Overestimating: Am I the only one?
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I do it too sometimes...lazy also because I do cook all the time and have ever measuring gadget made, but I still eyeball it sometimes. But when you cook 3 or 4 meals a day for years your pretty good at eyeballing measurements. You will probably be fine10
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You can't be sure you are overestimating as you don't know what the accurate measurement is. When I started I didn't use a food scale but I also had a lot of weight to lose so yes it worked, now that I've gotten closer to my goal and my deficit is very marginal, if I am not as accurate as possible I don't lose. Most of the time these inaccuracies are the reason the next thread people post is I'm eating 1200 calories and I'm stuck at a plateau or some other bs.
True, you cant be sure you are over estimating if you don't measure - but if you are steadily losing weight you can be sure that what you are doing is working.
I do weigh some things - but I happily confess I don't weigh or log as meticulously as some people on here
But I still managed to steadily lose weight doing that and have managed to maintain for around 7 months since doing it.
I agree that if people are not seeing progress or reaching their goals, logging more accurately is then called for - but that doesn't seem to be the case here, or the case for everyone.0 -
I was very strict in the beginning with measuring and weighing. Now I can pretty much eyeball it and can get a good guesstimate. So long you are making your goal, you are probably ok!
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So what I mean by overestimating is this: I'm logging my food... I don't always use measuring cups, say a sprinkle of cheese.. or a tablespoon of peanut-butter. I just kind of visualize and approximate, but when I log it, I always log a larger amount than I think I actually used just to be on the safe side calorie-wise and not go over my goal...because I heard that most people eyeball larger portions than are actually the proper portion size. This is mostly just laziness on my part and lack of measuring cups lol...
Also I just use an 8oz foam drinking cup to measure out my cups, half cups, 1/3 cups, and so on... is that okay and does anyone else do this? I also just use a leveled out table-spoon (never heaping) to measure out a tablespoon. Am I the only one that does any of these things?
I do this sometimes if I'm in a rush or out to eat. However, overestimating is a double edged sword. I get why you want to overestimate the calories, but you are overestimating the macros as well. So, you will be thinking you're getting more protein than you actually are. The best bet is to be accurate as much as you can.0 -
Amazon is great but I have caught them overcharging by quite a bit on some items!Amazon is just the best for everything! lol I got this awesome bejeweled phone case for 3.99, regular 25 bucks at the mall kiosk!
It pays to comparison shop!0 -
As long as you are consuming AT LEAST 1200 real calories every day, you should be okay. You just want to make sure you get enough calories in.
I estimate when I am out but when I am at home I try to measure, measure, measure.... it keeps my logging more accurate so I am aware of what I am eating, etc. and it also helps me with accurate guessing for those times I cannot measure.
Good luck in your journey!0 -
I used to eyeball or use regular measuring utensils, but after watching the video on how inaccurate it was, I decided to get a scale. I LOVE my scale. It makes things so much easier and much more accurate. I was definitely off with my guestimations and now I simply like to be more accurate. Nut butters were the biggest eye opener. It’s amazing how small one tablespoon of almond or peanut butter is! I am at maintenance and there just isn’t as much wiggle room at maintenance. As someone else posted, I don’t sweat the low cal stuff, but when it comes to the calorie dense foods I want to be as accurate as possible.
On a side note, I’ve just started to look up gram equivalents for common recipe items (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder etc..) so that I can start using my scale for baking. It’s just so much more accurate and saves dirtying measuring utensils if you simply just place your bowl on the scale and measure ingredients right in a bowl. (The Tare button is your friend!) I’m thinking the more accurate I am with these measurements the better and more consistent my end products will be. I won’t have some batches turn out differently because my 3 “cups” of flour was really 3 ½ because I over filled, or it was somehow more packed down etc…0 -
I do a little of both. I try my best to weigh and measure as much as possible when I cook (which is most meals). Definitely invest in a food scale and as another poster said, use the gram function as often as possible.
If you go out it's kind of a wildcard, you don't know what they're putting in your dish. You can try to look it up online but not every restaurant posts their nutritional information, especially local places. You're kind of forced to eyeball but if you do, overestimating can't hurt. That's what I do. I break down the dish and put in each component individually rather than using the "generic" options in the database. I feel it's at least *slightly* more accurate.
If you hit a plateau, tighten up the measuring and weighing.0 -
I actually use a program that has portion control involved in it so it was a really nice wakeup call! I think measuring accurately is important. Are you staying in line with your goals? We definitely eat more than we should a lot of the time!0
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No I don't, I weigh everything I eat.0
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Yeah me too. I tend to overestimate my calories and underestimate how much I've burnt through exercise just to be on the safe side. It's a habit of mine now I guess haha.
