Weighing and measuring food.
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cbunbaker
Posts: 29 Member
I have not had much luck cutting back on my food. I need to lose 40 lbs. for my health. I read an article about using a scale to weigh and measure my food, but I don't know the amts. I need to have to lose weight. I thought that by entering my food on the food tracker and staying within the calories it said I needed to eat would work, but it hasn't. So, could someone give me some ideas on how much food I should be consuming by weight of the food, or is it just a waste of time?
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The nutrition labels for all packaged foods will show how much a serving weighs. Weigh it out, then log it in MFP. Eat the amount of calories MFP gives you plus some of your exercise calories, then look at how you did after 4-6 weeks to see if anything else needs changed.0
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Thank you Malibu927. I didn't think about it that way. The only way for me to exercise is to walk, but with the cold weather now, I guess I will just have to bundle up. Does walking outside give a person a better chance of getting sick?0
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What you need to do is weight your food before you log. So say you're planning on some pasta. Check the serving size and calorie amount (say you've weight 20g dry pasta) then you add that to your food diary.
So the "amount" is set by you. As a rule of thumb, try to follow the eat well plate - half your plate covered in leafy greens and some vegetables, 1/4 of carbs and 1/4 protein (or a deck card size). I'd keep fats to a minimum if you're not following keto/atkins.
You could also try something like this if you'd like to train portion size. I use a smaller plate and follow that pattern:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Portion-Plate-Colour-MELAMINE/dp/B00EZ0GE1A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449444110&sr=8-2&keywords=eat+well+plate
There's also this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meal-Measure-Portion-Control-Plate/dp/B004Z0SDXC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1449444110&sr=8-6&keywords=eat+well+plate0 -
I bought a food scale from Wal-Mart, made by Mainstay. I just tested it by putting a 1/2 cup of water in the bowl. It weighed 4 oz., so I guess that is accurate enough? Can't wait to get started. Hope this helps me. Thanks everyone for your tips! Keep them coming. I need all the motivation I can get.0
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First sentence is correct. But studies are showing that cold viruses and the flu virus are transmitted more easily in cold weather. Of course, going for a walk in cold weather still won't make you sick. Sick people still have to be around.0 -
I bought a food scale from Wal-Mart, made by Mainstay. I just tested it by putting a 1/2 cup of water in the bowl. It weighed 4 oz., so I guess that is accurate enough? Can't wait to get started. Hope this helps me. Thanks everyone for your tips! Keep them coming. I need all the motivation I can get.
Yes, water weighs the same in ounces as its volume so your scale is accurate. Everything else will weigh differently, like 4oz in a measuring cup does not give you 4 oz by weight. Use weight for everything solid and semi solid (like peanut butter, mayo, etc) and use measuring cups only for liquid.
As far as how much, you will learn as you go but I have found that checking serving sizes on the package is a great way to start. You will figure out what works for you as you do it more. I generally stick to 2 oz (56 grams) of meat for a sandwich and 4-6 oz of meat for a dinner entree. Fruit depends on what it is. I will weigh and eat an entire apple (weigh it, eat it, and subtract the weight of the core you did not eat) but I will weigh out 100 grams of things like blueberries or strawberries. My Greek yogurt is 112 g (4 oz) because I buy it by the quart rather than single serve packages.
Perhaps start out by pre-planning your day and work with what MFP says. I enter things that have a set serving size (like a large egg or a slice of bread), then I start entering the things I have discretion over. I see how many calories I have left and know if I can put 2 or 3 teaspoons of butter on my veggies or if I can add a slice of cheese to my sandwich.
You are on the right track, you just have to get used to weighing your food and figuring out how it works with your calorie and macro allowances.0 -
Good luck! If you keep your food really simple at first, you can get the hang of this. For instance, it's easier to keep track of a piece of beef by weight than a complicated dish like lasagna, unless you buy it already made and the package tells you how many "servings" it's supposed to be and how many calories are in each serving. It gets easier after you've done it for a while and get some standard dishes down, the kind of thing you regularly eat.0
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Thank you earlnabby!!!!! I did not know about the different weights. I assumed 4 oz. was 4 oz. whether I weighed the food in a 1/2 cup measure or by scale. That is good info, I will follow it. I know it is going to be aggravating weighing everything, but if that is the key to helping me lose the weight, then I will make myself do it.0
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Thank you Wendy. I know hubby is going to laugh at me when he sees me weighing everything, but I will remind him that he has been after me to lose this weight, so don't laugh, especially if I can see results.
