Weighing and measuring food
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I'm trying to find out if my diet is very different than that of others who measure everything, because it seems so time consuming and cumbersome to me. Most of my meals are prepared from scratch and many contain a lot of ingredients.
I don't cook from recipes so I may add ingredients at any time in the cooking process based on taste - Oh, it's needs a little more onion - now I need to weigh more onion. That type of thing.
I try to be accurate with calorie dense foods (meat, eggs, beans, carbs, fats) and don't worry so much about strict accuracy with veggies. I weighed my fruit until I got a good idea about what 100g of each kind of fruit was and then went to estimating those (found out I was previously overestimating my fruit calories - nice surprise). But adding more onion to a recipe? Doesn't really matter, that's going to be a 10cal difference. Adding another tablespoon of olive oil? Well yeah, that matters.
Do you cook different meals frequently? I end up rotating through the same 10-15 meals with small variations, so once they're logged in MFP, it's easy for me to track them. And as others have said, a digital scale with a tare function makes it a ton easier (I found it kind of fascinating/fun in the beginning.)0 -
I have been lately. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
Yes, it is extremely annoying. No way I would do it for the rest of my life. I have serious doubts about anyone doing it for the rest of their life. Doing it for a year or two, maybe. Thirty years? Doubtful.
If you don't want to weigh and measure, just give yourself good guesses. If you don't lose, drop the total calories until you do start losing.
Weighing and measuring is not required to lose weight.
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Do you measure and log everything you eat?
If yes --
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
I weigh pretty much everything. If I make a sandwich I don't weigh the slice of tomato or onion I throw on - the 5 or 10 calories that adds isn't going to make or break my day/week. If I go to a restaurant, I eyeball best I can or go by their nutrition guide if they have one. I accept that there is a margin of error to this so depending on how accurate I want to be I will scale back the takeout accordingly.
It doesn't drive me crazy. I find it relatively simple. It takes me seconds per meal and now that I'm closing in on 600 days of doing this, it's second nature to me like getting dressed in the morning.
At some point in the future I will experiment with eating intuitively but I'm prepared to weigh and measure for the rest of my life. It's a small price to pay, in my opinion.
My diary is open if you wanna have a look at how I eat. I follow IIFYM. I'm a foodie who loves to cook and prepare meals from scratch but I also eat fast food regularly.0 -
Do you measure and log everything you eat?
If yes --
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
I weight/measure 95% of what I eat and log it
Time it takes 30secs a meal...
Will...habit
No it doesn't drive me crazy
not sure I will stop
I eat whatever I want as long as i stay in goal...
#ingrediants on average 8
#raw ingrediants with no label 7
and I enter all my recipes too...0 -
My diary is open if you wanna have a look at how I eat. I follow IIFYM. I'm a foodie who loves to cook and prepare meals from scratch but I also eat fast food regularly.
Thanks, I will check out your diary. What is IIFYM? I saw it on another thread and gather that it is some sort of diet that I'm not familiar with. I asked then, but no one answered.0 -
I weigh 99% of what I eat. Just not spices, because I really don't know how many calories they have... and restaurant food, obviously... but then I try and find an equivalent in the database. I even weigh packaged foods (except yogurt and '100 calorie' packs although I probably should).
The only time it's really time consuming is when making a recipe, otherwise it's just about putting my plate on a scale and hitting the 'tare' button a couple times. Then writing the numbers down and entering the info on MFP... it takes 5 minutes tops. Is it annoying? Sometimes. Is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. I'll take those 15 minutes a day anytime over worrying about my diet and wondering if I'm eating too much or too little, or why I am not losing...
I will probably always log for that reason. I don't have a 'good relationship' with food. Logging what I eat makes me more aware of how much I am eating.
I don't follow any diet. I just try to eat over 40g of fat, 100g of protein, and stay under my calories (my goal is maintenance, so I'm trying to keep a 200-300 deficit most days - emphasis on 'trying'). I'd say my meals are 50% 'non packaged' foods (but the packaged stuff is bread products, frozen veggies, sausage and dairy mostly). 10% maybe from my own recipes. 200-300 calories a day are spent on treats, typically (ice cream or cookies lately). My diary is open if you want to look.0 -
I did at first. After a while, I got pretty good at estimating, and really, I tend to eat a lot of the same thing, so it's already in my foods list. I don't weigh food anymore and I don't track EVERY. SINGLE. CALORIE. But I've gotten good at estimating, so I log as best I can and as long as my calories fall under or at my daily, I'm not going to stress it. I'm still going to be under what I need to be and that's what matters to me.
