Do I have to actually weigh my food?

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Replies

  • 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: 41,876 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: 27,889 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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