weigh & measure out of the house?
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I eyeball or find an equivalent in the database. I don't eat out much though... but by now I'm pretty good at estimating, and I don't typically eat things with sauces etc (I'm horrible at estimating those).0
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thegreatmd wrote: »Yeah, the issue I'm having with eyeballing/estimating is that I'm pretty social, so I'm eating out (or with friends) 6ish times/week... Also, due to life circumstances, I'm not in control of the kitchen where I live, nor the meals that are served. I was thinking if I measure accurately, then maybe it would compensate for not knowing ingredients exactly?
Just throwing around ideas...
As others have said, weighing your food doesn't do much good if you don't know what the ingredients are. A friend of mine works in a restaurant where they grill chicken breasts in advance and they sit in a hot pan of butter to keep them moist. That's just one of a gazillion ways restaurants pump a great deal of calories in what people consider to be low calorie food. It's great to be social, but does it have to be eating out??? If you can't control your calories in, you're never going to get a handle on losing weight.0 -
the way I see it:
Do you plan to use a scale/cups every time you eat out with friends for the rest of your life?
If not, you're going to have to learn how to estimate eventually.0 -
jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
I do weigh items I purchase at work. Some things are fairly generic like French fries or a burger bun or a grilled chicken breast. Other items have their nutritional info given by weight, so that can be helpful. I tend to use my body to cover the scale when I weigh at my desk, but ultimately this is my journey and if something simple like weighing food will help me get and stay there, I'm doing it as often as I want to
No, I probably wouldn't weigh food in somebody's house, especially if it weirds them out in the slightest!
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I have one at work that I'll take to Whole Foods with me to weigh the salad bar chicken (or whatever else I'm having). Or if I don't have it with me, I'll ask the guys behind the prepared foods counter to weigh it for me.
I thought I'd feel self conscious about it but, really, no one gave a damn. And it helps me stay on track.0 -
I have one at work that I'll take to Whole Foods with me to weigh the salad bar chicken (or whatever else I'm having). Or if I don't have it with me, I'll ask the guys behind the prepared foods counter to weigh it for me.
I thought I'd feel self conscious about it but, really, no one gave a damn. And it helps me stay on track.
People are more health conscious at Whole Foods. It might be a different experience at Burger King.0 -
I've gotten way more ridicule from my coworker (who, btw, asked me to weigh something for her the other day) than I've ever gotten when I asked someone in a public restaurant to weigh something for me.0
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I've gotten way more ridicule from my coworker (who, btw, asked me to weigh something for her the other day) than I've ever gotten when I asked someone in a public restaurant to weigh something for me.
Yup, my food scale at work comes in handy when we want to know the weight of small items. No guess work, nothing. Just slap it on and done
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jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
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^^ I see this catch!0
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jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.0 -
For me, it's less an issue of what others will think than it is, "How obsessive do I want to be?" Weighing food at home is where I draw the line. I'm trying to stop even that.
If others want to weigh food in restaurants and are cool with that, I really think they should do that and not give a hoot what the ding-dongs at Burger King may or may not think because...who cares.0 -
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
you don't need my approval to do anything, you can bring your food scale with you and weigh every single thing you eat 100% of the time, and it has absolutely no bearing on me, or my progress.
I am saying that if you are weighing chicken and the cook put oil, butter, etc, etc on it, then your logging is still going to be inaccurate even if you do have the correct weight of the food you weighed.
I have no idea what others have said to you, and that is pretty much meaningless since you are quoting me.
My point is weigh and be accurate when you can, which is about 75-85% of the time and don't worry about being 100% accurate the other 15-25% of the time.
but if you want to be OCD about it and try to weigh everything, knock yourself out. I am just trying to point out a more sane way of approaching things.0 -
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
You can do whatever you want, getting snippy online with someone won't help. It's like you are seeking everyones approval for weighing your food out, the reality is no one cares if you yourself weigh your food everytime you go out to eat. I try to make the healthiest food choice possible when I go out to eat, this usually means a salad of some type and if you stay away from a lot of cheese and dressing you can eat a crap ton of lean protein,veggies and lettuce without going over....This just seems simpler to me then getting an extra plate to tare it, then picking every piece of food off and weighing it piece by piece. Then guessing if it was cooked in canola oil, olive oil, butter, etc.
But thats just me YOU are free to do whatever YOU want. No one here is judging you so maybe you can step down of your soapbox.
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No one said that. What people have said is that weighing a mass of indeterminate ingredients probably isn't helpful and almost certainly isn't worth the hassle of whatever incremental accuracy might be gained above just estimating based on similar dishes via a web search. If you think it's worth doing, do it.