Although nowadays I do weigh the majority of my food, like 99% of the time.0 -
I always overestimate calories in and underestimate calories burned.0
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So you don't eat back exercise calories (how this site is designed) and you guess how much food you are eating.So what I mean by overestimating is this: I'm logging my food... I don't always use measuring cups, say a sprinkle of cheese.. or a tablespoon of peanut-butter. I just kind of visualize and approximate, but when I log it, I always log a larger amount than I think I actually used just to be on the safe side calorie-wise and not go over my goal...because I heard that most people eyeball larger portions than are actually the proper portion size. This is mostly just laziness on my part and lack of measuring cups lol...
Also I just use an 8oz foam drinking cup to measure out my cups, half cups, 1/3 cups, and so on... is that okay and does anyone else do this? I also just use a leveled out table-spoon (never heaping) to measure out a tablespoon. Am I the only one that does any of these things?
Wish you all the luck in the world but you are making this a lot harder than it needs to be!
The "laziness" part alone should be a red flag! How many people got fat through laziness? How many people lose weight and keep it off successfully through laziness?
That's a huge contradiction, how can it be "better" to end up unable to eat at maintenance calories once you have hit goal weight?I've always over-estimated too, it's better to overestimate than under estimated, but my over estimating is a bit of problem now ive switch to maintance, I can't stop losing weight, the needle continues to creep very slowly downwards.
Well actually I'll have you know I did the same method 5 years ago and lost over 70 pounds... sometimes lazinesss is more like work smarter, not harder... and as for eating back exercise calories...well then if I'm doing that, I won't exercise in the first place.0 -
Anyone care to explain how estimating, underestimating, etc. is easier, smarter, faster than weighing? I guess if you are eating out a lot you don't have much choice, but preparing food at home, I just don't get it. My accuracy has enabled me to easily reach my goal of 70 pound loss, and more importantly maintain it. If I start upwardly trending, I can easily go to my reports and understand exactly why, fix it and continue on. Really weighing is so easy and fast a monkey can do it.0
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OP you say you lost 70 pounds five years ago, so will use the same method? If it was such a good method, why are you back trying to lose it all again?0
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I definitely recommend the scales - and weighing in grams rather than ounces is much more accurate. Once you get used to it, it becomes second nature.
Also things like teaspoons and tablespoons as logged on here are finite measures - a teaspoon is 5ml and a tablespoon is 15 ml. But if you were to weigh the product it would be different depending on whether it was peanut butter or flour.
Get measuring cups, tablespoon, teaspoon and a scale - won't cost very much but it will help you know what you are eating.0 -
OP you say you lost 70 pounds five years ago, so will use the same method? If it was such a good method, why are you back trying to lose it all again?
Well, the same question could be asked if she lost 70 lb with strict weighing and then re gained it 5 years later.
Presumably, for whatever reason, she stopped eating at a deficit and gradually re gained - unfortunately many people do this, regardless of which method they used to lose - doesn't reflect on the method of losing, just on what happened afterwards.0 -
I'm not comfortable estimating my calories unless I have to (like we just got pizza from a local joint) - and when I do I over-estimate. I measure everything I can - even pre-packaged stuff.
I'm pretty type A though, so there's that.0 -
I think overestimation is a safe tool when you're not sure--so long as you're certain you're getting at least 1,000 calories/day. I wouldn't want to see you starve yourself or anything!0
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Definitely echoing getting a food scale. It's been a godsend in helping me learn portion sizes, and now I am better at eyeballing when I can't have my scale with me.
I do overestimate certain things; marinades, for instance. I'd rather not dirty up more plates to re-weigh and calculate how much marinade was actually used, so I will log the amount I used for that recipe and wipe my hands of it. I made steak last night, and measured out 6 tbsp for the entire amount of steak I used, and logged 3 tbsp as what I had.
Other than that, I try to keep my measurements accurate. I leave a few hundred extra calories every day in case my fitness app/MFP overestimates my calorie burns, but anything I can accurately log, I do. I want to make sure I am hitting my macros as close as I can per day, and overestimating everything is not going to give me insight into that. Also, with peanut butter, you're definitely going to want to weigh that. Measuring out a tablespoon is not going to be entirely accurate, since you're measuring a solid with something meant for liquids.0 -
My food scale has a permanent home on my counter...it is used for everything cause I know enough to know that I do not know how to properly estimate a serving!0
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I use a battery operated scale. It measures in ounces and grams. If its liquid I have to measure them i use a measuring jug. Sometimes I guess when its milk in cereal. I only use skim milk so it's not much.0
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Well done on losing the 70lbs but if you put 40lbs back on then you have to start thinking differently. You seem very set in your ways for someone so young and very reluctant to take advice.
