anyone dont measure and still lose?
Replies
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Still to this day I do NOT own a food scale. People lose weight all the time without logging at all. Logging and weighing food are tools. Some people need to use those tools and some people do not.0
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It's all estimates. There are no facts. Your BMR is an estimate, so is your activity level, your workout calories, your breakfast calories (weighed or not) and the calories in a pound of body weight. But that's ok because estimates work.I just do not understand what is being entered in the diaries when food is not MOSTLY measured. It is equal to just making up random numbers if you are not measuring food accurately. And as someone else said in this thread, what happens is opinion vs fact. What looks like a certain size or amount to one person can be seem more or less to another creating inaccuracies that affects the outcome. Weighing or measuring puts is to fact.
Some people can estimate well without weighing. I went from 187 to 137 on WW without weighing foods and then years later from 170 to 135 with calorie counting weighing very few foods and only those for the first few weeks.
I think it's good to weigh to get an idea of what a serving of cereal looks like in your bowl, but after you have that visual, use the visual. It helps to use small bowls/plates to minimize portion creep and to re-weigh things over time to check your eyeballed estimates, especially if losses stop.
Yes. Agreed. That's what I said in my second paragraph that is not quoted.0 -
Measuring and weighing food is much more obsessive than I want to be.
The first thirty or forty pounds, I didn't even weigh myself, much less my food.
It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.
You don't need to do any of that to lose weight.
How is measuring obsessive. I bake a lot so weighing and measuring is part of it, so you get a good end result. Takes a few extra seconds to weigh it.
Do you have to, no, but is it beneficial yes
One can easily become obsessed with numbers - have you ever suffered an eating disorder? It took me years in high school to overcome an eating disorder. I was so obsessed with numbers, measuring, weighing, counting, etc. that it scares me even 16 years later to do it. I don't want to fall back in the trap of it. However, I will be the first to agree that it is important to be accurate so you know that you are logging calories correctly. I will probably have to again as I get closer to my goal weight, but for now this is working for me. I'm pretty good at eyeing stuff after years of being obsessed with measuring, etc.
Literally the reason I don't measure. I will become obsessed, and calories will be like 'why you so obsessed with me'
Congrats on overcoming your ED!0 -
don't let others dictate how you should do anything... I lost the first 40 lbs without even counting calories let alone weigh my food.
I did eventually buy a scale when I joined MFP so I could learn about what things weigh - but I also estimate about 80% of the time.
I don't want to be the person who is obsessively weighing and measuring her food. Can you lose weight without doing it - Absolutely!!! Could I have lost more weight faster if I had done it from the beginning - probably - but it meant becoming someone I don't want to become!!! Do what feels right for you... I do believe though if you are going to count calories and log it you should try to get as close as possible - but again - not everything listed on MFP is correct - I've found many times entries where people entered calories, protein and fat but not sodium for an item which clearly had... so if you go for about 80% accuracy you'll be on the right path.
But then again - don't let me tell you what to do... You can ask the question - listen to the answers - and then do what feels right for you...0 -
It's very difficult for me to measure anything out here on my deployment. That being said, I am slowly gathering things to properly weight/volume count my food. Right now, I'm going off of educated guestimates. Sometime I think that I over estimate and other times I under estimate.
Still, I'm dropping weight (haven't been this light since middle school, and I'll be 36 in October...), but that's only because my wife has helped me realize portion size more correctly by sight.0 -
Add : If you suffer from OCD or eat disorders, weighing and measuring may lead to problematic behaviors. I personally wouldn't recommend someone to measure under those conditions. I should have stated that. No need to suffer to get the job done.0
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If your calorie deficit is large enough, then the marginal benefit of physically measuring your food is irrelevant. The smaller the deficit, the more necessary it becomes. But if you're doing 1000+ calories of exercise 4-5 days a week while otherwise sticking to your calorie targets, then you're going to be steadily losing weight whether you own a food scale or not.0
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I always go by looking at the packaging weight and guesstimating by the amount I use. I sometimes measure if it's hard to guess but it's such a long process if you're using a lot of ingredients.
I've lost around 20lbs which works out at over 10% of my body mass this way. You don't have to use scales as long as you are realistic, just know that you might be under or overestimating how much you eat of things.0 -
me. i also just assume that im eating 200-300 calories more than what i log because of that.
i really dont want to make food that important in my life that i have to weigh it and measure it0 -
Said it before and I will say it again...
the nutritional content on food labels is not completely accurate. FDA allows theses numbers to have a variance. Measuring your food, yes is good... daily logging to keep track of what you consume is essential for some folks (so yes there is a point of daily logging for some people just to help them stay on track), but all the numbers when added up are an approximation. Weighing and measuring food, then using the information on the nutritional label as your nutritional guidance... is not an exact science.
Do I measure AND weigh my food... NO. Yet I still achieved a remarkable weight loss!
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Sometimes I measure and sometimes not. I once did Weight Watchers and did not measure at all. I lost a lot of weight. 0
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Measuring and weighing food is much more obsessive than I want to be.
The first thirty or forty pounds, I didn't even weigh myself, much less my food.