As for logging the rest of my life, I probally will be. I stopped for several months and started gaining weight again because I wasn't paying attention to what I ate. Logging keeps me honest with myself, and if I have cheat days, I shrug and do better the next day. It's a lot less stress that way!0 -
If I'm at home, I weigh it. Especially if I'm preparing a meal from scratch (which is usually how I cook).
It really doesn't take that much time or effort. For instance, occasionally I like to eat a large salad for dinner. It consists of greens, eggs, cheese, sunflower seeds, dried cherries, and the dressing of my choice. I have to put all of those things into the bowl anyway, so I might as well just put the bowl on the food scale while I'm at it and press the 'tare' button a few times. No biggie. It's just one tiny extra step that is definitely worth the benefit.
I don't know if I'll weigh everything for the rest of my life, but I will always own a food scale, and I will probably use it when it comes to calorie dense foods like nut butters, nuts/seeds, and cheese. If it makes it that much easier for me to maintain my goal weight, it's definitely worth it. And because I've spent so much time using a food scale, I've gotten really good at eye-balling proper serving sizes. It's a valuable tool, and it has made me much more confident in guestimating appropriate portion sizes at parties and events.
As far as the type of diet I eat, I eat whatever I want as long as it fits into my calories for the day. I also try to make it fit my macros, but my nutrition is rarely perfect. I just aim for a balanced diet overall and try to eat plenty of fresh foods.0 -
Do you measure and log everything you eat?
If yes --
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
Yes, I measure, weigh, and log everything.
I do it compulsively. It bothers me more to not know how much I've had (I tend to overestimate) than it does to spend five seconds logging an amount or ingredient. On some frequent, customized foods, I enter a recipe and then make it the same way in the future so it is quicker. I don't usually make 1000 different meals, so it's not that much of an inconvenience.
I plan to stop once I reach my goal for fitness (and being off by 50-100 cals won't make much difference), OR once I feel I have gotten a better grasp of how much of what nutrients are in most of my foods. Measuring helps me learn how to portion. Once I have learned, I won't need to check everything.
Diet - I eat everything except red meats. Ingredients - maybe 3-6 per meal, plus seasoning. Raw ingredients - poultry/fish, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits that are simple to measure. Foods with no label - if I can't be relatively sure of the contents as with prepared foods or mystery stuff, I don't eat it. Simple.
It's easy to determine the nutrition in a half cup of mushrooms or an egg. It's really not that challenging to track a more accurate intake.
My only exception is when someone I know has taken the time to make me food - it would be rude for me to drill them for ingredients or calories, so I just go with it and pay more attention the rest of the day.0 -
Do you measure and log everything you eat?
yes I do
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
I weigh my food on an electronic food scale in the mornings so all my food for the day is pre-measured.
yes it kind of drives me crazy, but I am the type that I will not go over by even .1 oz.
I would rather measure and be sure than to guess and be wrong.
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
I am actually getting pretty good at measuring some things. for example, I know that 4 walnut halves = .5 oz. so I don't have to measure those anymore. I am sure I will not measure everything for the rest of my life.
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
I eat modified paleo and make most everything from scratch, except I do eat a protein bar every day after my work-out. I weigh my raw food before I cook it or if i'm making big portions for the whole family (such as a casserole or soup) I just measure after.0 -
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
NO DIETS!!! Ingredients? what? who cares. Eat what you want as long as it fits your calories and macros. I mean that is unless you have a medical issue and cannot do that.
Everyone has a diet. I was not looking for a diet name, more of a description. Maybe a sample of a typical meal or menu.
I use a lot of ingredients in almost everything I make. Measuring and logging every little thing seems like a lot of trouble. Overwhelming, even.
I am just trying to get an idea of how others manage it, and of those that do, if their diet significantly differs from mine.