So you don't eat back exercise calories (how this site is designed) and you guess how much food you are eating.So what I mean by overestimating is this: I'm logging my food... I don't always use measuring cups, say a sprinkle of cheese.. or a tablespoon of peanut-butter. I just kind of visualize and approximate, but when I log it, I always log a larger amount than I think I actually used just to be on the safe side calorie-wise and not go over my goal...because I heard that most people eyeball larger portions than are actually the proper portion size. This is mostly just laziness on my part and lack of measuring cups lol...
Also I just use an 8oz foam drinking cup to measure out my cups, half cups, 1/3 cups, and so on... is that okay and does anyone else do this? I also just use a leveled out table-spoon (never heaping) to measure out a tablespoon. Am I the only one that does any of these things?
Wish you all the luck in the world but you are making this a lot harder than it needs to be!
The "laziness" part alone should be a red flag! How many people got fat through laziness? How many people lose weight and keep it off successfully through laziness?
That's a huge contradiction, how can it be "better" to end up unable to eat at maintenance calories once you have hit goal weight?I've always over-estimated too, it's better to overestimate than under estimated, but my over estimating is a bit of problem now ive switch to maintance, I can't stop losing weight, the needle continues to creep very slowly downwards.
Well actually I'll have you know I did the same method 5 years ago and lost over 70 pounds... sometimes lazinesss is more like work smarter, not harder... and as for eating back exercise calories...well then if I'm doing that, I won't exercise in the first place.
Definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. (Albert Einstein)
Working smarter isn't choosing a calorie counting tool and then not counting calories. Even if you only logged accurately for a number of weeks you would learn so much about calories in different foods and portion sizes.0 -
I over-estimate (or try to) when eating out where I have no control over weighing/measuring. But, based on experience I'll bet my overestimates are still under despite having weighed everything most of the last year. At home, I weigh everything (except raw greens some if the time). It was a revelation when I first started - I had no idea what a serving of anything looked like. And it's way easier and faster than I thought.
As an example of why it's important: the other day I packed a lunch for the office and forgot to weigh my fruit. I guessed it to be 200 grams. Next day, I filled the same container with fruit and weighed it - it was 400 grams!! Luckily, not a huge hit for watermelon and strawberries BUT that could have been several hundred cals for something more dense.
Long story short - if it's working for you this way - great. But it may be necessary to tighten up logging down the line. And weighing actually dirties less dishes - ultimate laziness there
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Yeah, I've never noticed this hindering my weight loss goals...
YET.
You are just starting and still have good amounts of weight to lose, you probably have yourself set to 1200 and don't eat back the calories that you are supposed to..
When you get closer to your goal this method will not work anymore. No one gets to their goal by accident, you don't just "magically" lose the last 10 lbs. It takes dedication and dead accuracy. Using ‘cups’ is grossly inaccurate and will eventually lead to issues because no one measures a ‘cup’ the same way – some go right to the top, for some it’s level, and for others its just under the rim. It’s EASY to go over your calories by hundreds just because you do not weigh. There’s a great you tube video on the differences between weighing and measuring food here: http://www.youtube.com
As long as it's working for you feel free to do whatever you want, but if you stall you shouldn't wonder why because you already have your answer.0 -
Yeah, I've never noticed this hindering my weight loss goals...
YET.
You are just starting and still have good amounts of weight to lose, you probably have yourself set to 1200 and don't eat back the calories that you are supposed to..
When you get closer to your goal this method will not work anymore. No one gets to their goal by accident, you don't just "magically" lose the last 10 lbs. It takes dedication and dead accuracy. Using ‘cups’ is grossly inaccurate and will eventually lead to issues because no one measures a ‘cup’ the same way – some go right to the top, for some it’s level, and for others its just under the rim. It’s EASY to go over your calories by hundreds just because you do not weigh. There’s a great you tube video on the differences between weighing and measuring food here: http://www.youtube.com
As long as it's working for you feel free to do whatever you want, but if you stall you shouldn't wonder why because you already have your answer.
Well, I'm not just starting out and I have reached my goal, including the last few lb's and I wasn't that dedicated and I didn't have dead accuracy weighing.
Believe it or not, some people can get all the way and not stall, using approximate methods.0 -
I overestimate also, I think a lot of people do when they are keeping track of calories.
I have measuring cups and a kitchen scale that comes in handy but sometimes when I grab something quickly I just eyeball the amount.0
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