Do you weight everything?

2

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I have never weighed a packaged good ever...I primarily weigh "bulk" items like meat, etc and calorie dense things like nut butters and nuts and whatnot...also things like pasta, particularly spaghetti or other long noodles for which there is no way to accurately use measuring utensils. I've always used measuring cups for things like oats, lentils, rice, etc as these things are uniform in size...personally never had any issues going about things this way.

    IMO, a lot of the issues people have isn't so much in the weighing or not weighing...I think it's often that they are choosing generic and erroneous entries from the database and aren't verifying that information...IDK, I never had an issue with X needing to be exactly Y grams or anything...maybe it's just me.

    I'm a proponent of the food scale to be sure...but some people take that to some pretty crazy extremes IMO...like taking it to other people's houses...out to restaurants, etc...some stuff is just too over the top for my taste.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Yeah, really. Please don't weigh pre-sliced bread. It's unnecessary and borderline psychotic. Losing weight should not be obsessive or stressful. The less stressed you are about the whole thing, the more likely you are to succeed. Companies have strict protocols, so I guarantee you that 99.999999% of the time, a slice of bread is going to be exactly what it should be. The times when it's not, the difference will be so negligible that it won't make a difference.
    Weigh foods that don't come with a per piece serving size. Weigh meat, veg, etc. Anything that can come in varying weights or isn't pre-packaged in individual pieces.

    Do Weigh:
    Things like meat, block cheese, veg, fruit, and -- my personal opinion -- any solid that you would normally measure with cups/spoons. I have a habit of heaping my measuring spoons. Weighing prevents me from doing that.

    Don't Weigh: Pre-packaged pre-sliced cheese, bread, crackers, basically anything that comes with a wrapper

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    You'll be surprised how many people do this and advocate it to others.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    I weigh some odd stuff periodically to be sure the packaging is correct. So I'd weigh a slice or two of the bread to be sure the package is correct, and then assume it's correct from then on.

    I've said this elsewhere, but the cereal I was having weighed 50% more than the package said for a cup. Package said 2/3 cup (45g). I was having a cup so used 1.5 servings. When I weighed a cup it was 97 grams, or about 50% more than I was logging. Different cereal was bang on the weight per cup on the package. My oatmeal is also bang on.
  • cabwj
    cabwj Posts: 843 Member
    I weigh liquids too, if they have calories. My scale includes mls so it's just as easy to put my glass or bowl on the scale, tare it, and weigh my liquid. Plus, no measuring cup to wash.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    avskk wrote: »
    siraphine wrote: »
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Yeah, really. Please don't weigh pre-sliced bread. It's unnecessary and borderline psychotic. Losing weight should not be obsessive or stressful. The less stressed you are about the whole thing, the more likely you are to succeed. Companies have strict protocols, so I guarantee you that 99.999999% of the time, a slice of bread is going to be exactly what it should be. The times when it's not, the difference will be so negligible that it won't make a difference.
    Weigh foods that don't come with a per piece serving size. Weigh meat, veg, etc. Anything that can come in varying weights or isn't pre-packaged in individual pieces.

    Do Weigh:
    Things like meat, block cheese, veg, fruit, and -- my personal opinion -- any solid that you would normally measure with cups/spoons. I have a habit of heaping my measuring spoons. Weighing prevents me from doing that.

    Don't Weigh: Pre-packaged pre-sliced cheese, bread, crackers, basically anything that comes with a wrapper

    With regard to the bolded: your guarantee would be dead wrong. I weigh my pre-packaged, pre-portioned stuff and it is almost never the same weight indicated on the label. Sometimes it's a difference of just a gram or two; other times it's a different of 15-30%. Those calories do add up. They maybe aren't as important when you have a lot to lose, and thus a wide margin of error, but that doesn't mean they don't exist or don't matter.

    I will second this! Some brands are spot on and others, not so much.

    I would not take that guarantee.
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    I weigh a majority of foods, but it really depends on the food, brand, and/or the particular batch of food I bought. For example, Laughing Cow Cheese is pretty darn accurate and consistent with the nutrition label so I don't bother weighing the wedges, but MusclePharm Combat Crunch bars vary widely in weight, so I do weigh those.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I don't weight anything. I eyeball and use nutrition labels. I haven't for 5 months and I've lost 34 lbs so far.