So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
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If that is what will work for you - go ahead and do it. I have these great fold flat silicone cups that I use for foods so I fill up a quarter cup, 1/2 cup serving etc so if I'm having popcorn etc I know exactly that I am not cheating. They were from weight watchers. Eyeballing food on a daily basis can cause you never to use weight - I do agree I do it for the occasional meal out. If anyone questions you, you needn't answer but you can always say doctor's orders or some such. I started being very brutally honest on my consumption in the past week and lost five pounds - I even measure my coffee creamer, the teeny bit of cooking oil, etc. and a couple hundred calories stalled my weight loss efforts. I kept telling my doctor I was not over eating but given my age and metabolism there isn't a lot of leeway between maintenance calories and staying below to lose. My doctor said she just got back from a conference on obesity/weight loss and said the calorie restriction is the key component and stepping up the exercise is a small variable - ymmv.
FYI I did go to my lowest allowable level, minimal carbs, avoid gluten and sugars, mostly organic foods, only grass fed beef and chicken and a supplement regimen. Food is more expensive BUT portion sizes are smaller so not more money and not buying junk foods so grocery bill is less.0 -
Bottom line is a person needs to do whatever they need to do to continue weight loss. If you eat out a lot and you've not been losing at the pace you want then by all means bring a food scale with you and %@$* what other people think. The most important thing is keeping your weight loss pace going. I eat at Chipotle a lot and things like cheese and sour cream can add up really quickly if the server simply puts on too much so I ask for those items to be put into little cups so I can add them myself. I also do that with other things at different restaurants depending upon the item I order. However you choose to control high calorie items....more power to you.0
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
Yeah I don't see how this is that different from weighing fast food or weighing or accepting the nutritional info on a box dinner. You weren't there when they prepared those, you technically don't know what all is in it. The fast food teenager might have added a little here and a little there to the food but we can still weigh the chicken strips, fries, etc according to the website's stated calories per unit mass
*shrug*. The suggestion to weigh restaurant food if you really feel the need to is in the Calorie Counting 101 guide anyway, so there :bigsmile:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
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So I should just chuck it when I go out to eat and eat the meal despite it taking me over calories just because I don't know how the cooks cooked the food? Does this mean I have your approval to eat whatever I want in the amounts I want when I go out to eat because I don't know what's in my meal (and none of that finger-wagging at me for not weighing/measuring all my food)?jeepinshawn wrote: »I carry a pocket scale with me when I go out to eat. I have no qualms about using it. I've been told by a few MFPers that I have disordered eating because of it, but these same people also tout weigh and measure all food. Apparently, you're only supposed to do that in the privacy of your own home.
It's up to you if you want to use one in public. If you don't, you can go by eating half of what is served to you or only take half of what you'd usually take. For me, unless it's a food I'm wanting, I'll just not eat.
I don't think that is anything to be ashamed of, but it isn't really all that practical. At home you know the ingredients, how they were cooked,etc. when you are out and about you don't know what is in the sauce, how it was cooked etc. so the weight doesn't mean quite as much.
It's not any more impractical than doing it at home. Only problem I have is getting enough light to shine on the digital screen so I can read it. No, I don't know how things were cooked (unless I know someone who works in the kitchen and can ask), but that doesn't nullify the nutrition listed on the website. It's a better guess using the nutritional info which usually has a weight in grams, than going by eating half and taking the rest home.
You're going along the same route as the MFPers who say I have disordered eating. They want me to weigh and measure everything I eat and when I do, I have disordered eating, but when I don't, I'm eating more than I think.
you are missing the point…since you don't know the ingredients said restaurant uses your logging is going to be inaccurate anyway, so brining a food scale out to dinner is counter productive and not necessary.
Yeah I don't see how this is that different from weighing fast food or weighing or accepting the nutritional info on a box dinner. You weren't there when they prepared those, you technically don't know what all is in it. The fast food teenager might have added a little here and a little there to the food but we can still weigh the chicken strips, fries, etc according to the website's stated calories per unit mass
*shrug*. The suggestion to weigh restaurant food if you really feel the need to is in the Calorie Counting 101 guide anyway, so there :bigsmile:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
those of us commentating on eating out at a "restaurant" are referring to non chains where they actually use different ingredients to build their meals. So yea, you can use the mcdonalds web site entry and weigh it, or you can just log the mcdonald entry as one cheeseburger < at the end of the day we are talking about an approximate 5% difference between using one cheeseburger and weighing said cheeseburger to get the exact weight….
However, in a restaurant if you weight it as 8 ounce filet, but they prepared it in x amount of butter, sauce, etc, you are still going to be off.
Again, to each their own…some of us are just saying that you don't need to be 100% strict all the time, and this will make thins easier in the long run, rather then worrying about accurately measuring every last bit of food.
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