Is weighing food really necessary?

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  • karialiwest
    karialiwest Posts: 7 Member
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    HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »
    You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.

    Why is that?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited December 2017
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    HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »
    You won't be able to lose 2lbs per week regardless if you weigh or not.
    Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.
  • ptrcmcc6
    ptrcmcc6 Posts: 103 Member
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    I don't weigh and other than the normal fluctuations on the scale, I've been losing.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I lost 40 pounds in 6 months without weighing or measuring...Had I struggled though, I would have done it.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    If you're losing consistently, keep doing what you're doing and don't stress about it. I'm down 108 lbs and I don't usually weigh. However, I do weigh once when I first eat a food, and then once in a while with calorie dense foods so my portions don't creep up. Peanut butter, salad dressings, and oils - basically anything which is mostly fat - are easy to underestimate. Lean meats, on the other hand, I tend to overestimate and when I weigh I find out I can eat more than I thought I could.

    If you have a small footprint kitchen scale which is capable of having a large pan put on it, and a tare button to reset it to zero, weighing complex meals is very easy. When making a recipe, put your pot on the scale and measure food directly into the pot. When serving yourself, do the same with your plate or bowl.

  • batorkin
    batorkin Posts: 281 Member
    edited December 2017
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    I lost 32 pounds in 2 1/2 months back in 2012, and 21 in the last 2 months without counting or weighting anything.

    It's not needed if you don't have problems losing the weight. Even if you have trouble, you can count calories and weigh food for a month and probably won't need to do it anymore. It's as simple as getting use to smaller proportions and eating less.
  • karialiwest
    karialiwest Posts: 7 Member
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    Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.[/quote]

    I see. I thought it was because I was estimating instead of weighing my food. I still lost weight though so something is going right.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    When I started using mfp I measured the foods I normally eat, like cereal, to see how much i generally put in a bowl. After that I just use the same entries without remeasuring every day. Estimating works for me because I burn more exercise calories than MFP gives me since I walk and run in a hilly area. I also cook for two. When I enter the foods in my diary, I assume I'll eat 1/2 of the total. Reality is I usually give my husband a bit more than half (not a lot more because he doesn't exercise much and has weight to lose), so my calories are less than stated.

    If you find that you are not losing weight, it is worth getting a scale to figure out exactly what you are eating. OTOH, if you are losing weight, then I wouldn't worry about it. Starting out, it is easy to lose weight if you cut out some of the more fattening foods that are normal for you. The closer you get to target weight, the harder it gets because you simply need less to maintain that weight.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    karialiwest wrote: »
    Good catch. OP, your fat reserves aren't large enough to sustain such a loss. 1200 calories is just the lowest MFP will go.

    I see. I thought it was because I was estimating instead of weighing my food. I still lost weight though so something is going right. [/quote]

    Here's the thing with MFP. Based on your stats and activity level, if figures out how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight (your NEAT). From this it deducts 500 calories per lb of desired weight loss per week, so 1000 calories for 2 lbs per week. If your NEAT is 2000 calories (probably close in this case), then MFP won't go below 1200 and you will (if everything is done right) lose ~1.5 lbs per week regardless of your goal.

    This is because it is dangerous for women to go below 1200 calories per day (1500 for men).

    Re-do your MFP setup with 1 lb per week and use that as your goal.

    As to do you need to weigh food or not, if you are losing weight at your plan loss rate without, then keep going. If it slows down and you aren't sure why, a food scale is the first recommendation. I weigh most things as I can't eyeball it well enough. I'm learning and hope to be able to put the scale away when I've lost another 20 lbs or so, but I may not be able to and may need it for years to come.
  • HellYeahItsKriss
    HellYeahItsKriss Posts: 906 Member
    edited December 2017
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    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    Of course it's not necessary. Many people lose weight without ever using a food scale.

    But if you reach a point where you're not losing the way you want it can be a very helpful tool.

    I feel like this post needs a bit more context.

    Based on the OP's stats, she cannot actually lose 2lbs per week without dangerously under eating/over exercising. Regardless on if she weighed every crumb.

