How precise is everyone with food diary?

danasmashinggoals
danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
in Getting Started
Hey everyone!

I prefer to cook at home (so, limited scannable products) and I don’t have food scales.

Has anyone found that it’s actually a necessary tool? I have this horrible fear that I’m grossly underestimating and am consuming millions of calories accidentally!

Opinions please if you do use scales or are anal about measuring, or if you’ve found you’re ok just by estimating :)

(I’m so distracted by Arnie as Mr freeze)
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Replies

  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
    sytchequeen wrote: »
    Get a food scale!

    I mostly cook from scratch, and it's astonishing how much estimates can be out of whack

    Is this how you reply?!

    That’s what I was worried about! I’m sure I’m being far too generous 😂

  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    If you have a lot to lose then at the beginning you might find tracking your food going by the quantities on packets is enough. But its really hard to estimate portion sizes without weighing - they are really cheap to buy, around £10 buys them so you wont regret getting a set.
    In the beginning I didn't weigh my foods, I had 20lbs to lose and weight loss was very slow despite me aiming for 0.5 a week I was lucky to lose that every other week if even that much! I bought a food scale and was more dedicated to weighing everything and weight loss became more consistent - I had been eating more than I thought.

    I honestly have never looked into scales before this, good to know they’re easily accessible! The change you saw is so motivating to go an purchase one! I’m currently doing IF and eating just once a day...but I’m also a short woman so I’m aware I can overeat even on one meal!

    I was avoiding scales because I didn’t want to feel too ‘diet-y’ but I think you’re both right, I need to make sure I’m not lying to myself about quantity! Thank you :)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    Yeah I'm a shorty too, it means we really have to take care as we can wipe out any supposed calorie deficit easily by under estimating. The food scale is a useful tool, not just for dieters but for cooking and baking :smile:
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    if you are losing weight at the predicted amount then you're fine. you don't need to weigh your food or count calories to lose weight, as long as you are still able to consistently create a deficit.

    if you're not losing however it is probably because you're eating more than you think.

    I’m quite new at tracking food, I had hoped that I could just eyeball it and not make this process too complicated, but I don’t want to waste time dieting and thinking I’m doing the right thing when I’m actually overeating on cheese (*sigh, I love cheese)

    Looks like scales are the way!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    I'm a cheese lover too.... delicious but calorie dense.
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
    shaf238 wrote: »
    Don't know where I'd be without my food scale!

    I didn’t know so many people relied scales! I was actually expecting a whole lot of “nah, I’ve found it’s all roughly the same” responses 😂
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    I'm a cheese lover too.... delicious but calorie dense.

    Honestly the only reason I’m trying out keto haha
  • reflectionofme
    reflectionofme Posts: 310 Member
    Scale all the way. There can be a huge difference when you guesstimate. They are cheap too.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    I lost my weight without weighing, but it does not work for everyone. I prepare most of my meals from scratch, too. You can use the package weight from meats and produce to calculate the amount in a serving or recipe. For instance, I bought 3 nectarines with a total weight of 1.45lbs. I divided by 3 to get an average weight of each one.

    I also tend to err on the high side of calorie counts. I logged .5lbs for each nectarine and did not subtract for the pit.

    When I use measuring spoons or cups I slightly underfill or overestimate the amount when logging. I log 1 tablespoon of sour cream as 1.1 tablespoons.

    I also know I probably underestimated my calories on something everyday so I stayed slightly below the MFP suggestion. I looked at my rate of loss (between .5 and 1lb per week) and adjusted accordingly if I stalled for longer than 14 days.

    This worked for me, but may not work for everyone.
  • toughmuther
    toughmuther Posts: 27 Member
    100% scale yes
  • tennileb
    tennileb Posts: 265 Member
    I use a scale as much as I can for non veggie item or higher calorie veggies ( avocados, potatoes sweet potatoes...) . I don’t weight salad greens or low calorie veggies .
  • alspran
    alspran Posts: 14 Member
    I'm with tennileb a food scale is a must have! Two years ago I bought one and it helped me to shed about 30 lbs in a few months. It is great for avacados and potatoes...ALSO great when I'd splurge. EX when you feel like splurging on a piece of frozen pizza, do you really trust yourself to eyeball it??? I found I was considering a slice to be a lot smaller than I thought. It's also important to use the food scale for things like cheese(high cal and hard to estimate)
  • mazurkiepolish
    mazurkiepolish Posts: 363 Member
    Food scale!! It’s a must. Weigh everything and log everything! That way you won’t have to worry about underestimating.
  • alspran
    alspran Posts: 14 Member
    Just wanted to note they are so cheap too. They offered 3 different ones at the Target by my house and they ranged anywhere from $10-$15...not a major investment, so i figured wth why not!

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