    Having said that I also won't come on the forum and ask why I'm not losing weight should my loss stall.

    Should I get to a point where over a month or so I don't lose anything then I will pull out the food scale.

    The reason I'm not weighing is I would like to learn to intuitively eat. I have until next summer to get to goal weight give or take a few months. So I'm taking this year to learn portion control hopefully I will but if not out comes the food scale!

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Yes. Absolutely everything that isn't a liquid such as broth, juice, booze, or other beverage. Everything.

    I weigh pre-packaged and pre-weighed foods, and IME, none of these foods were the weight that was recorded on the package.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    cabwj wrote: »
    I weigh liquids too, if they have calories. My scale includes mls so it's just as easy to put my glass or bowl on the scale, tare it, and weigh my liquid. Plus, no measuring cup to wash.

    Although scales indicate mLs, a milliliter is actually a measure of volume. Scales include them on the assumption that 1mL weighs 1g, but that's actually only true for plain water in a neutral-temp room (i.e., laboratory conditions). Other liquids do not have the same 1-to-1 mL-to-g conversion. :/
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    edited December 2016
    A long time ago when I ate bread, I got the same advice... "you aren't losing because you aren't really weighing everything and the differences in bread can destroy your deficit" because bread was the only thing I wasn't weighing. So I started weighing bread. With the exception of the end pieces and the unusual pieces next to the end pieces, they all weighed out to the exactly the same weight.

    No, there was, in fact, 1 piece of bread (not an end piece or next to end piece) that was 1g off from the others. So after about 4 months of every slice weighing the same (except the ends and that ONE rogue slice), I decided that wasn't really affecting my logging. I still weigh nearly all solids or semi-solids, but there are a few pre-packaged items that just are not worth weighing.
  • geneticexpectations
    geneticexpectations Posts: 146 Member
    edited December 2016
    I admit, I don't weigh anything (but I also don't count or pay attention to calories). However, a friend of mine literally weighs everything and keeps track of his calories and it works wonders for him. He swears by it. We've both pretty much started and ended in the same place body composition wise.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Eating disorder, really? Dude, you likely have a large calorie allowance. Us shorties with low calorie allowances know every calorie matters. I've had bread slices off by ten calories. Protein bars by 20. When you eat only 1200 (I don't any more, but have in the past), these 10 here, 20 there differences start to add up.

    Not everyone is like you. It's hardly eating disorder territory when you're trying to lose those last 10 pounds and your deficit is only 250 calories.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    siraphine wrote: »
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Yeah, really. Please don't weigh pre-sliced bread. It's unnecessary and borderline psychotic. Losing weight should not be obsessive or stressful. The less stressed you are about the whole thing, the more likely you are to succeed. Companies have strict protocols, so I guarantee you that 99.999999% of the time, a slice of bread is going to be exactly what it should be. The times when it's not, the difference will be so negligible that it won't make a difference.
    Weigh foods that don't come with a per piece serving size. Weigh meat, veg, etc. Anything that can come in varying weights or isn't pre-packaged in individual pieces.

    Do Weigh:
    Things like meat, block cheese, veg, fruit, and -- my personal opinion -- any solid that you would normally measure with cups/spoons. I have a habit of heaping my measuring spoons. Weighing prevents me from doing that.

    Don't Weigh: Pre-packaged pre-sliced cheese, bread, crackers, basically anything that comes with a wrapper

    I can guarantee you that you're wrong. Especially with specialty bread. I've had packaged gluten free bread be off as much as 10 calories a slice over or under. Don't even get me started on how off protein bars can be.

    When you have a lot of weight to lose and a large deficit, 10 calories don't matter so much. When the margins are tiny, every calorie matters to some people.

    To accuse other people of being "borderline psychotic" is rather a reach on your part. They've just learned from experience.



  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    edited December 2016
    I weiehged everything at the start. Now I am looser for those things that are standard or low risk.
    For instance I do not weigh my slice of bread anymore. I weighed about 100 slices and the majority were 35 g the rest 34 or 36 Always the same bread type. So I log 35g now. Close enough :-) I will weigh rolls and speciality and/or self sliced bread.
    I do weigh my beakfast as I know that otherwise I'll have too much muesli, nuts and yoghurt
    Salads I weigh about once a week, I kinda audit my eyeballing there - they are pretty standand size and always right.
    Evening meal - weigh it specifically the high calorie stuff (meat, pasta etc). Bit less precise with low cal greens
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    k9education wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    You'd record in in grams.

