Any success stories without weighing food

I don't weigh food on a scale much though I do use measuring cups and spoons when the need arises. I had more success that way. My simple rule is that basically I can eat whatever I want IF I know exactly how much I am eating and what the nutritional story is (and logging everything, even if I make a wrong turn). Especially in the begging, I stuck to a lot of pre-packaged stuff just for the convenience. (I do allow myself pretty much unlimited green veggies like beans, broccoli, spinach etc and if I'm having fruit I just stick to the basics like i orange or 1 banana, 1 apple etc.)

I only use the actual scale when necessary, which for me isn't that often. But measuring has helped me very much, and I am much better at eyeballing serving sizes for the things I eat regularly, and am getting pretty good at eyeballing food in restaurants if it isn't something likely to be in the MFP database already.

I know the OP is in the wind but I'm lad this turned up; hopefully it will help someone, I personally found a lot of the answers very insightful.

I measure but don't weigh. When it comes to meat/fish portions can come pretty close to 4 oz just by the way I package my meat/fish/poultry when I put it in the freezer. I buy 10 lbs of lean ground beef and put it in 10 equal sized packages in the freezer. 1/4 is very close to the 4 oz serving. But usually I do enough exercise in the day that it is not a real issue as I usually way under my calorie goal for the day.

I have been reading A LOT of posts on MFP lately and was wondering if there are any success stories of members who didn't weigh their food. I realize there are many who do and swear by it, but for me it just seems a little obsessive. I suppose if it seems that it is absolutely necessary then I could start but.......

I have quite a bit of weight to lose (shooting for about 75 pounds but probably should lose 100) and have heard that the weighing of food is good if you have a smaller amount to lose or you have hit a plateau. I have lost approximately 17 pounds since middle of October but I believe most of this is because I have cut out soda and tried to be more cognizant of what I am eating. I am also trying to walk at least 45 minutes a day, but most of the time getting at least 60 minutes. I tend to eat the same things daily, like salad (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes), eggs, bacon, English muffin, sometimes grilled chicken breast, hamburger, steak, sometimes baked potatoes (which I love). I also eat lean cuisine meals at work for dinner. I am a very picky eater as far as taste and have a limited "pantry" as which to pick from or I will just give up. I keep a paper food journal but have been keeping my calories between 1300-1500 daily for the most part (uhhh...except for Christmas). I originally was trying to keep it below 1200 but realized after reading numerous posts that this is too low.

Thanks for any responses.

The longest prep time I have for any meal I make is 15 minutes *without* weighing anything. If I weigh everything, it takes 15 minutes and 30 seconds. That doesn't strike me as particularly onerous or obsessive, considering the valuable information it gives me.

I became aware of portions and did a little bit of measuring with measuring cups etc early on but I do not own a scale. I use estimates such as the below that I saw at
http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions

The Grain Group
1/2 cooked cup rice ---- tennis ball
1 pancake (1 ounce or 5") ---- compact disc (CD)
1 piece of cornbread (2 ounces) ---- bar of soap
1 slice of bread (1 ounce) ---- audiocassette tape
1 cup of pasta/spaghetti (2 ounces) ---- a fist
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) ---- a fist

The Vegetable Group
1 cup green salad ---- baseball or a fist
1 medium baked potato (1 cup) ---- computer mouse or a fist
1/2 cup cooked broccoli ---- light bulb
1/2 cup serving ---- 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots; 1 ear of corn on the cob

The Fruit Group
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) ---- light bulb
1/2 cup of fresh fruit ---- 7 cotton balls
1 medium size fruit ---- tennis ball or a fist
1 cup of cut-up fruit ---- baseball or a fist
1/4 cup raisins ---- large egg

The Milk Group
1 1/2 ounces hard cheese ---- 9-volt battery or your index and middle fingers
1 ounce of processed cheese ---- your thumb
1 cup of ice cream ---- baseball

The Meat and Beans Group
2 tablespoons peanut butter (= 2 oz. meat) ---- ping-pong ball
1 teaspoon peanut butter (= 1/3 oz. meat) ---- fingertip
1 tablespoon peanut butter (= 1 oz. meat) ---- thumb tip
3 ounces grilled/baked fish or chicken ---- checkbook
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry ---- your palm, a deck or cards or a cassette tape



Read more: When You Can't Measure, Estimate Portions http://caloriecount.about.com/article/when_you_cant_measure_estimate_portions#ixzz2xOskoQc4

It is not perfect but a good estimate...it has worked for me but I think I likely underestimated my daily activity..ie I determined my calorie goals stating that I am lightly active and then I added exercise..well I am the mom to 4 busy kids and I teach and am on my feet ALL day and I walk ALL over our huge school...since I move more than I accounted for the possible calorie overages don't cause any issues.

bump

I haven't weighed my food and I've lost 120lbs

Any tips on how to quickly weigh or measure food?? I don't have the free time to do that all the time. And how do I get that weight loss ticker??

I have lost almost 50lbs without weighing my food. But I do use measuring cups when it is a food I don't eat on a daily basis.