Why is everyone so scared of weighing their food?

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Replies

  • spara0038
    spara0038 Posts: 226 Member
    because food is supposed to provide pleasure not torture...weighing before eating that's just too much hassle and takes away the fun...

    I second this. I struggle with eating enough sometimes, and if I had to weigh everything before I ate it, I'd just rather not eat. I tried the whole weighing thing, but it just discouraged me from eating anything, so for me it's healthier to just use a rough estimation and log everything.
  • tigerette12
    tigerette12 Posts: 14 Member
    I weigh my food. I have no issue doing so and it keeps me on track plus helps me to accurately log my food in take for the day.
  • juliafromrf
    juliafromrf Posts: 106 Member
    When I first started, I also thought weighing food was unnecessary and obsessive and I thought I ate very reasonably. Did I lose? No.
    Then I gave it a try and it's actually HEAVEN, for me at least. To know how much I consume, to know I am (most) definitely in a caloric deficit, to know I hit my macros. It feels so good and it's so easy ... I also completely stopped emotional eating.
    However, I dislike the reactions of other people when they find out I weigh my food. A lot of them think this is an eating disorder by itself.
  • Rubie81
    Rubie81 Posts: 720 Member
    I lost 88 pounds without weighing a single thing. If it works for him, GREAT! Let him be.
  • Guinness80
    Guinness80 Posts: 39 Member

    Yes but those aren't the ones I am speaking about...the people in my real life don't have eating disorders they just don't want to weigh their food...and I am made fun of for it...because they think it's excessive which is fine...but don't berate those who don't feel it's excessive and who aren't triggered by it...

    You are right. It is a personal choice and nobody should be made to feel fun of or berated if they use a scale or not. Unfortunately that goes both ways. You say in your life you get made fun of for it, yet just read on this thread. Many of those that do measure are quick to call those that don't "lazy" and "not committed".
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    I'm in the "not weighing your food" camp, but I admit to being a little conflicted about it.

    The reasons I don't weigh:

    1- All parts of the deficit equation are estimates. Your BMR/TDEE are estimates. So are your calorie burns. How much precision can really be gained by attempting to be accurate with only your food intake?

    2-The manner in which I'm trying (and slowly succeeding) to lose weight is to adopt the habits I intend to keep for the rest of my life. I don't see weighing every morsel of food to be a desireable habit for the long term. I'm trying my best not to have to resort to that.

    3-Laziness. And this also goes for measuring with cups and spoons, too. I don't want to make extra dishes that have to be washed. If I can eyeball my portions, then I don't have to wash the things I used to measure or weight them with.

    4-Admittedly shallow, but I'm a little embarrased to be seen weighing my food.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    because food is supposed to provide pleasure not torture...weighing before eating that's just too much hassle and takes away the fun...
    I have been weighing certain foods (especially cheese) for years. It's simple, easy and is such a habit I barely notice doing it anymore.

    I still enjoy my food. *shrug*

    It's only torture if you make it torture. It adds no extra time (maybe a split second) and sometimes actually allows me to eat more than I thought I could.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    I don't use a food scale nor am I scared of weighing my foods. I learned portion control with Weight Watchers and have been very successful with it. This is the method I still use because it works for me. I think a scale is an excellent tool for weight loss but as with weight loss in general there are different paths to the same goal.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    I lost quite a bit - %75 of my goal without weighing food. Once the weight loss slowed I started weighing higher calorie food. I don't want to make this more work than I have to and I don't always have a scale available so I'm also still learning how to manage portion sizes on my own.
  • Rainboots80
    Rainboots80 Posts: 218 Member
    I don't because I just don't want to take that extra step. I have measured things like cheese a couple times but now I know what an ounce looks like. I was actually overestimating most things anyway and eating less calories then I thought.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    It doesn't really matter if it's working for you.

