Simple trick that took an embarrassingly long time for you to figure out...
ladyhusker39
Posts: 1,406 Member
I decided to create this thread in the hopes of finding out that I'm not the only one who can be extremely slow to figure out very simple things. So what are some really simple things about weight management, health, fitness, etc that took you waaaaaay to long too figure out.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
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Sometimes there is no forest.....just a bunch of trees! And birds! And other creatures. Oh, hey - look! I found the forest!!!!20
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^^^^^^^^^ what Mssr. Filbo132 says. There is soooo much mis-information out there that it is super easy for the ignorant (and, hey - I am not only a member of that club, but I am also the President) to follow what someone who looks like he/she knows what she is talking about.9
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ladyhusker39 wrote: »I decided to create this thread in the hopes of finding out that I'm not the only one who can be extremely slow to figure out very simple things. So what are some really simple things about weight management, health, fitness, etc that took you waaaaaay to long too figure out.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
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It took me forever to start using the Save As Meal feature in the diary, it really saves me time!30
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »I decided to create this thread in the hopes of finding out that I'm not the only one who can be extremely slow to figure out very simple things. So what are some really simple things about weight management, health, fitness, etc that took you waaaaaay to long too figure out.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
I came here to say this...
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Using the tare button took me a while. When I made salads I would have to subtract the difference of the weight before and the weight after I added the next ingredient. It was never necessary.3
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I started off on another app and forum which had been hijacked by 'Dr' Fung followers. Although deep down I knew much of what was being said was woo I began fearing too many carbs and even started feeling guilty about eating bananas. Finally woke up to myself and could see how thing way of thinking could easily lead to an eating disorder. Found this place which is so much better, increased my carbs (still feel a tad guilty about going over 45% or 200 grams but getting better) and unsurprisingly still manage to lose weight at the same rate until I hit my goal weight. I am healthier and so much less stressed about food as a result of coming here.44
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
This is a great trick for those of us that like to eat yogurt right out of the container. Lol. It took me a few weeks to figure it out. 10 -
Using the recipe builder. Good grief I was just being lazy and then when I finally used it, it was like the lights came on.
Used the recipe import this weekend. Mind. Blown.
I'll be poking around this app's features more often.
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »I decided to create this thread in the hopes of finding out that I'm not the only one who can be extremely slow to figure out very simple things. So what are some really simple things about weight management, health, fitness, etc that took you waaaaaay to long too figure out.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
See, I'm still over complicating it. Thanks for this!9 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »I decided to create this thread in the hopes of finding out that I'm not the only one who can be extremely slow to figure out very simple things. So what are some really simple things about weight management, health, fitness, etc that took you waaaaaay to long too figure out.
For me it's been that I can't exercise my way to my goal weight. I have to monitor what I eat.
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
See, I'm still over complicating it. Thanks for this!
Haha, no worries, i didn't click to that one until I saw it posted by someone else either. Also handy if you've already started to spoon yoghurt into your breakfast bowl and realise you haven't actually turned the scale on. Just get an identical bowl out, put that on scale, turn on, remove, replace with yoghurtified bowl.15 -
It took me a long time to figure out that (for example) eating an entire bag of broccoli, with maybe mushrooms and zuchinni is way more satisfying than half a can of spaghettios54
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Also the recipe builder -- but that ingredients don't have to be set in stone.
For things that I make as a recipe that have variable weights -- like a potato gratin, pot roast, chicken paprika, etc. -- I set it up once, and then, as I'm making the actual meal, I go in and alter the quantities to reflect the actual weight of the ingredients. Because things like flour/butter aren't going to change from making to making, but it's not like I'm going to have the exact grams of potato or veg, or beef or chicken, every single time.22 -
collectingblues wrote: »Also the recipe builder -- but that ingredients don't have to be set in stone.