    And I've had calorie differences as much as 70-80 calories for pre-sliced/prepackaged items. When you are closer to goal or on a smaller deficit, that can add up pretty quick. A 40-calorie slice of bread isn't going to have that much of an impact if it weighs 10% more. But if you're eating a more calorie-dense bread or roll, it can make a difference. When I have bread it's usually at least 80-120 calories per standard slice, so I like to know how much I am eating.

    I wasn't, literally, asking how you would weigh it. *shakes head* Rather, my point was that entering things like 1 1/8 slice seems a bit silly and borders on disordered eating. If you really, truly think it's going to have that much impact on your progress then I hope you have a very expensive food scale and have had it professionally calibrated, as your typical sub-$100 food scale is not particularly accurate. What if your food scale is listing weights 10% short of what they are? What if the scale showed the bread weighed 56 grams and it actually weighed 62g? Do you also weigh sugar packets? Sticks of gum? Single Lifesavers or Tic Tacs? What about beverages? It's nearly impossible to measure out precisely 1 cup. Perhaps instead you should have 106g of milk. Weighing as much as is reasonable is crucial to success, but the key word there is reasonable and there is nothing reasonable about obsessing over minutiae.

    I wouldn't label someone's behavior as disordered eating unless it was negatively impacting them physically or emotionally. Given that it takes me just a few seconds to weigh things and then it is completely off my mind, it's hard for me to see how it has any negative impact at all. I don't use sugar packets and I don't chew gum. I do weigh candy when I'm at home -- if I'm out and about, I will just log it as an individual piece.

    It seems like this is provoking some anxiety for you and weighing may not be a good option for you. But for many people, it doesn't provoke stress or anxiety. Sometimes people can have different responses to things. What is an obsession for one person may just be a routine habit for another, about as meaningful as brushing teeth or making a bed.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    cuhris wrote: »
    I only weigh stuff that I have to (according to label). Weighing slices of bread or
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    k9education wrote: »
    LisaTcan wrote: »
    I just had a baby and I'm struggling to lose weight more than I have in the past. I bought a food scale to start weighting rather than measuring my portions. Surprisingly I'm already pretty accurate (i.e. what I have been logging as two tablespoons of peanut butter is actually 30gms).

    My question is - how much of your food do you weight everyday? Meats, veggies, packaged foods? For example if I'm having two slices of bread that is pre-sliced should I be weighing it?

    Thanks!

    I weigh pretty much anything that is practical to weigh. I weigh my cereal, frozen veggies, peanut butter, meats, etc. Generally, I don't weigh anything that is typically measured in quantity. For example, I don't weigh mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I don't weigh yogurt cups (though I would weigh a serving of yogurt out of a large container). I don't weigh ice cream novelty bars (but I do weigh ice cream). I don't weigh pre-sliced bread. What would you record anything? 7/8 of a slice? 1 1/8 of a slice? Oh no, my 40-calorie bread weighs 10% more than an average slice according to the bag! My progress is ruined by that extra 4 calories! C'mon. Failing to weigh it is going to have absolutely no appreciable difference in your diet unless all you are consuming is bread.

    You weigh it in grams. That's why the info on the package reads, for example: Serving Size: 1 slice (56g).

    This is pretty ridiculous and nearing eating disorder levels. You don't need to weigh a slice of bread. The average slice of bread from that container is 56g. You'll be fine without weighing it lmfao.

    Eating disorder, really? Dude, you likely have a large calorie allowance. Us shorties with low calorie allowances know every calorie matters. I've had bread slices off by ten calories. Protein bars by 20. When you eat only 1200 (I don't any more, but have in the past), these 10 here, 20 there differences start to add up.

    Not everyone is like you. It's hardly eating disorder territory when you're trying to lose those last 10 pounds and your deficit is only 250 calories.

    Tell me about it! I log everything, but couldn't figure out why the scale wasn't moving the way I was expecting it to. Then realized my husband was putting 1/4 cup of raisins on my Raisin Bran each morning (he does breakfast while I prep the lunchtime sandwiches). That's about an extra 130 calories a day. And when you're just shy of 5' 2" and trying to lose those last few stubborn lbs, that sure eats into your daily allowance.

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