I hate measuring

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  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    You could make some meals ahead on a Sunday and weigh them all out that way you'll have your grab and go. If you want to be serious about losing weigh everything you eat. Not only will your logging be more accurate but you will get an idea of portion sizes and learn to appreciate it much more.
  • queen_of_disaster
    queen_of_disaster Posts: 61 Member
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    It becomes part of the process after a while... I know that it's one of the things that is necessary to keep me accountable, not to mention accurate, in my logging so I just do it. I gained weight because I ate too much and if I want to lose weight then I have to keep track of what I'm eating... That's just the way it's gotta be whether I like it or not.

    Plus... it really doesn't take that much effort? I mean, you do you, but the more accurate you are the easier it will be for you to reach your goal.
  • nesian_twin
    nesian_twin Posts: 198
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    Determination and consistency, thank you, I will definitely remember that. So far I've lost some weight but if or when I stop losing, if I plateau, I guess I will have to start weighing foods. Thanks everyone.
  • exstromn
    exstromn Posts: 176 Member
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    Did not like it at all at first bc time consuming and tedious not to mention feeling a bit obsessive. But now I am thankful for it, it has been the best tool for me to get honest about portions and to me is the best measure when cooking at home.
  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    There are some tricks you can do to speed things up. I've got one of those scales you can zero out with the plate and say a piece of bread on it (not bread for me for example only) and just add peanut butter for example till you hit the serving size. I do that one all the time you can zero again to add things like jelly or what not.
  • Laughter_Girl
    Laughter_Girl Posts: 2,226 Member
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    When I first joined MFP, I didn't bother weighing my food. I used my eyeballs to gage what I was eating. It finally occurred to me that I had been using the eyeballing method before, which led me to gain weight. :D I decided I wouldn't take anything to chance. I weigh and measure everything now and can't imagine eating w/out my food scale. I actually feel more in control using my food scale and measuring cups, and I plan to use them for the rest of my life. Nevertheless, if you feel in control and can lose weight w/out, do what works for you.

    Wishing you all the best!
  • nesian_twin
    nesian_twin Posts: 198
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    jt880 wrote: »
    There are some tricks you can do to speed things up. I've got one of those scales you can zero out with the plate and say a piece of bread on it (not bread for me for example only) and just add peanut butter for example till you hit the serving size. I do that one all the time you can zero again to add things like jelly or what not.

    Thank you jt880 very handy to know this

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Nope, I actually enjoy knowing I'm spot on on my calories, as it's all part of the process. If it works for you, not weighing great. Everyone finds their own rhythm.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    You can do it using measuring cups. I did. You just have to be sure you're measuring flat and not rounded cups. Then just use those instead of spoons etc. to move food into things when you cook.
  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    Flat doesn't always work for some foods steel cut oats comes to mind its usually way below the top on my measuring cup all the time this is why I go by weight and not the top of the cup.
  • runnrchic
    runnrchic Posts: 130 Member
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    jt880 wrote: »
    You could make some meals ahead on a Sunday and weigh them all out that way you'll have your grab and go. If you want to be serious about losing weigh everything you eat. Not only will your logging be more accurate but you will get an idea of portion sizes and learn to appreciate it much more.

    This is me! I have about 8-10 things that I make my "bowls" out of. I weigh everything and get total cals for each ingredient, then I divide it by 6 bowls or 7 depending on the total cals I want each bowl to have. So I have 600 cals brown rice, 300 cals of beans, 300 cals of veggies or whatever. Then I portion it out by eyeballing it. Since I only care about my monthly calorie averages that I track on a spreadsheet I will eat all those cals over the course of the month whether or not each bowl is accurate. I freeze them all in glass bowls to microwave them easily at work. I rotate between about 3 different made up bowls. I do the same with smoothies. Friend me if you want to see! My breakfast and lunches are usually very long lists that I copy over. I save them in "meals" by the date of when I made the batch.
  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    nesian_twin wrote: »
    jt880 wrote: »
    There are some tricks you can do to speed things up. I've got one of those scales you can zero out with the plate and say a piece of bread on it (not bread for me for example only) and just add peanut butter for example till you hit the serving size. I do that one all the time you can zero again to add things like jelly or what not.

    Thank you jt880 very handy to know this

    The only problem with this method is fighting the urge to lick the spoon or knife you are using at the time :)
  • shrez
    shrez Posts: 22 Member
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    tincanonastring wrote: »
    I have it on good authority that measuring hates you, too.

    Love it :)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Ah, ok. I'm sure it's not 100% accurate for every food. This method did work for me, though, in combination with a lot of activity. (50 lbs lost, goal weight maintained 4 years; working on losing 18 regained after injury.)
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    I agree with the person who said that weighing is easier than you might think. Put the bowl on the scale, hit "tare," and pour in your cereal (or whatever). Hit "tare" again and add something else. I weigh at home to make sure I'm not overestimating and then when I'm out I have a better idea what the serving size looks like. I like to guess at home, too. I will take what I think is a serving of almonds (or whatever) and throw it in that bowl to see how close I am to an actual serving. I'm getting pretty good. :)

    I have a friend who doesn't like to weigh or measure, either. Her "serving" of cereal is really three. No joke. Be careful with estimation! :):):)
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    jt880 wrote: »
    nesian_twin wrote: »
    jt880 wrote: »
    There are some tricks you can do to speed things up. I've got one of those scales you can zero out with the plate and say a piece of bread on it (not bread for me for example only) and just add peanut butter for example till you hit the serving size. I do that one all the time you can zero again to add things like jelly or what not.

    Thank you jt880 very handy to know this

    The only problem with this method is fighting the urge to lick the spoon or knife you are using at the time :)

    @jt880 - The solution to this is to place the jar on the scale, press tare, and then take your serving out. You are now free to lick the knife or spoon guilt free.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I always called people who weighed every morsel they ate obsessive! And now I'm doing it lol
    I am hopeless at eye balling portions and was eating way more than I thought! Plus I'm down to my last few lbs I have zero room for error.
  • Shanairah1991
    Shanairah1991 Posts: 152 Member
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    I lost my first 25lbs not counting calories or measuring, then it halted. For months. Then I started MFP and measuring EVERYTHING to the best of my ability (living with in-laws and sometimes they don't keep food separated for me.) And I've lost another 20lbs in the past 47 days. I just find it easier to stay accountable. 30 cals here and 30 cals there add up!
  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Ah, ok. I'm sure it's not 100% accurate for every food. This method did work for me, though, in combination with a lot of activity. (50 lbs lost, goal weight maintained 4 years; working on losing 18 regained after injury.)

    I'm not arguing against you on this I'm just telling others if you live and die by the goal line every day you might be eating more than you think. It could be putting you in a surplus depending on how close you are. Now if you have around 100 calories left at the end of the day it might not be a problem. Way to go on your loss and good luck on the new endeavors.
  • jt880
    jt880 Posts: 163 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    jt880 wrote: »
    nesian_twin wrote: »
    jt880 wrote: »
    There are some tricks you can do to speed things up. I've got one of those scales you can zero out with the plate and say a piece of bread on it (not bread for me for example only) and just add peanut butter for example till you hit the serving size. I do that one all the time you can zero again to add things like jelly or what not.

    Thank you jt880 very handy to know this

    The only problem with this method is fighting the urge to lick the spoon or knife you are using at the time :)

    @jt880 - The solution to this is to place the jar on the scale, press tare, and then take your serving out. You are now free to lick the knife or spoon guilt free.


    I like it!

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