For things that I make as a recipe that have variable weights -- like a potato gratin, pot roast, chicken paprika, etc. -- I set it up once, and then, as I'm making the actual meal, I go in and alter the quantities to reflect the actual weight of the ingredients. Because things like flour/butter aren't going to change from making to making, but it's not like I'm going to have the exact grams of potato or veg, or beef or chicken, every single time.
Yep, I do this too.
Also, if you're entering the recipe manually, the 'old' recipe calculator works a hell of a lot better for actually matching ingredients.6 -
I don't need to kill myself working out. I just need to a little bit less than my body needs each day and maybe move a little bit more (this more due to the rampant cardiovascular problems rampant in the family than for weightloss)
I've lost 35kg following that and have maintained that loss for the past year (trying to get into the mindset to lose those last 10-15kg
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If only I had known it's that embarrassingly easy 20 years ago...20 -
I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed, but I wish I realized years ago what a difference NEAT could make in my weight loss.12
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I think the biggest thing is realizing I didn't have to eat rabbit food to lose weight. The thought of salad and constant veggies doesn't appeal to me so figuring out I could eat more of the food I liked, but in moderation, was a big deal to me.31
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »I started off on another app and forum which had been hijacked by 'Dr' Fung followers. Although deep down I knew much of what was being said was woo I began fearing too many carbs and even started feeling guilty about eating bananas. Finally woke up to myself and could see how thing way of thinking could easily lead to an eating disorder. Found this place which is so much better, increased my carbs (still feel a tad guilty about going over 45% or 200 grams but getting better) and unsurprisingly still manage to lose weight at the same rate until I hit my goal weight. I am healthier and so much less stressed about food as a result of coming here.
Had to pop in and tell you I just happened to be sitting here eating a banana as I read your comment @Lillymoo01 lol! I love them so much that I kept buying them even when banana prices soared because of cyclone damage. Yeah, I don't think I'd go too well with low carb lol. Anyway, it's great that you are feeling more relaxed about food.
My revelation since joining MFP is that there is a difference between calorie targets while in deficit vs maintenance. I used to think I would have to eat at my deficit calories target forever if I was going to avoid putting all the weight back on. I felt like I had failed if I didn't reach my set calorie target every day. Now, I'm also more flexible with my calories and eat more on days that I'm hungrier, knowing that anything under maintenance will eventually lead to weight loss, albeit more slowly.20 -
That I didn't have to eat lettuce and other "rabbit food" for the rest of my life to lose weight. That I could still eat the things I enjoyed, I just had to be a little more careful with how much.
It was a giant eye-opener, let me tell you. (I hate most kinds of vegetables and fruits.)8 -
For me it was when I used to just eat a meal, track it, eat a meal, track it, and panic towards the end of the day when I'm starving and realized I have 50 calories left. Learning to plan my whole day out ahead of time definitely took the guess-work out of eating!40
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silverblaze55 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »
But the particularly embarrassing one is that I spent months scooping out foods like cream cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, etc into a container so I could weight it on my food scale. Eventually someone on here pointed out that I can simply weigh the container before and after I get what I want and subtract the difference to get the total amount I ate. Duh! Now it seems so obvious.
Even easier, put container on scale, tare, remove required amount. Negative reading is your grams
This is a great trick for those of us that like to eat yogurt right out of the container. Lol. It took me a few weeks to figure it out.
I tend to eat Ben&Jerry’s and Hagen Daas straight out of the pint. So this is how I figure out how many portions I’ve actually eaten, lol.
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That I don't need to make sure I get 20k+ steps in a day to maintain my weight.... no, I actually just have to eat 200 calories LESS and voila! all that extra energy expended for years for 200 calories!!! needless to say I wish the penny had dropped for me a longggg time ago LOL (I have now no clue how many steps I do in the day and what's more, I don't care)27
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Planning the day vs. planning for each meal. In fact a lot of days I will plan for the week, except dinners and than I will add that.11
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The fact that I can eat pretty much anything as long as I do portion control on it.24
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You can also put the plate with the piece of bread on the scale, tare it, then put mayo on it and see how much. The tare it again, put cheese on it, etc.14
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