Do I really need to weigh food?

For myself, I do. And yes, often times packaging is not accurate. Sometimes a piece of bread weighs a lot more than what is stated on package. So if I didn't I'd be eating a lot more calories if I did that on everything. But there are people who don't. Just know if you start having trouble losing, it could be because of being inaccurate.

I think that measuring out (I've done a ton of cooking and baking, so if it is a low calorie item like veggies, I tend to just eyeball it because I am familiar with both the volume based measurements and weight measurements) is close enough. Granted, I have a low enough calorie goal that an extra couple of calories are not going to make a huge difference. I also usually don't eat back a ton of my exercise calories. I used to weigh religiously, but I really only pull my scale out for certain high calorie items like nuts. If you are happy with your progress without weighing, than just keep doing that. If you stall or aren't at least measuring some way (i.e. with a measuring cup or following the package when it says 4 crackers is a serving), than I would vote for weighing. Especially when new and might be overestimating portion size.Good luck!

You don't HAVE to. If you want as close to accuracy in your calorie consumption, this is the way to do it. If you have a good amount of weight to lose, it won't matter in the beginning, but later it can..

However, my husband lost 65 pounds and has never logged one single calorie! He encouraged me to do it because I had trouble losing. For me I needed extra help and tools.

So it can be done, my own husband is a testament. I will add that he ate what dinners I fixed, but he was on his own from morning till dinner time. What he ate in those hours was on his own. So I take no credit.

It is a bit of a chore to begin with but weighing your food is probably the best way to accurately calculate the calories you're consuming. It's SO easy to over/under estimate if you measure things by eye.

LINIA wrote: »

If you are not going to weigh your food, there is a rule of thumb that isn't perfect but that can help---just assume that you are eating 20% above what you think you are eating.
Of course, if you are stalled and you have quite a bit of weight to lose (60+) then the more accurate you are the better off you'll be.
Good luck finding what works best for you and your lifestyle.

20% seems like a lot. Especially if you your target is 1,200 per day. If you are using packaging sizes, I bet you would be closer to 1-5% off. In the example of 1,200 per day, you could wind up eating ~950 a day, which would start getting close to eating disorder territory.

If you're losing weight as expected then no, you don't have to weigh your food. Weighing everything you eat becomes important when weight loss stalls, plateaus or you gain, but if everything is going along swimmingly, then save the scales for when/if they are needed.

As for weighing bread.. The info on my loaf of bread says 2 slices equals 83g, but in reality they are 101g, quest bars say 60g, but they usually weigh 65-66g. If i trusted the package info for everything i eat, i would be eating way more calories than i thought..

It's a very useful tool in knowing how many calories you're eating, which is very useful information in the process of losing weight. Think of it as a very odd game you play.

Lasmartchika wrote: »

When I began counting calories, I didn't weigh my food. Fortunately, I was pretty good at eyeballing my food and I was losing weight pretty well... until it got to a point that I stopped losing. That's when I decided to buy a food scale and that has helped me to continue losing pounds. Being as precise as possible is what helps. Although there are certain things that I still don't weigh, like my slices of bread or tortillas, but at the moment that hasn't stopped my progress. If my progress stalls, then I'll get even more precise and weigh what I haven't weighed so far.

This^

"Plateaus" related to inaccurate counting are so annoying. When you get closer to goal, your deficit becomes smaller. More accuracy can help.

purplebirdey8080 wrote: »

Thanks all! Gonna maybe give it a bit, overestimate what I am eating and go for there - I guess I should have said my starting weight is 160, end goal 135.

If you get stuck, you know what to do.

I did weigh food in the beginning to help me get an idea of portion sizes. Then when I thought I had gotten the hang of it I would do a 'maintenance trial' and not weigh food for a bit and if/when the weight started to creep up, I would start weighing food again. I really don't want to be weighing food every day for the rest of my life.

My scale has been the most useful practice in my weight loss. After goal I got a bit lazy and weight starting slowly creeping back. Back to the scale, and back to goal. But to your question, no you don't have to use a scale to lose.

weighing food is the newest big rant on here. I weigh for reference to educate myself.. I know now what two to three ounces of meat look like and two ounces of uncooked pasta. My work there was done. Don't want to weigh each bite i eat forever.

do what works for you. i have lost quite a bit of weight, and i never weigh my food. i do weigh myself every day though.

You don't need to but if you want than you can.
If you want to lose weight than eat not more than 1/3 rd of your stomach and drink not more than 1/3 Rd of your stomach. And don't eat more than 3 times a day. You will be suprised of the results you see.