It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.
You don't need to do any of that to lose weight.
How is measuring obsessive. I bake a lot so weighing and measuring is part of it, so you get a good end result. Takes a few extra seconds to weigh it.
Do you have to, no, but is it beneficial yes
Some people easily become OCD or they have had an eating disorder. I suffer from neither of those and yet at times I have dwelled on those numbers.
Weighing and measuring for a recipe IMO is much different from weighing and measuring your food in order to lose weight. There is no recipe for weight loss...it is trial and error at the end of the day...sometimes you get it right...sometimes you don't.
My son is OCD...he set out to lose 30lbs. He tracked his calories successfully until he got down to the last 6lbs...before he just lost it and had to stop. He will try again after a few weeks of not tracking but for him I honestly believe that he would be better off just estimating.0 -
If you don't weigh yourself, how do you know you've lost 58 pounds?Measuring and weighing food is much more obsessive than I want to be.
The first thirty or forty pounds, I didn't even weigh myself, much less my food.
It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.
You don't need to do any of that to lose weight.0 -
i do weigh my food and log even though I've been in maintenance for several months, but this is because I am horrible at estimating. While this is what works for me, a lot of people do not weight food or log and lose weight just fine. You need to find what works best for you.
Oh, the test for me will be when I go to Ireland in about 27 days because I will not be weighing my food or myself for two weeks. Two weeks! I might have it all down enough to not go crazy with the food. :bigsmile:0 -
I don't measure consistently but I think measuring helps me to see how much exactly a serving is.0
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You absolutely don't have to weigh and measure your food to lose weight.
For a lot of people, weighing is a big eye opener. Some foods, like peanut butter, are so calorie dense that you could easily be eating hundreds of calories without thinking that your serving size is unreasonable. A lot of my scale use is learning where to make cut backs on calorie dense foods to fit more into my day. It also gives you the control to know why you have/ haven't lost weight.
I know it seems like a big effort, but it's pretty simple to put your plate on a scale, tare, add an ingredient, tare, add etc.
Keeping it accurate lets you know when you've got the calories left for a treat 0 -
Thanks for linking this.
To the OP:
You should just give it some time and see if you are making progress at a rate reasonable to you and reasonable for your current stats. Many people can do fine without weighing and measuring and if you CAN lose weight at a reasonable weight without using a food scale then you certainly don't need to use one.0 -
You absolutely don't have to weigh and measure your food to lose weight.
For a lot of people, weighing is a big eye opener. Some foods, like peanut butter, are so calorie dense that you could easily be eating hundreds of calories without thinking that your serving size is unreasonable. A lot of my scale use is learning where to make cut backs on calorie dense foods to fit more into my day. It also gives you the control to know why you have/ haven't lost weight.
I know it seems like a big effort, but it's pretty simple to put your plate on a scale, tare, add an ingredient, tare, add etc.
Keeping it accurate lets you know when you've got the calories left for a treat
Agreed.0 -
I do not measure my food. I used to but it caused me stress and I never lost. Now, I just eat until I feel satisfied (not full). Anything raw or clean such as fresh veggies and fruits, I just eat without paying attention to how much food, but just until I feel satisfied. Anything else, same rule. I put a small amount on my plate and drink lots of water, before during and after the meal. When I am hungry again, I will eat until I am good. I am already down 43 pounds and this really seems to work for me. Good luck to you!0
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I've actually lost 62 pounds. I must have entered something wrong because the MFP ticker is off. Close enough, of course. It doesn't really matter. But I kind of want credit for every pound, lol. It's very silly.
If you don't weigh yourself, how do you know you've lost 58 pounds?Measuring and weighing food is much more obsessive than I want to be.
The first thirty or forty pounds, I didn't even weigh myself, much less my food.
It can be as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.
You don't need to do any of that to lose weight.
I know what I weighed when I started because the doctor weighed me. I knew I was losing because my clothes got bigger and I went down in size. The next time I got weighed, I'd already lost a bunch.
I do have a scale now. It's not Super Scale. No cape. Doesn't measure anything but weight, doesn't send numbers to other gadgets or whathaveyou. Just gives me the number, but that's all I need.
Sadly, it is an evil scale. It goes up when it should not just mess with me. It does other evil things, too. I have to get it exorcised, but the priest keeps babbling about fluctuations and the lack of a soul and stuff. He doesn't get that it's truly evil. And no amount of explaining seems to work. Damn priests, think they know everything about evil.0 -
agreed +1, when I finally bought a scale and discovered how much over I was estimated peanut butter, I almost cried! lolYou absolutely don't have to weigh and measure your food to lose weight.
For a lot of people, weighing is a big eye opener. Some foods, like peanut butter, are so calorie dense that you could easily be eating hundreds of calories without thinking that your serving size is unreasonable. A lot of my scale use is learning where to make cut backs on calorie dense foods to fit more into my day. It also gives you the control to know why you have/ haven't lost weight.
I know it seems like a big effort, but it's pretty simple to put your plate on a scale, tare, add an ingredient, tare, add etc.
