Is weighing food really necessary?

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  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    Empirically, it's not absolutely necessary, though to ensure your logging/consuming accurate calories to guarantee a deficit it certainly is. Estimating or even measuring volume (as shown above) vs. weighing will make a difference, especially if there's not a whole lot of weight to lose.

    I spun my wheels trying to cut some fat I put on bulking in the fall of 2016 until July when I really started to try and dial in my intake and TDEE. I found a good spreadsheet on reddit, bought a kitchen scale and buttoned up the accuracy of my logging. Since 7/24 I've not missed a day of logging and been able to lose 6 lbs in the ~20 weeks since then. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but I'm trying to lose purely out of vanity (6'1" 28 y/o male, 175lbs <15% body fat) and do so in such a way to preserve as much muscle as possible.

    Even for something as seemingly well-measured as a scoop of protein powder, a level scoop of MyProtein Impact Whey, packed and leveled against the side of the bag is consistently 29-31g where the nutrition facts are for 25g. Again, doesn't sound like much but consider how much my deficit would be effected over the course of a week by that 20% excess: three scoops/day at 360 vs. 300 calories; 420 calories (0.12 lbs/week) I wouldn't otherwise be accounting for... on something as benign as not weighing protein powder.

    Consider the Following:
    Hypothetical MFPer has a TDEE of 2250 and is in the correct weight range to lose 1.0 lbs/week, which equates to a deficit of 500 for a daily goal of 1750 calories. If that same 20% error I discovered was present for 50% of the foods consumed this user's daily deficit is only 325 calories, netting a weekly loss of only 0.65 lbs/week, (only 65% of the expected loss rate for those scoring at home).

    A food scale can be purchased for as little as $5 (link below), certainly a worthy investment.
    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Insten-New-5Kg-x-1g-Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Diet-Food-Compact-Kitchen-Scale-10lb-x-0-04oz/55503575
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    Before the mid-nineteenth century, I can't answer. But the Victorian period gave us the corset. Not sure if kitchen scales were used extensively at the time (for trade, sure. For everyday use in the home? I dunno). But thin was definitely "in" then.

    The idea of counting calories didn't exist in the Victorian era. There were "reducing diets" but the science behind them was pretty wonky.

    If you read Victorian era recipes, they often have vague measurements such as "piece of butter the size of a hen's egg." The idea of standardized measurements in cook books didn't really catch on until about the turn of the century, and the whole modernize your kitchen movement dates to the 1940s. My mom (who is 80) can remember her grandmother cooking on an iron stove out in the country, because it was how she had learned and she wasn't comfortable with a gas stove.

    However, home scales were pretty common from the 1950's forward - I think seventy years is a long time!

    I guess things haven't completely changed :).
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
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    I am 5'4" and started at about 165. I lost weight without weighing the majority my food until I was down to around 140, then I hit a plateau. I started using my food scale religiously and am down to 130 currently with a goal of 120. I think the less you have to lose the more accurate you need to be so go with what you are doing now but keep the scale in the back of your mind for once you hit that plateau.
  • karialiwest
    karialiwest Posts: 7 Member
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    idabest777 wrote: »
    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.

    I actually bought a scale and found out I was over estimating my cheese servings as well. Good news because I love cheese!!!!!
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    Necessary? No. It's a powerful tool, however, and one that can increase the odds of success, and the degree of success that you reach.

    Calorie counting is to weight management what household budgeting is to financial management. Some people can be very financially stable without a planned budget, while others need a lot of structure and control to keep their finances in the black. And of course there are plenty of shades in between, where a budget will help but not be absolutely necessary.

    Only you can really say where on the "calorie budgeting" spectrum you fall.

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