No not everyone has a diet. Some just eat less than what they did before. Not everyone weighs and measures everything. It may not work for everyone. It is just accuracy. Do what is right for you. But you should know that a lot of package items, once weighed, are a lot different in calories then the package states.
You can only do what works for you, not what others are doing. If you can lose weight with just estimates than keep on keeping on. If you cannot then you would just have to buck up and use the scale.
*sigh*
Yes, everyone does have a diet.
She means diet as in #1 under noun. Just describe the kinds of dishes you habitually eat.
di·et
noun
1. the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
"a vegetarian diet"
synonyms: selection of food, food, foodstuffs; More
informalgrub, nosh
"health problems related to your diet"
a regular occupation or series of activities in which one participates.
"a healthy diet of classical music"
2. a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.
"I'm going on a diet"
(of food or drink) with reduced fat or sugar content.
modifier noun: diet
"diet soft drinks"
verb
1. restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.
"it's difficult to diet"
synonyms: be on a diet, eat sparingly;0 -
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
NO DIETS!!! Ingredients? what? who cares. Eat what you want as long as it fits your calories and macros. I mean that is unless you have a medical issue and cannot do that.
Everyone has a diet. I was not looking for a diet name, more of a description. Maybe a sample of a typical meal or menu.
I use a lot of ingredients in almost everything I make. Measuring and logging every little thing seems like a lot of trouble. Overwhelming, even.
I am just trying to get an idea of how others manage it, and of those that do, if their diet significantly differs from mine.
No not everyone has a diet. Some just eat less than what they did before. Not everyone weighs and measures everything. It may not work for everyone. It is just accuracy. Do what is right for you. But you should know that a lot of package items, once weighed, are a lot different in calories then the package states.
You can only do what works for you, not what others are doing. If you can lose weight with just estimates than keep on keeping on. If you cannot then you would just have to buck up and use the scale.
*sigh*
Yes, everyone does have a diet.
She means diet as in #1 under noun. Just describe the kinds of dishes you habitually eat.
di·et
noun
1. the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
"a vegetarian diet"
synonyms: selection of food, food, foodstuffs; More
informalgrub, nosh
"health problems related to your diet"
a regular occupation or series of activities in which one participates.
"a healthy diet of classical music"
2. a special course of food to which one restricts oneself, either to lose weight or for medical reasons.
"I'm going on a diet"
(of food or drink) with reduced fat or sugar content.
modifier noun: diet
"diet soft drinks"
verb
1. restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.
"it's difficult to diet"
synonyms: be on a diet, eat sparingly;
Oh, so "diet" is yet another MFP trigger word. My goodness there are a lot of them aren't there? :laugh:
I suppose not having a diet would be a fast way to lose weight, until you starve to death, that is.0 -
Yep. Weigh all solids (minus waste like peels, pits, bones) measure all liquids. I cook from scratch daily, many many many ingredients... sometimes more than 15 in a single dish. It doesn't really take all that much time and I just create "recipes" here and re-use when I make it again. After it's prepared and cooked, I then weigh the whole container (minus container weight) calculate all calories in the dish and divide by 100 grams so it's easy to figure out serving sizes. If I add something different than listed the next time I make it, it goes as a separate entry.
When we eat out (rare) I over-guestimate based on ingredients (and create a recipe here). If it's a take-out order and to be eaten at home... I weigh it. I have been known to dismantle a subway sandwich, or a Gyro to get a base idea. You'd be surprised the differences of what's advertised compared to what you get! as much or little as 300 calories difference at times!!
Funny thing happens... I can now cut a perfect 20g cheese slice, an can eyeball a perfect 136g apple. So, in a long long long time when I'm at maintenance, I'm pretty sure I won't need to rely on the scale as much. It was under-estimating my over-portioned meals that got me extremely obese in the first place, it's going to take some patience and discipline to teach myself the other way of living. Good luck to you on your journey!0 -
OP, I do weigh and measure everything unless out at a restaurant or at someone's house. I don't find it tedious. I do often eat prepackaged stuff, and just log that.
