Eating under 1200 calories!
Ajocal18
Posts: 167 Member
OK so this is a little of a bait and switch but I regularly "eat under" my calorie goal. I don't weigh my food , I know its the most accurate method but it seems so tedious to me. O have decided to throw the scale out of the window and consistently guesstimate my calories leaving 200- 500 wiggle room. Do you think this is a good method or should I just suck it up and start weighing my food?
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Replies
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Terrible idea.0
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Start weighing it.
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Weighing really isn't that tedious. Putting your food in a bowl/on a plate anyway? Set the plate/bowl on the scale, turn the scale on, and plop the food onto it. One extra step.
Taking a spoonful out of the Nutella jar? Open jar, set on scale, turn on scale, spoon out the desired amount and the negative amount is your serving.0 -
Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao0
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I have my scale out in the open in my kitchen at all times so it's easily accessible. It isn't as tedious as it seems.0
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I have some days I have aten under but its always made up on the weekends.I try so hard to eat 1200 calories maybe more.0
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Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.0 -
I don't really think its that big of a deal. As long as you are being healthy, getting in your nutrients, and not starving, you should be fine. Obviously too low is a problem, but I wouldnt worry. Also if you look at the long-range of your eating patterns, and you do things like eat more on some days (like weekends) and you average out well, the specific days aren't such a big deal.0
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
I was the same ... I actually ended up getting to have more PB (or salad dressing or mayo) than my estimates when I started weighing. And I agree that it's not too tedious, especially once you're in the habit. On an amusing side-note, my 3 year old now insists I "weigh" his food as well!
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
Well I do two (heaping tablespoons) because I dip my celery in it every morning so I just know I must be over0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
Well I do two (heaping tablespoons) because I dip my celery in it every morning so I just know I must be over
Trust me, I eat a lot of PB at once, too. Hence the extra 5 grams, lol. It really hasn't been that bad and I don't feel like I'm missing out. I also eat PB nearly every day.0 -
Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Maybe it doesn't matter now indeed
But the closer to you goal weight the tighter your calorie logging have to be when you want to lose weight
It goes slower your deficit gets smaller as you lose more weight.
( when you loss weight you need less and less calories)
The sooner you get into the habit of weighing food and learning portion control
The longer you practice moderation and portion control the bigger your chance that you dont gain back. Habits need some time to get into people.
So your choice, at one point you have to when you want to reach your goal. There are not many people who can guesstimate their portions that good.
But yes some can, kudos for them
But i see those couple of seconds more to do my weighing foods not as a waste of time. It all comes with the package so to say. I want to lose weight and hope in some months to start to go maintaining so i have to weigh my food. No biggie
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Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
I was the same ... I actually ended up getting to have more PB (or salad dressing or mayo) than my estimates when I started weighing. And I agree that it's not too tedious, especially once you're in the habit. On an amusing side-note, my 3 year old now insists I "weigh" his food as well!
That's so cute!
OP, if you are not weighing your food how do you know you are "consistently eating under your calorie goal"? Guesstimating will not provide you any accuracy.
Maybe this is not that important to you, as you have been losing weight, but you asked whether you should be weighing or not.
As far as a serving size of PB - that depends on how much you want to eat. I measure out only a teaspoon of PB as MY serving size. It's pretty amazing how far that will stretch on a couple of celery sticks or a cracker or three. I don't need 2 TBSP of peanut butter to enjoy it.0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
I was the same ... I actually ended up getting to have more PB (or salad dressing or mayo) than my estimates when I started weighing. And I agree that it's not too tedious, especially once you're in the habit. On an amusing side-note, my 3 year old now insists I "weigh" his food as well!
It really is awesome when you realize you can actually have a bit more ranch dressing on your salad if you want it, or the extra few grams of PB that you had been missing out on. It's the little things in life!0 -
Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Weighing really isn't that tedious. Putting your food in a bowl/on a plate anyway? Set the plate/bowl on the scale, turn the scale on, and plop the food onto it. One extra step.
Taking a spoonful out of the Nutella jar? Open jar, set on scale, turn on scale, spoon out the desired amount and the negative amount is your serving.
Now that is BRILLIANT...thanks!0 -
Start weighing your food. You'll get to eat more and not do so much guessing. And then leave calories behind if you're satisfied, not as punishment for not weighing.
Some foods you get surprised and get more than you think. I just dished out a serving of Doritos. It was more than I thought I'd get. And it was about double what I would have grabbed by guessing. I'm also leaving behind 190 calories for the day because I'd be eating just to eat, and that's one habit I'm trying to break.0 -
If you have lost 20# in the last 2 months - I think that does make not weighing perfectly ok. Once you reach your goal weight and work on maintenance it may be harder because you will not have such a big area of wiggle room without the large deficit. But - MFP is just a tool - and if you are using it and it is working for you - then good job.0
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Weigh your food. You'll get used to a serving size of peanut butter. It's more than you think.0
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I've lost weight not calorie counting, and certainly not weighing food. I got to my goal weight, I maintained it until I fell pregnant years later, it was all pretty straightforward. If it works for you, it works for you.
