When should you start weighing your food?

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    natashab61 wrote: »
    I have never weighed my food and jut eyeball it.
    Is that not the right thing to do in weight loss. I always try and round up when entering it into MFP. Sometimes I don't. But any suggestions?

    Are you losing weight at a rate you are happy with? Some people are better at estimating than others. Some people eat less calorie dense food than others. In other words it might not matter to you right now.

    But as you get closer to goal it's going to matter eventually. As you get closer to goal you won't have as much wiggle room. I sat at a "plateau" for 5 weeks once. That was me misjudging serving sizes. Save yourself the frustration, invest in a scale sooner rather than later.
  • powered85
    powered85 Posts: 297 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I wish I had weighed food from day one. Would have been faster weight loss and more educating.

    Equally important: see #1 above. Verifying food entries really dials things as there are a lot that aren't accurate in the database.
  • MacaronStyle
    MacaronStyle Posts: 35 Member
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    If you stop losing weight or are losing significantly more slowly than projected while eyeballing portions then start weighing your food. (Give yourself a few weeks to see if eyeballing works for you.)

    Most people are off while eyeballing but maybe you won't overall be off by enough to have a huge impact. Maybe you won't lose 1 lb a week but you lose 0.8 lb a week and that's fine with you.

    If you want to weigh food then that's totally fine but I like to go with the simplest solution first because you're less likely to get frustrated with how time consuming it is. And yes, once you get into the habit of weighing then it's not bad at all and it's faster than measuring with cups but it's still an extra step.
  • marieamethyst
    marieamethyst Posts: 869 Member
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    If you stop losing weight then give it a try. If you're losing weight and you're happy with your current results, then it's really not necessary for some people. I tried it for a week because I saw so many people suggest it, but I just don't have the patience for it (and with two kids under 4, just getting to eat a meal is a challenge sometimes, much less weighing/measuring everything). Still lost the weight and reached goal even with just guessing. :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,912 Member
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    dragon_girl26 wrote: »
    I love my food scale. The sooner you start to use it, you may discover the same thing. Weighing food means it takes the guesswork out so your calorie counting is more accurate. Plus, it's a lot less dishes! (measuring cups, etc..)
    So, yeah, I'd highly recommend using it right away.

    Ya, it's just easier. I never knew how tightly or not I was supposed to pack measuring cups. Less stress, less dishes, and more accuracy with a scale.
  • jmeloe12013
    jmeloe12013 Posts: 14 Member
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    Soon it's easier
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I tried eyeballing my food at first when I wanted to lose weight. I couldn't figure out why my weight wasn't moving much. When starting up logging 6 months ago, I started weighing all of my food and have dropped 64 lbs since then...yeah I recommend weighing. The closer you get to your goal, the more accurate you need to be with your calories. I don't even know how one would log let's say a chicken breast without a weight. I mean I have no clue if a chicken breast is 4.2 oz. or 5.3 oz. That is a 51 calorie difference. It may not seem like a big deal, but enough of those mistakes though the day could close your deficit almost completely and you will not see the weight loss you would if you just weigh. Plus, if you are already taking the time to log your food, weighing really doesn't take much longer.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    Whenever you want to be accurate. I started out eyeballing and estimating and had no intention of using a scale but after seeing from others here how convenient a scale really is, I decided to get one and they were right. Surprisingly enough, I found out that I was actually pretty accurate except for shredded cheese. If you are doing alright without one, there is really no reason you have to get one but they are actually VERY convenient and it is really nice knowing for sure what you are eating.

    If I am cooking meat or potatoes or something, I set a plate on the scale, zero it, and weight that portion. If I am using something like shredded cheese, I just set the package on the scale, zero it, and see how much I removed.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    When you feel like it will help your progress better.

    Some people are good at eyeballing portions. I've never been, so I use a scale.
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    I never weighed or measured (and only logged briefly to get a bead on my carb counts). It's a tool. You may never need it, but it will always be there. If your weight loss slows/stops, that would be the time to get a scale and start using it. I never ran into the need for one (been maintaining for about three years now), but I know that if that ever changes, I can always start.

    The only thing you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. How you make that happen is up to you.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    When you want to be in control of your eating and weight.
  • NancyYale
    NancyYale Posts: 171 Member
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    I don't own a scale and have done well. Of you are good at estimating, have solid references, and are honest with yourself. You might not need to. If the weight isn't coming off, then you may need to. The scale will tell you if what you do is working.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
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    In the past I was working out a ton (i.e. cycling 200K a week plus heavy lifting) and I lost weight without weighing my food. I recently had a baby and I'm trying to lose the last 15-20 lbs but I'm not nearly as active so dieting alone isn't doing it, I just bought a food scale so I'm hoping it will do the trick!

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