I also cook frequently, and log all ingredients as I prep them. A typical meal for me might have only a couple of ingredients (glazed grilled chicken breast with steamed broccoli), or it might have > 10 (chilis, stews, curries, just about anything I bake). But, I also tend to eat the same thing over and over because I live by myself and one meal is usually at least 3 servings of leftovers. So, when I cook, I create a recipe in the database and use that. If I deviate from it, I'll add in any extras in my diary. I tend to cook one totally new recipe every month or so, so it isn't really that big of a deal to create a recipe every time. Plus, it's usually something online, and the recipe builder automates some of the process for a web recipe.0 -
I love tracking what I eat and many times add items to my phone app while preparing a meal. It takes seconds ounce you build up your database. Most meals I prepare can be done in under 5 minutes.
There are times when I can’t log everything immediately. At those times, I will snap a phone photo and log when I get a chance. That way I don’t forget something.
It’s amazing after a few months of counting & weighing how you can come pretty close on estimating calories. If dining out, I always check menus / nutrition on-line of any restaurants that provide the information. Even if they don’t have nutrition listed, I review the menu and look up calories ahead of time, just to have an idea of good choices. Dressings are a killer and I carry a tiny container of balsamic vinegar, if I know all their dressings are pre-mixed.
Good luck. I think you will eventually find it easier than you think.0 -
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
What type of diet do you eat? How many ingredients in the average meal? How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
1. Time isn't an issue for me. I made myself obese, I can spend a few minutes here and there to correct that. I never had to find the willpower to do it, I just had to learn how.
2. I may never stop while making dinner, but I am hoping/planning to train myself to 'eyeball it' while in maintenance. I can already scoop out almost exactly 16g of peanut butter every time! And I am awesome at cutting cheese into perfecly 1oz chunks.
3. I eat what I'd call a 'normal' diet, of home-made family foods. Roast meats and potatoes, stews, pastas, tacos, pizzas, curries, and stir fries are our main dishes. We use plenty of ingredients without a label. The USDA database has serving sizes and calorie information for most meats and vegetables which we go by when planning recipes (planning may be the most important step, cooking comes in 2nd or 3rd). Our meals aren't complex masterpieces, usually based around 4-6 ingredients (excl. spices), so we just log each time, rarely use the recipe creator.
But I have sped up my logging time immensely by manually reducing my calorie 'allowance' by 100, and letting myself throw in any amount of veggies I feel like at supper (excl. the starchier ones) - they're so low in calories that would take a lot for me to eat enough to add up to a surplus. I like how Weight Watchers doesn't 'count' veggies, but I know that it's easy to go overboard on corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. So I do weigh those. It might help you stay sane too 0 -
My diary is open if you wanna have a look at how I eat. I follow IIFYM. I'm a foodie who loves to cook and prepare meals from scratch but I also eat fast food regularly.
Thanks, I will check out your diary. What is IIFYM? I saw it on another thread and gather that it is some sort of diet that I'm not familiar with. I asked then, but no one answered.
ditto here I follow IIFYM as well and my diary is open...and I love to cook and prepare lots of meals from scratch and cook all the time.
I eat prepackaged and fast food as well...you will notice a chocolate bar every night...
Anything with the servings in brackets is because it's in my recipes...each one logged...with individual ingrediants...0 -
Do you measure and log everything you eat?
- yes, where possible. I log everything and weigh everything I make at home, obviously that isn't possible if I eat out, but that's not very often for me, so I weigh and log everything 99% of the time.
How do you find the time, or the will? Does it not drive you crazy?
- I thought it would be such a pain at first, but I don't really even notice it any more. I have my scales in my kitchen and MFP on my phone, so as I add things to my plate or prepare ingredients I just pop the weight onto the app. It doesn't drive me crazy because it's working. I'm in control of my weight loss and know that logging is how I've gotten results and will continue to get results.
At what point do you plan to stop, or is your plan to measure everything for the rest of your life?
- I've still got a lot to lose so this is something I won't have to deal with for a while, but no, I don't plan to log for the rest of my life. I'm getting an education about portion sizing through using MFP and logging everything and my eating habits have already changed. I plan to log until my goal, continue logging until I find my maintenance level, and then taper off - I'll see how it goes when I get there I guess.
What type of diet do you eat?
- I'm Vegetarian (not for weightloss - I've been one for years). I'm not following any kind of diet 'plan' I just eat what I want in amounts that fit into my calorie goal - that's what's made this sustainable.