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Thank you earlnabby!!!!! I did not know about the different weights. I assumed 4 oz. was 4 oz. whether I weighed the food in a 1/2 cup measure or by scale. That is good info, I will follow it. I know it is going to be aggravating weighing everything, but if that is the key to helping me lose the weight, then I will make myself do it.
Once you get the hang of it, it's not so frustrating.0 -
Thank you earlnabby!!!!! I did not know about the different weights. I assumed 4 oz. was 4 oz. whether I weighed the food in a 1/2 cup measure or by scale. That is good info, I will follow it. I know it is going to be aggravating weighing everything, but if that is the key to helping me lose the weight, then I will make myself do it.
I can be almost as quick as dishing up a meal. You need to put your food on a plate, right? Put the plate on the scale, hit the "tare" button. Put your meat or whatever on the plate, note the weight, and hit the "tare" again. Do this with your entire meal. Just don't forget to write down and later log the weights.0 -
earlnabby, thank you for that tip. I have a kitchen scale. Yes, that would be even easier. I'll try that tomorrow. I measured my supper with the little scale. I was really surprised at the amt. of food I put on my plate, versus just filling my plate without thinking of just how much I was eating.
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earlnabby, thank you for that tip. I have a kitchen scale. Yes, that would be even easier. I'll try that tomorrow. I measured my supper with the little scale. I was really surprised at the amt. of food I put on my plate, versus just filling my plate without thinking of just how much I was eating.
That is the best thing about weighing your food. You start to realize exactly what a portion looks like. If you consistently do it at home, you can become more confident when you are eating someplace where you don't have a scale, like a dinner at the parents or in-laws.
Good luck. You are on the right track.0 -
This is a really good thread discussing weighing with more good tips: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale/p10
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Since it sounds like you cook for a household, you might like this site: www.eatthismuch.com. You can punch in the total calories you want (double that for two of you, or more if your husband eats more), and it will spit back recipes for the whole day, complete with pictures, calorie information, and even a shopping list. If one of the suggestions doesn't float your boat, hit "regenerate" and it will try again. You can tell it things you like and don't like, such as whole categories of food or even specific ingredients. The recipes look pretty straightforward and quick, and you can even set a price range--though the program warns you that if you set the price range too low, you'll get an awful lot of bean suggestions. Anyway, it might be a nice break from having to weigh everything every day.
You're right on target with the observation about learning how big a portion looks like. I used to pile my plate high and wide! My stomach started shrinking right away when I came here, so after only a few weeks, half of a meal that used to seem normal feels like a full meal to me today. I used to wonder why my friends were always taking leftover trays home from restaurants!0 -
WendyLaubach wrote: »
You're right on target with the observation about learning how big a portion looks like. I used to pile my plate high and wide! My stomach started shrinking right away when I came here, so after only a few weeks, half of a meal that used to seem normal feels like a full meal to me today. I used to wonder why my friends were always taking leftover trays home from restaurants!
Like those "Family Size" packages of frozen lasagna? Family? That used to be enough for a family of one to have a meal and a few leftovers.
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For my supper last nite, we had stovetop stuffing, Heinz chicken gravy, Del Monte sweet peas, and venison cube steak. Got my scale, and checked the serving sizes of each of the foods, then weighed out all my portions, and I was surprised it was not a very skimpy plate of food at all. I ate everything, and I felt satisfied, not stuffed. Later on, I felt hungry, so I ate a small apple, and I was fine. Being conscious of my portions now, with the help of the scale, and for the helpful suggestions of all the good people here, I feel good about doing it this way. Kinda gives me more incentive. For breakfast I have a protein shake made with Myology vanilla, almond milk, a frozen banana, Fage greek yogurt, and one tbsp. chia seeds, and that keeps me full for a long time. Can't wait to see if this is going to work.0
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Weighing is a pain and confusing when you first start out, but after a while it becomes easier. Especially if you eat a lot of the same foods. After doing it for three years, I've gotten good at guesstimating by eye what a portion size is, but I still break out the scale to double check myself and make sure I'm on track.
You can use the recipe builder here to input a recipe and see what it comes out to. If it doesn't give you a serving amount, weigh the final product and enter it by ounces, as in one ounce is a serving. It's really not, but then you can weigh out however much you want and enter that number of ounces as servings, and it'll calculate it for you.0 -
Today I walked 3 miles in an hour. Thought that was pretty good since I haven't walked in over 6 months. I am going to try to walk at least 4 days a week. Walking and making that darn food scale my bff is going to help.0
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