weigh everything (even greens) and it doesn't mean there is a reason to be concerned.

    If you were off by an entire ounce of chicken, then you have eaten an extra 45 calories. If you eat an extra ounce of Ben & Jerry's (which is basically a spoonful), then you have eaten an extra 120 calories. If you eat an extra ounce of green beans, which is almost a cup, only 9 calories, so no, it is not just as bad to estimate chicken and green beans as it is ice cream.

    I weighed a lot of things when I was first starting out, but over the past 10 years that I have counted calories, I have had to lighten up on that quite a bit. Mainly this is because if you are eating fresh foods, everything is an estimate anyway. How many different entries are there in the database for boneless skinless chicken breast, and the calorie counts vary. Probably depends on which farm the chicken came from too.

    Also, how much you cook the food will change the weight, without changing the calorie value. A well done steak weighs less than a rare steak, since I cooked all the water out of it, but there is the same amount of protein and fat there, so it will have the same number of calories. The only way to account for that is to weigh the food raw, but then you assume that you are eating all of the fat, which is not necessarily true (think bacon).

    I am not against food scales at all, I do use mine quite a bit, but I am against scale obsession, whether it be the food scale or the bathroom scale.
  • Alassonde
    Alassonde Posts: 228 Member
    I don't weigh my food because of concern about what my family would think. I have three teenagers who are all underweight (as I was at their age) and since I'm not overweight they would probably think I'm crazy for doing it. I'm managing to maintain my weight quite well without it so far....I generally just assume I'm off by a bit and try to figure that into my logging. I especially worry about the effect it might have on my teenage daughter, since her friends are all starting to talk about how they are "fat". She's 14 years old, 4' 11" and 74 pounds.....I'm trying to get her to gain weight so I'm afraid if she saw me weighing my food she might get the idea that I'm trying to lose weight, which I'm not, and then might start to think that maybe she needs to worry.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    If you are weighing green beans and grilled chicken though, they might have right to be concerned.
    the point of wieghing things is so you know what you are eating- green beans and chicken- or ice cream.

    Since I eat the whole container of steamables- I do not typically weigh- the container is the container- but for lunches- I weigh both chicken and veggies out so they are equally portioned and I know what my daily food intake is.

    After you've been doing it a while- you get really good at eyeballing it- and ultimately since the average is more important- it's not a crisis if you don't get it spot on- but it is useful to just do it for habits sake.
  • ammp
    ammp Posts: 107 Member
    At my best I was weighting what I didn't know (like if I knew the container had 300 cal, I'm cool, but if I wasn't going to eat the container, I weighed out a serving)
    I found that weighting them out gave me a realistic idea of what I can get for my 1800 cal. Well I can have this or I can have ALLLLL THIIISSSSSSS for the same calories. I buy in bulk, I coupon, I like more for my money ;)

    I use weighing not to restrict myself, but to get myself back on balance of what a portion really is or how much I was really eating.
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
    I weigh EVERYTHING and normally it is just in front of my husband. He is 100% supportive of me, and will even weigh what he cooks for dinner (all ingredients, cookware, and final meal weight divided by servings) so I have an accurate number to tell me how much I can eat. I even weigh sliced bread! Fun Fact, an irregular loaf isn't always a uniform weight per slice. My Dudley's bread is proof of that. :)

    If someone wants to make fun of me for it, then they aren't really a friend. But then again, no one is going to accuse me of ever eating TOO LITTLE.
  • ProudAirforceWife
    ProudAirforceWife Posts: 38 Member
    I am a food scale addict ;) I weigh everything...in fact (and you can laugh), I put my wine glass on the scale, zero it out, and then pour and measure the ounces. My DH is totally supportive of me and does weigh foods when he is cooking. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for me being totally accountable of what I eat. I think even when I hit the maintain phase, I will still weigh, it has become second nature and part of my routine. That being said, I am only human and I do indulge once and awhile and some Saturday's the scale stays in the cupboard (keeps me sane...ha ha). Don't worry what people think about the scale on your counter, you are doing this for you and if it is working for you then keep going. Good luck on your journey. Cheers!

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