How many ingredients in the average meal?
- it's varies. One night I might have half a pizza from a packet and some bits of salad, another I might make a dish with a lot of different ingredients. If I'm making something from a recipe logging is so easy because I'm weighing out the ingredients to follow the recipe anyway (I'm not in US so I don't use recipes with cups etc). Either way I don't think it makes much of a difference with logging - if you spend 10mins chopping and preparing things, what's an extra minute to weigh them? I don't bother logging things like spices because they don't affect anything anyway (in my opinion at least)
How many raw ingredients that do not contain a label?
- a lot. I eat of lot of veg and home-grown produce. It's all in the database so I don't think it's any different to log than packaged things.0 -
IIFYM = If It Fits Your Macros
People who use this will figure out a percentage or grammage of protein, carbs and fat and calories they wish to consume per day and do their best to adhere. Sometimes the protein may be a minimum as against a bull's eye target, etc. If you do a search there'll be lots of reading material on MFP I'm sure and maybe even a group or two.
I do not weigh items I feel to have predetermined serving sized such as bacon (slice), egg (1 egg), slice of bread, cheese, and a few others I can't think of right this second. Like many said I do not use my scale at a restaurant. I've also been getting into the salad bar at work and I do not weigh that and have to estimate the calories. I do not weigh freely pouring liquids such as oil and milk - I use measuring cups and spoons for those. Also if I'm adding one onion to two bags of beans that'll be cooked with oil, I may not weigh the onion but rather accept the "bad" entries such as "small" or "medium" onion, as its contribution to the total calorie count would be more or less infinitesimal.
Weighing while cooking. I use the phone app (do you use it?) and MFP's recipe function. Like many said you can have multiple ingredients in one container and weigh them all at once by hitting Tare after adding each ingredient. If I'm scooping some out of a wide mouth container I will often Tare the whole container and scoop out some, then the negative reading is how much I've taken. I also usually allow the scale to timeout rather than turn it off. This little change by itself has made the process that much more bearable.
Oh one thing I forgot I could do was change the units on the scale. I used to do math instead lol. I don't put my scale away but rather have it sitting on the counter top. Almost hard to not weigh items, and it makes following recipes simpler. Half a six oz bag of Spinach?! Okay!!0 -
I weigh everything. I make pretty involved meals, too. It doesn't take a long time at all. It DOES take a little organization, though. It might seem like a PITA if you're a disorganized mess in the kitchen. But frankly if you're preparing meals with a lot of ingredients, if you're any good at it at all you've learned the value of pre-planning all your prep work. And you measure and jot down notes as you prep.
My dinner tonight:
Clean and prep the mushrooms. Takes 2 minutes. Weigh and note: < 10 seconds.
Trim and prep the zucchini. Takes 30 seconds. Weigh and note: < 10 seconds.
Clean and prep the peppers. Takes 1 minute. Weigh and note: < 10 seconds.
Peel, clean and prep the onions. Takes 3 minutes. Weigh and note: < 10 seconds.
Clean and prep the eggplant. Takes 30 seconds. Weigh and note: < 10 seconds.
De-stem the spinach: Takes 4 minutes (I really freakin' hate stems). Weigh and note: <10 seconds
Put vegetables in bowl, put bowl on scale, tare. Add oil. Note: takes < 10 seconds.
So the veggie prep for my dinner took 6 minutes if you don't count the perhaps overly complicated route I take with the spinach; 10 minutes if you do count it. Time I would have spent weighing or not.
Weighing and noting everything down took maybe as much as about 1 minute of my life. BFD.
Meat: I trim, weigh, wrap, and label meat portions (like chicken breasts or pork chops or steaks) the minute I get home from the grocery store. So everything is pre-weighed and ready to go when I'm cooking. The weighing part of that is again, only seconds, but for individual meals it's a non-issue.
I don't see how people say weighing is difficult. I'd encourage you to ask yourself seriously why you're mentally making such a federal case out of it, because realistically it's simply not a big deal at all.
Is there any chance that part of you really just desperately wants to avoid being truly honest with yourself about the actual volume of what you're eating, and possibly have to take responsibility for cutting back?0
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