Where are you imprecise with your measurements?

Meghanebk · September 2017

I don't weigh single serving packs. Or salad greens, spices, anything that low calorie. I also don't weigh store bought bread unless it is a new type to compare it to package info.

cyclone48 · September 2017

I don't weigh most things and often estimate my fruits and veggies (medium apple, medium banana, etc). But I'm early in my weight loss and losing 1 -2 lbs per week. I know that as I get closer to goal, I may have to tighten up my tracking. Right now I'm focused on tracking everything I eat and getting into that habit, plus adding exercise to my routine.

newheavensearth · September 2017

I don't log or measure spices, splenda, vinegar, lemon juice, k cups or tea bags.
I don't weigh pre sliced bread or pre- measured single serve foods.

Stacey765 · September 2017

I eyeball, and err on the side of caution, by guessing up if I'm not sure.
For instance I had ground chuck in my dinner tonight. It had a set 4oz serving in the database, so I went ahead and recorded I had one serving. But I know I had less than 4 oz, just not sure by how much.

My alcohol is always weighed, no exceptions

ladyhusker39 · September 2017

I eyeball almost everything. I keep a log more as a guide for what I've eaten and rely on the scale and a trending app to tell me if I need to make adjustments. I've lost 35 lbs since early February which I'm very happy with. I have about 15-25 to go. So far it's been working I think mostly because I've been ok losing a little slower than I might have if I were more rigid with tracking.

Purplebunnysarah · September 2017

I eyeball most things. It doesn't impede my weight loss. Eating too many boxes of snack-sized chocolates impedes my weight loss more.

bingo_007 · September 2017

I only measure high calorie food like complex carb protein and fat. Vegetables I just estimate it roughly same as fruits. I am only maintaining and this works for me. Should I gain weight or want to loose n I am not able to do so I can change my approach. I use a teaspoon for oil as a measurement though its not very accurate but I don't want cooking to be a hassle

estherdragonbat · September 2017

If I'm the only person eating a dish (I'm vegetarian married to a meat eater, so that would be my mains) I won't weigh out the portions. If the casserole serves 4, that's four meals. And if one day I'm having 27% of the pan and one day 24%, in four days 100% of the pan will be gone so I don't care if it's not precise. I do weigh out the ingredients ahead of time; my days of '1 medium carrot, 3 large beets' are behind me.

On the Jewish Sabbath, precise weighing and measuring isn't permitted. (No scale, no measuring cups with marked lines, though 'knowing' my ladle holds a cup and giving myself a ladleful is okay.) Neither is writing/typing. I pre-log my meals and will often weigh out 3/4 cup of rice, etc before Sabbath starts. However, one 'rule' is that you begin the meal with uncut bread which is sliced at the table. For that, I overestimate, limiting myself to two slices, trying to make them about the thickness a bakery slicer would get them, and pre-logging 4 oz of bread.

tinkerbellang83 · September 2017

The majority of the time I don't weigh pre-packed food like protein bars, crisps etc, bread, eggs, spray oil or anything that is very low calorie like diet soda or sweetners. I know as I get closer to goal I will need to tighten up, but even at my initial goal weight I will be still be in the "Overweight" section of BMI so hoping not to need to be too accurate.

My eyeballing is a lot better at this point, I test myself from time-to-time with things like cereal, pasta & chicken. Any one else do that?

MegaMooseEsq · September 2017

cyclone48 wrote: »

I don't weigh most things and often estimate my fruits and veggies (medium apple, medium banana, etc). But I'm early in my weight loss and losing 1 -2 lbs per week. I know that as I get closer to goal, I may have to tighten up my tracking. Right now I'm focused on tracking everything I eat and getting into that habit, plus adding exercise to my routine.

That's pretty much what I did when I was first starting out, although I started logging a while before I even got into a deficit. I am a big fan of taking one's time and starting out simple. If more people acknowledged that they probably will need to tighten up their measuring when/if their weight loss slows or stops, these forums would be a lot quieter!

nikkipoooo · September 2017

I'm picky, so I would never weigh single serving meals (because I know there's always something I'm not actually eating, like the onions and all of the gravy attached to them) so a few calories difference isn't going to change anything. I don't weigh eggs, bread (which I rarely eat), or liquids. I don't eat condiments or dressing, in general, so that's not an issue for me. I usually just eyeball veggies. The things I am really meticulous about are dairy (like cottage cheese or non-single serve yogurt or cheese), meats, pasta, rice, and fruit. I'm also bad at logging exercise, and pretty much just use the FitBit adjustments even when I know that I did a strenuous circuit or something that actually burned more calories than just the few they give you for steps.

I also have a lot to lose, which means as long as I stay within 100-200 calories of my goal each day then I'm still going to lose consistently. For people with just a few pounds to lose, or people who are more concerned with getting to a low body fat percentage it's probably more important to be really precise.

EatingAndKnitting · September 2017

I don't track my coffee creamer. I use sugar free creamer and I estimate that I only use 50-60 calories worth. Right now I have a ton of calories and I'm not seeing a difference, as I lose and my calorie limit his down I'll tighten that up. I'm tightening up everything else though.

NorthCascades · September 2017

I just go by the second size on prepackaged foods. Yes, I might be off by 19 calories. I'm losing weight eating 3,300 a day so I'll accept the imprecision.

I don't enter wine. There are no calories on the label, so I don't even know how to ballpark it. And plenty of months go by without wine, so, again, it's just not a big deal.

JeromeBarry1 · September 2017

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

Tonight I'm going to have a sandwich with precisely weighed bread, meat, avocado, onion, and peppers. I'm going to have a "slice" of provolone cheese, which is imprecise, because I'm disinclined to do any further research if the dadgum Nutrition Facts doesn't list a gram value for a slice. I'm so persnickety about some things that, for example, I will get 60 grams of kale in my morning smoothie if I have to pinch a little fragment of leaf away from a 61 g bigger leaf.

Well, I did have the sandwich and I did weigh the cheese. It was 18 grams and the package did say it should be 19.

jlval1989 · September 2017

I don't measure cooking oil, herbs, spices or little things like garlic and ginger.
I drink a few cups of tea every day at work - each with a sweetener and splash of milk. I never worry about logging those, either.

Anna_137 · September 2017

I don't weight things that are packaged in single servings. I eye ball really low calorie food like spinache things which are difficult to weight like cooking oil and butter.

I have quite an aggressive goal of 1000 calories below maintence so 100 cals here and there is not going to make a lot of difference. When I get to a lower weight and have a smaller deficit of -200 to -300 calories maybe I'll get more accurate.

Goober1142 · September 2017

I overestimate portions and try to leave 50-100 cals uneaten daily. I dutifully measure my paltry half teaspoon of sugar for coffee, otherwise I eyeball. As long as I eat the right foods it works for me.

Where are you imprecise with your measurements?

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