    So, when someone is expecting results they actually aren't capable of, they will never be losing the way they want without knowing the actual real expectations of their weight loss for their current stats.

    So first step is to find out if your goal is achievable, since despite 2lbs per week being listed in the drop down options, its not really an actual goal for everyone. Then weigh food if your loss without weighing hasn't been what your real expectations are supposed to be.

    Weighing should be used for more refined accuracy for actual obtainable weight loss goals per week.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »
    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    Of course it's not necessary. Many people lose weight without ever using a food scale.

    But if you reach a point where you're not losing the way you want it can be a very helpful tool.

    I feel like this post needs a bit more context.

    Based on the OP's stats, she cannot actually lose 2lbs per week without dangerously under eating/over exercising. Regardless on if she weighed every crumb.

    So, when someone is expecting results they actually aren't capable of, they will never be losing the way they want without knowing the actual real expectations of their weight loss for their current stats.

    So first step is to find out if your goal is achievable, since despite 2lbs per week being listed in the drop down options, its not really an actual goal for everyone. Then weigh food if your loss without weighing hasn't been what your real expectations are supposed to be.

    Weighing should be used for more refined accuracy for actual obtainable weight loss goals per week.

    OP asked if weighing food is necessary. I answered that question.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    karialiwest wrote: »
    .
    I'm 5'4 and 166 at the moment looking to get to 140. MFP has set me at 1200 to lose 2lbs a week but I eat a little more or less depending on how I feel that day.
    Seperate from your do you need to weigh food question-
    MFP gave you 1200 because it is the minimum recommendation the site will give. With your stats to lose 2 lbs per week you would need to eat less than 1200... an unhealthy and unsustainable amount. As others have said 2 lbs a week is not a reasonable expectation.
    With your stats you will probably lose more like 1 lb a week eating 1200 calories a day. That is a fine rate of loss for someone with less than 50 lbs to lose.
  • WillingtoLose1001984
    WillingtoLose1001984 Posts: 240 Member
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    It makes a big difference when you weigh certain foods like potatoes, rice, beans, meat and nut butters, things like that. There is a big variation in the weight of those foods if you use a measuring spoon or cup. If you lose without it though like another poster said than you don't need to.
  • idabest777
    idabest777 Posts: 97 Member
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    I started with essentially the same stats as you, i'm at 5'4 and bounce between 120-125 now. I started without a scale and lost pretty consistently at 1-1.5 lbs/week without a scale but still measuring everything the best I could. (I usually aimed to eat between 1200 and 1400). Once I got to 140 the loss slowed down and I got the food scale and the extra accuracy helped me to keep losing.

    When you have more weight to lose you have more room for error, so I'd say you're fine without the food scale until your weight slows down, then it would be a good idea to get one to tighten up your accuracy. Most food servings will probably be less when you weight them vs when you try to measure them but you might be surprised by some things. I discovered that was wildly underestimating peanut butter, but that I was also really over estimating the amount of my cheese servings.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    karialiwest wrote: »
    Has anyone lost weight without constantly weighing and measuring food? I started logging a month ago but my food diary is most likely wildly inaccurate. Obviously I'm eating less than I used to because I'm still losing weight but is it sustainable without weighing everything? I've read through a couple of discussions and I'm starting to feel like if I don't measure all my food I'm doomed for all eternity.
    I'm 5'4 and 166 at the moment looking to get to 140. MFP has set me at 1200 to lose 2lbs a week but I eat a little more or less depending on how I feel that day.

    If you are struggling and say things like "I'm eating 1,200 calories per day and exercising but not losing weight" then yeah...

    That said, I never weighed everything...I didn't weigh out slices of bread or other prepackaged stuff like slices of bacon, etc...I just went off of the package. Stuff like oatmeal and other grains, legumes, etc that were uniform in size is usually just measured. Typically I weighed out things like meat, nuts, nut butters, etc.

    I weighed and measured mostly so that I could eat up to what I was allowed rather than the other way around. I didn't want to log 6 ounces of steak but just estimate that and really only be eating 3 or 4 ounces...'cuz I want all of the steak if I'm logging it.

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