I'm using mfp this time to get myself back on track with portion sizes and reminding my body how much I actually *need* to eat, but I don't plan on doing it forever.
I don't think, though, that you can really calorie count without weighing most things though, otherwise it's all just guesstimation and the numbers are fairly meaningless.0 -
I'd say weigh your food, but also that prepackaged food is my savior. Saves some time, but also I've found that weighing doesn't really take up much time anyway
Good luck!
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I would weigh it, at least the majority of it. It's going to get harder to lose weight the closer you get to your goal and you'll need to be able to tighten up your calories and be as accurate as possible to get all the way there (usually). It can't hurt to get into the habit sooner rather than later.0
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You don't have to weigh/measure your food forever.
Just do it for a while, until you can consistently get the same serving size,
or your guess about what something weighs agrees with what the scale says.
I went for months guessing about peanut butter servings (I have it pretty much
every morning for breakfast), and when I decided to get out a tablespoon and
measure, to my surprise I was right on! NSV for me.
Also, just today I picked up a scale at a yard sale and will start weighing just to
be sure that my estimates are close. I think I'll be surprised in a few places, for
good and bad. But what's worked for the first 80 lb will need to be tightened up
a bit for the last 30 lb.
.
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RaeBeeBaby wrote: »Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »Gahhh maybe I should start weighing but I don't know if I can face seeing an actual serving size of peanut butter!! SN I have lost 20lbs in the last two months not weighing that makes it OK right ???!!! OK now I'm making excuses just weigh your food Ashley lmao
Everyone talks about how tiny the actual serving of peanut butter is, but I have to say - it really wasn't as shocking as I thought it'd be. It was actually more than I expected. Sometimes I'll weigh out an extra 5 grams of peanut butter, which seems really substantial and only increases the calories by a bit.
I was the same ... I actually ended up getting to have more PB (or salad dressing or mayo) than my estimates when I started weighing. And I agree that it's not too tedious, especially once you're in the habit. On an amusing side-note, my 3 year old now insists I "weigh" his food as well!
That's so cute!
OP, if you are not weighing your food how do you know you are "consistently eating under your calorie goal"? Guesstimating will not provide you any accuracy.
Maybe this is not that important to you, as you have been losing weight, but you asked whether you should be weighing or not.
As far as a serving size of PB - that depends on how much you want to eat. I measure out only a teaspoon of PB as MY serving size. It's pretty amazing how far that will stretch on a couple of celery sticks or a cracker or three. I don't need 2 TBSP of peanut butter to enjoy it.
Well I don't know for sure that's why I leave a fee hundred calories wiggle room. I try to be as accurate as possible with everything but know as most people I will have human error0 -
Great advice! I will try a couple weeks being strict with foods I consistently eat to get a feel for it.You don't have to weigh/measure your food forever.
Just do it for a while, until you can consistently get the same serving size,
or your guess about what something weighs agrees with what the scale says.
I went for months guessing about peanut butter servings (I have it pretty much
every morning for breakfast), and when I decided to get out a tablespoon and
measure, to my surprise I was right on! NSV for me.
Also, just today I picked up a scale at a yard sale and will start weighing just to
be sure that my estimates are close. I think I'll be surprised in a few places, for
good and bad. But what's worked for the first 80 lb will need to be tightened up
a bit for the last 30 lb.
.0 -
I lost my first 30 lbs without weighing anything or even attempting to count calories. Then I got stuck and had to start weighing/counting to move forward. Go ahead and don't weigh or measure but understand that you msy have to start at some point and starting to figure out now how many calories you actually need will save you time figuring it out later when there is less room for error.0
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I've lost close to 5 lbs in the past two weeks simply because I started weighing every bit of food that I eat. It's worth the trouble, imo.0
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I just dont understand what is so hard about weighing your food. I have told people how I have lost 94lbs, and they just look at my like I am crazy/it is "too hard" to weight/measure food all the time.
It is a small price to pay to be successful.
I am sure if Dr. Oz recommended it, everyone would be all over it.0 -
dakotababy wrote: »I just dont understand what is so hard about weighing your food. I have told people how I have lost 94lbs, and they just look at my like I am crazy/it is "too hard" to weight/measure food all the time.
It is a small price to pay to be successful.
I am sure if Dr. Oz recommended it, everyone would be all over it.
+1000000000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well said.
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