No food scales

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selina884
selina884 Posts: 826 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone here used IIFYM and achieved their goals without every owning food scales?

Anyone still losing with no food scales?

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  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    How would you be sure if something fit your macros, if you're not accurate with your calories? Then you're guessing....

    yep guessing.
    That's what I am asking people.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
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    I think it's possible, but having accurate numbers makes weight loss a lot more achievable. Its like using your bank card, spending all day, without knowing how much you have in your bank account. If you know the numbers first, you know exactly how much you can afford to spend.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I think it's possible, but having accurate numbers makes weight loss a lot more achievable. Its like using your bank card, spending all day, without knowing how much you have in your bank account. If you know the numbers first, you know exactly how much you can afford to spend.

    yeah absolutely agree and theres no argument here.
    Im just seeing who did it by guesstimating.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
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    I've lost 12 lbs in 10 weeks. I don't really follow IIFYM, but I do generally hit the macros MFP set for me. I haven't ever used a food scale up until yesterday. I bought one out of curiosity, and while I like it because I'm a numbers gal, I've found that for some things I was eating more than I thought (packaged items that weighed more than what 1 serving should be), but there are other items, for instance, raw cauliflower, for which I had been overestimating calories without the scale. So for me it might all average out anyway. If you're trying to hit specific macro levels, I guess a food scale would at least tell you if you're recording the food amounts accurately or not. But you would still need to be sure the macros are entered correctly in the database.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    my scales died last night... i almost cried as i was having rice for tea :laugh:
  • brisingr86
    brisingr86 Posts: 1,789 Member
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    When I started, I didn't have a food scale and was still able to lose. I think it's probably easier when you have more to lose so you may be able to target a larger deficit and have a bit more wiggle room to guesstimate and still be at a deficit and losing. I think as you get closer to goal and weight loss becomes more difficult, the guesstimates may not work as well and you may need to improve precision with a food scale. I do have one, but I'm not religious in its use and I've gotten lax in logging, so this is mostly speculation.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    yes people lose weight all the time without using a food scale...

    even following IIFYM...

    I own food scales and find it easier to be accurate and prefer the accuracy to the 5mins in my week I might lose by using a food scale.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    When I first started on MFP I knew nothing of food scales, but I was losing pretty steadily. I started reading in the forums about how helpful they are to improve accuracy and that whenever someone hits an unexplained plateau that is always the first advice given to make sure you aren't eating more than you think. I never really did hit one of those unexplained plateaus (several plateaus but always very easy to see why - holidays or vacation or not exercising as much), so I never invested in one. I lost the weight I set out to lose in a reasonable time frame for me, (about a year) and am now maintaining without using one.

    I probably could have lost faster, or maybe eaten more as I always tried to have a buffer on my calorie goal to account for inaccuracies. I always advise using one to people starting out as I think they are tremendously helpful, I just never ended up getting one and am maintaining fine without.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited September 2016
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    Something that has crossed my mind more and more recently is those old school body builders seemed to do a pretty good job of repeated cycles of gaining and cutting (yep, I know many most were juicing but there were and still are some natural) and they:
    • Didn't have MFP
    • Probably didn't have decent food labeling for any packaged stuff they ate
    • Probably did little weighing of their food

    What I assume most did, was follow the bro-science concept of small frequent meals with carbs centered around w/os and lots of protein (therefore keep carbs and fats relatively low when cutting).

    I doubt they followed IIFYM but it is likely that if we had the opportunity to review a typical bulk and cut diet it would fit reasonably well with IIFYM guidance (I suspect that IIFYM is a kind of reverse engineered BB diet).

    Inmates often manage spectacular transformations on prison diets (and what they can purchase), hard work outs, and plenty of rest. No tech, little labelled foods, and I guess all the scales are being used to weigh out 8 balls.

    TLDNR version: IIFYM (and MFP) requires a close level of monitoring but people have been building muscle and losing fat for decades without these tools.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    selina884 wrote: »
    Anyone here used IIFYM and achieved their goals without every owning food scales?

    Anyone still losing with no food scales?