Keeping it accurate lets you know when you've got the calories left for a treat
Agreed.0 -
agreed +1, when I finally bought a scale and discovered how much over I was estimated peanut butter, I almost cried! lolYou absolutely don't have to weigh and measure your food to lose weight.
For a lot of people, weighing is a big eye opener. Some foods, like peanut butter, are so calorie dense that you could easily be eating hundreds of calories without thinking that your serving size is unreasonable. A lot of my scale use is learning where to make cut backs on calorie dense foods to fit more into my day. It also gives you the control to know why you have/ haven't lost weight.
I know it seems like a big effort, but it's pretty simple to put your plate on a scale, tare, add an ingredient, tare, add etc.
Keeping it accurate lets you know when you've got the calories left for a treat
Agreed.
It was the ice cream for me. :sad: :sad: :sad:
Oh, and breakfast cereal.0 -
I lost my weight without measuring and weighing, and pretty much without counting. If you tend to screw up portions you might need it. Some folks do, some folks don't.0
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Um, so what is the point of being on MFP if documenting your food accurately doesn't happen? What do you even enter in the diary? The point is to do so to know if you are eating too much, too little or the wrong things. If you were just going to choose to just eat less there would be no need for an online food diary community for you.
I use the food diary and do not use a food scale. For me, logging is more about accountability than it is about exact numbers. I seem to be lucky enough to have a realistic concept of portion size - my problem has been choosing calorie dense foods or second (or third) helpings and feeling like an idiot afterwards for making bad choices. Knowing I have to record the choice I am about to make helps to keep me on the right track, and so far it is working for me. MFP is a pretty versatile tool, there are lots of different ways to use it!
But if your big weakness is knowing what a portion size is, or being honest about how much you ate, measuring is in my opinion a necessary step.0 -
I went three months of obsessively weighing everything that I ate. I wouldn't eat anyone else's cooking, I prepared all of my meals, snacks, etc. After three months I quit... It wasn't sustainable for me. I couldn't eat what my partner cooked, I couldn't go out to eat, I was missing out.
I do still weigh things, lots of things. I also conservatively guessing/estimate and I will use generic(the high calorie count of the generic) options for things that my partner cooks me. If it's particularly rich I'll add a tbs of oil to my diary.. or I'll say 1.2 cup instead of 1 etc. I've been losing weight pretty consistently still and I don't feel that I'm slave to the scale. I've been doing this for 2 months and I plan to do it for another 22months minimum. I feel a lot better doing this method than weighing everything... If I were single and not a parent I could see weighing everything aside from the occasional out to eat, but I like not having to think too hard about food.
Just my experience. Good luck 0 -
agreed +1, when I finally bought a scale and discovered how much over I was estimated peanut butter, I almost cried! lolYou absolutely don't have to weigh and measure your food to lose weight.
For a lot of people, weighing is a big eye opener. Some foods, like peanut butter, are so calorie dense that you could easily be eating hundreds of calories without thinking that your serving size is unreasonable. A lot of my scale use is learning where to make cut backs on calorie dense foods to fit more into my day. It also gives you the control to know why you have/ haven't lost weight.
I know it seems like a big effort, but it's pretty simple to put your plate on a scale, tare, add an ingredient, tare, add etc.
Keeping it accurate lets you know when you've got the calories left for a treat
Agreed.
It was the ice cream for me. :sad: :sad: :sad:
Oh, and breakfast cereal.
I always weigh my pb and icecream lol, for pb I put the container on the scale and scoop out of it until the negative weight is correct 0 -
this is what I am going to do. give it some time and see how it works for me without the measuring. if it does not then I will purchase a scale. thanks to everyone for the responses. I take everything into consideration
Thanks for linking this.
To the OP:
You should just give it some time and see if you are making progress at a rate reasonable to you and reasonable for your current stats. Many people can do fine without weighing and measuring and if you CAN lose weight at a reasonable weight without using a food scale then you certainly don't need to use one.0 -
I've been losing weight by measuring in cups.. Which is not the most accurate way to do so. I was setting my net calories to below my BMR to give room for error just in case. I should be getting a kitchen scale soon though 0
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I measure maybe 50% of my meals... I have a tendency to under-estimate fruit & veg and over-estimate carby things like rice and pasta. Oh, and cheese, I've started to always measure my cheese because if not I'll be doubling the amount ^_^
But I'm a big fan of the 'hm, what's in the fridge, let's just throw this together, herbs, spices, tadahhhh!' kind of cooking. Measuring is not too compatible with that mode of thinking, but that's fine. It's a great way to get extra veg into meals, anyway.
If you are measuring, though, an electronic scale with a 'tare' function is your best friend!0 -
The way I see it, everything else is estimated so I estimate my food too. BMR calculators are just not exact to each and every person, calories burned in exercise aren't exact, there is a lot of calorie output that isn't exactly measured through the day. If I was a little low on one thing and a little high on something else it'll all work out on a longer time frame than the 1 day. I lost 55lb this way a few years ago before I knew about MFP. I got lazy and packed 15lb back on so I'm back so now I'm on here and now I'm working on the last 5.0
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