Do I have to actually weigh my food?

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Replies

  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited July 2016
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Mike02209 wrote: »
    I try to weigh/measure everything, just curious what people do to measure peanut butter without making a sticky mess. I have been estimating 2 tablespoons, but that is subject to error.

    Put the jar on the scale and scoop it out. I used to just weigh it going on whatever I was putting it on, but that wasn't accounting for what was left on the knife (and if you're like me, you lick the knife afterwards).

    This is what I do for a lot of things now. I have a Mainstays scale that does negative weight, so I put the package on the scale, tare it, then start removing product.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    truelygreat wrote: »
    I'm planning on losing we and i heard all i have to do is eat the calories that MFP gives me. I'm going to log my food in but do i have to actually weigh it?

    You don't have to weigh your food. I lost weight without weighing. But if you want to be accurate about your calories that is the best way.
  • lisalewis7588
    lisalewis7588 Posts: 76 Member
    I am pretty good at guesstimating, but I still weigh most things to make sure. I had a major stall a couple months ago and it was because I had gotten lazy and hadn't been weighing everything. I'm only on a half pound per week so I have to keep a pretty tight ship, and it's really easy to go over that if I don't weigh everything. I totally make it a game though, complete with patting my own back when I guess right :wink:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    truelygreat wrote: »
    I'm planning on losing we and i heard all i have to do is eat the calories that MFP gives me. I'm going to log my food in but do i have to actually weigh it?

    No, you don't have to weigh your food. However, I highly recommend it if you want to know how much you are eating so you stay within your calorie goals. ;)
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  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    Just weigh yourself, eat away, then weigh again. Subtract the difference. :#

    I have definitely had that experienced before....lots of times. :D
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    You could start off by not weighing, and if you feel you aren't losing the way you are supposed to you could then start implementing more accurate methods. Weighing is actually easier than spoons and cups (to me) because it does not generate extra dishes. All you need to do is put something on your plate and tare for the next thing.

    This^

    Some people are better at measuring than others. You may be eating a larger % of foods that are fairly accurate measured in cups.

    But as you get closer to goal you may find yourself struggling with "plateaus." Last time I lost weight (yo-yo here) I had a several week plateau. Hindsight is 20/20. That was just inaccurate logging on my part.

    Using a scale is not a big deal.
  • Jalexander33
    Jalexander33 Posts: 52 Member
    At the very least measure your food when possible. If you can weigh it that is even better. As others have said it's the best way to get the most accurate calorie counts for the foods you intake.

    I rarely weigh my food but I make up for it. I do Cardio 4/5 times a week on top of lifting weights 4 times a week w/ added short cardio after the lifting workout. Of course when I get to the point I am not shedding pounds off I will have to start weighing my food more.
  • Xo_healthylc
    Xo_healthylc Posts: 77 Member
    I am a horrible estimator. I have to weigh my food if not my cup of rice could easily be 3 cups lmao.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited July 2016
    I don't weigh, but I have to say you should at least measure for a while to learn what portion sizes look like.

    I overestimate...like if I think my strawberries are medium, I assume the database thinks they're large. If I remember eating 10 nuts, I assume and log 12. When I'm not sure of an item I am choosing from the database, I assume the worst...I figure nobody's fudging the numbers to make them higher.

    It has worked for me so far so I have no plans to change but if you find yourself not losing weight, then weighing and measuring is necessary.
  • Osiris275
    Osiris275 Posts: 228 Member
    Yes. Its time consuming and a pain but so worth it.
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Mike02209 wrote: »
    I try to weigh/measure everything, just curious what people do to measure peanut butter without making a sticky mess. I have been estimating 2 tablespoons, but that is subject to error.

    Put the jar on the scale and scoop it out. I used to just weigh it going on whatever I was putting it on, but that wasn't accounting for what was left on the knife (and if you're like me, you lick the knife afterwards).

    I use a small condiment container, and pre-portion my servings. I eat pb almost every day, so when I want some, it's ready to go. They make little dip cup servings, but they're hella expensive.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    You don't have to. You can start by trying to estimate portions. If you lose weight...great, you're doing it right and estimating pretty accurately. If you are not losing, get a scale because your eating more than you think.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 427 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    Mike02209 wrote: »
    I try to weigh/measure everything, just curious what people do to measure peanut butter without making a sticky mess. I have been estimating 2 tablespoons, but that is subject to error.

    weigh the entire peanut butter jar in grams and take out the amount you want and then subtract from the total weight..

    omg, how have i never thought of that!!!
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    edited July 2016
    It's fun, get with the program. It ain't heavy, it's my breakfast.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    truelygreat wrote: »
    I'm planning on losing we and i heard all i have to do is eat the calories that MFP gives me. I'm going to log my food in but do i have to actually weigh it?

    Do you have to? No...but let's say you're having some chicken...how are you going to accurately log your portion if you have no idea what your portion actually is?

    I have never gone to the lengths that many do of weighing out prepackaged things and whatnot...but yeah...how do you log your chicken breast if you don't actually know what your particular serving is. You log 4 ounces...how do you know you actually ate 4 ounces...I mean considering your average chicken breast is 8-10 ounces.

    Also, weighing out calorie dense items is a pretty good idea...when I started all this almost four years ago I just eyeballed most things...and for the most part I got away with it for awhile...but just as an example, I was logging 1 ounce of almonds for my afternoon snack...someone had told me it's about a handful...well, turns out a handful of almonds in my hand is a little over two ounces...so I was logging 1/2 of what I was actually eating...I was logging 160 calories and eating 220...that's how that works.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    When I first started here I knew nothing of weighing food for optimal accuracy. I started out estimating, and was losing, and after reading on these boards about how weighing helps improve the accuracy of logging I always said that if I hit a plateau that I would invest in a scale. I never really did, and reached my goal and am now in maintenance. So it's possible to be successful without weighing but I probably could have reached my goal faster if I had. I always recommend weighing to those just starting out, even though I never did!
  • brittalexmoore
    brittalexmoore Posts: 15 Member
    You don't have to, but it's supposed to be like insurance that you're eating the correct amounts because the volume of foods aren't consistent with calories, but weight is. I don't weigh my foods though, and I lose about 2lbs a week, as I should.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    truelygreat wrote: »
    I'm planning on losing we and i heard all i have to do is eat the calories that MFP gives me. I'm going to log my food in but do i have to actually weigh it?

    If you were planning to arrive at amount of food consumed by using cups, you might as well just use a digital scale, as this is faster, more accurate, and you don't have to wash cups.
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
    You don't: at first my calorie deficit was so drastic that a couple hundred calories didn't hinder my loss. Now I'm smaller and my maintenance calories are much less, so is the margin of error = very little wiggle room. NOW: I weigh and log nearly everything. It takes a few seconds at most.
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
    Weighing/measuring my foods definitely helps me to stay accountable. I've gotten to the point now that I can eyeball certain things (such as salad dressings), but others I continue to weigh or measure.

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