    My dh lost 30 lbs or so and is maintaining without logging, counting calories, weighing food, exercising. He just managed to eat less. I lost about 28 lbs but had to use more tools to do it including a food scale at times.
    So it is possible to lose weight without a food scale. Are you a person who can manage that? Maybe, maybe not.
    If you are not losing at the rate you want a food scale is a good tool to improve your accuracy which is helpful for losing.
  • 6502programmer
    6502programmer Posts: 515 Member
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    If your question is, "Can I lose weight following IIFYM principles without a food scale," then the answer is yes. Full stop.

    If your question is, "Should I endeavor to follow the IIFYM principles and lose weight without a food scale," then the answer is "it depends."

    Early on, when you're at a higher deficit, it's easier to account for errors in estimating. Shooting for -1000 and coming in at -850 will still yield a fairly significant loss. Shooting for -250 and coming in at -100 is still a deficit, but even though the amount of the error is the same, the percentage is much more significant. That and most people suck HARD at estimating, and given "judgement calls", will typically opt in the side that fits them at that moment. "Was that 1.5 ounces or 1 ounce of cheese?" That's a 55 calorie question. 1.0 tbsp or 1.25 tbsp of olive oil? That's a 30 calorie swing. When you're aiming for smaller deficits, it's tougher to guesstimate.

    tl;dr: do what you want, but more people are more successful with a scale than without.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    6502programmer wrote: »
    If your question is, "Can I lose weight following IIFYM principles without a food scale," then the answer is yes. Full stop.

    If your question is, "Should I endeavor to follow the IIFYM principles and lose weight without a food scale," then the answer is "it depends."

    Early on, when you're at a higher deficit, it's easier to account for errors in estimating. Shooting for -1000 and coming in at -850 will still yield a fairly significant loss. Shooting for -250 and coming in at -100 is still a deficit, but even though the amount of the error is the same, the percentage is much more significant. That and most people suck HARD at estimating, and given "judgement calls", will typically opt in the side that fits them at that moment. "Was that 1.5 ounces or 1 ounce of cheese?" That's a 55 calorie question. 1.0 tbsp or 1.25 tbsp of olive oil? That's a 30 calorie swing. When you're aiming for smaller deficits, it's tougher to guesstimate.

    tl;dr: do what you want, but more people are more successful with a scale than without.

    No those are not my questions. I am not talking between the lines.
    I am asking about individual experiences.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    my scales died last night... i almost cried as i was having rice for tea :laugh:

    have you bought another set?
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    lightenup2016 wrote: »
    I've lost 12 lbs in 10 weeks. I don't really follow IIFYM, but I do generally hit the macros MFP set for me. I haven't ever used a food scale up until yesterday. I bought one out of curiosity, and while I like it because I'm a numbers gal, I've found that for some things I was eating more than I thought (packaged items that weighed more than what 1 serving should be), but there are other items, for instance, raw cauliflower, for which I had been overestimating calories without the scale. So for me it might all average out anyway. If you're trying to hit specific macro levels, I guess a food scale would at least tell you if you're recording the food amounts accurately or not. But you would still need to be sure the macros are entered correctly in the database.

    I have a food scale and I measure ingredients it when Im making things like Pizza dough but usually Im too lazy.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    selina884 wrote: »
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I think it's possible, but having accurate numbers makes weight loss a lot more achievable. Its like using your bank card, spending all day, without knowing how much you have in your bank account. If you know the numbers first, you know exactly how much you can afford to spend.

    yeah absolutely agree and theres no argument here.
    Im just seeing who did it by guesstimating.

    Hi mate - yeah I don't use scales. Most things you can scan and then easier. I have lost a lot. Way to do it is balance it out - I don't log to the gram what rice I have but then I don't log every step or the 10 mins walk to and from the gym so it works. My defecits are normally pretty decent as well so not just scraping through ;)

    ello mate.
    Yeah same, I tend to overestimate my calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    selina884 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    my scales died last night... i almost cried as i was having rice for tea :laugh:

    have you bought another set?

    yep!
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    brisingr86 wrote: »
    When I started, I didn't have a food scale and was still able to lose. I think it's probably easier when you have more to lose so you may be able to target a larger deficit and have a bit more wiggle room to guesstimate and still be at a deficit and losing. I think as you get closer to goal and weight loss becomes more difficult, the guesstimates may not work as well and you may need to improve precision with a food scale. I do have one, but I'm not religious in its use and I've gotten lax in logging, so this is mostly speculation.

    Im guessing overtime people can eyeball their measurements after years of accurately measuring. Again speculation too.

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