    However, I get annoyed when people are struggling to lose weight but won't go out and buy a food scale.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    I am too lazy to weight my food out. Also I do not need to see results.
  • _mlee_
    _mlee_ Posts: 90
    I estimate my food and it seems to be working great for me. I don't feel the need to weigh everything I put in my mouth because I'm seeing the results without the hassel. If it wasn't working for me THEN I would start weighing. I'm just frankly too lazy to have to deal with all that :D He will learn on his own with trial and error what works best for him.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    It doesn't really matter if it's working for you.

    However, I get annoyed when people are struggling to lose weight but won't go out and buy a food scale.

    Same here. If its not working then find out what does.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    i dont have one for these reasons;
    -my meals are prepared for my whole family not just me, weighing wouldnt give me a much more accurate calorie count than volume/estimating since its all prepared in one big batch
    -i think for many people getting a scale is what would push them over the line into the stereotypical "health-nut" category
    -weighing food for the rest of my life seems much less sustainable then learning how to eyeball appropriate portion sizes
    -i wont always be able to access a food scale
    -estimating/volume measuring has worked very well for me so far

    All of these - though I do have a scale. Everyone on here told me I was underestimating my intake and the scale would shock me - but the truth is I was overestimating everything.

    I'm using the scale right now to get a general idea of portion sizes and such - but it's not a long term thing for me. It's a tool to use to train my brain.

    I don't blame people for not being interested in using one. I find them to be a PITA.
  • Eoghann
    Eoghann Posts: 130 Member
    I'm not scared of it, I simply see no value in it. I'm pretty consistently losing 2lbs a week which... coincidentally matches the calorie deficit that Fitbit thinks I have based on the food info I'm logging.

    Why make something that's already working more complicated than it needs to be?
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    I didn't use a food scale on a previous weight loss endeavor because I didn't think I needed one, and because I thought it would be time consuming and a big pain.

    This time around, I picked up a $15 digital scale at walmart to measure my most commonly eaten foods, and it's pretty quick and easy to use, and much better way of getting the right amount of a serving of certain foods than measuring cups. I'm sure after I've used it for a while, I'll be a little more comfortable estimating the portion sizes.

    I love that it has a measure for milk on it! Set bowl on scale, zero. Add cereal to proper amount, zero. Switch to milk setting. Pour milk. Not much longer than it would normally take, and now I get an accurate count! Great for other things too, like adding cheese to my food. Set the plate on the scale, zero it out, sprinkle on cheese to desired weight.

    I also find it helps when I'm feeling a binge coming on to take the time to weigh out a serving of, say, chips, and then walk out of the kitchen rather than just grab the bag and shove all of the contents into my face without thinking. 1 serving of chips might put me a little over... but the entire bag would do much, much more damage... and my habit of doing just that is probably why I'm here.

    I'm getting pretty good at using the scale, so it's not crazy time consuming, which is what my biggest fear was.
  • stevee290
    stevee290 Posts: 85 Member
    I do it the lazy way and eat entire packages of food no guess work or scales needed.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    I do it the lazy way and eat entire packages of food no guess work or scales needed.

    This. :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member

    Yes but those aren't the ones I am speaking about...the people in my real life don't have eating disorders they just don't want to weigh their food...and I am made fun of for it...because they think it's excessive which is fine...but don't berate those who don't feel it's excessive and who aren't triggered by it...

    You are right. It is a personal choice and nobody should be made to feel fun of or berated if they use a scale or not. Unfortunately that goes both ways. You say in your life you get made fun of for it, yet just read on this thread. Many of those that do measure are quick to call those that don't "lazy" and "not committed".

    agreed those words shouldn't be tossed around unless it's the person not using the scale saying it about themselves...which is in this thread.

    To those who lose weight without it...Yah...
    To those who lose weight with it...Yah...
    To those who don't lose weight without it....sorry...I hope you find what works for you.
    To those who can't use one...I hope it gets better with time and things like that don't trigger you anymore.

    *notice there is no line there that says to those who don't lose weight with it...:bigsmile: