How precise is everyone with food diary?

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  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    I've started up tracking my food so many times that I have a routine. This may not be The Right Way To Do It, but it's what I do.

    For the first few weeks, I guesstimate, eyeball, and rely on package weights. I'm making all sorts of changes in how I eat, and I don't want to get overwhelmed with trying to get everything perfect all at once. I'm very overweight, plus tall and solidly built even without the fat, so I can rely on a "honeymoon period" where I lose water weight and my system adjusts to the eating plan.

    But the honeymoon always ends. When I stop losing weight at my goal rate, it's time to tighten up. The food scale comes out of the back of the cupboard, and it's weigh-&-measure time. I also get more serious with comparing food labels to the nutrition info in the app - most of that info is correct, but there are errors that can make a difference. After a while, I have verified entries for most of what I usually eat, and I've gotten pretty good with portion sizes. Then I can start getting more relaxed with the weigh-&-measure routine.

    Until I hit a plateau. Then it's time to tighten up and verify all over again. The thing that really works for me about this is that I get to pour my frustration over the plateau into all that renewed weighing and measuring.

    FWIW, I use a spring scale that I bought at a thrift store for $5 or so, and it's done fine for me so far. Eventually, I expect I'll hit a plateau I can't break, and then I'll get myself a better scale.

    Your mileage, and weight loss, will almost certainly vary. :)

    I’ve actually wondered what to do when I plateau- is it a better idea to start slow and use those times to get strict like you would?

  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    reflectionofme wrote: »
    Scale all the way. There can be a huge difference when you guesstimate. They are cheap too.

    I’m starting to really worry that’s what I might be doing with all these responses!

  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    funjen1972 wrote: »
    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.
    I *think* I’ve been overestimating on calories as well just to be safe - I’m still at the beginning of this journey (ha, I love that word) so I’m unsure if how I’m doing it is right for me or if I’m just fooling myself 😂

  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    MsHarryWinston wrote: »
    Get a scale! The scale will be your new god. Make sacrifices to the scale in tribute.

    😂😂😂 I’m naively trying to avoid sacrifices !
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    tennileb wrote: »
    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 .
    Oh yes, I wouldn’t bother with salad greens either, though I didn’t even think of weighing avocados! The thought of that makes me sad but it makes sense
  • mountainmare
    mountainmare Posts: 294 Member
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    I do a combo--I bought a scale for baking so had one on hand. In the beginning I weighed to get an idea on portion size, as I went on I weighed less (just a spot check once in awhile) as long as I was losing. If I stop losing I'll tighten up. I'm short and old (69) so any calorie creeps will make a big difference. I want to be able to eyeball because I don't want to spend the rest of my life tied to weighing every morsel. To me the scale (and logging) is like training wheels.
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    alspran wrote: »
    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)

    I didn’t even know you could add pizza in this by weight! My biggest concerns are cheeses and meats! I think I am too generous with my portions like you! Thank you :)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    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.

    This is really the most important part of all of this. Some of us are better at eyeballing than others. If your method is working for you and you're seeing the results you want then great! Why change what's working? But if you want to try out a food scale for a few weeks or aren't seeing the results you want, then we can certainly offer some food scale tips & advice.
  • danasmashinggoals
    danasmashinggoals Posts: 16 Member
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    alspran wrote: »
    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!
    I’m in Australia, nothing is cheap here 😂 but will definitely check out all the cheap stores, just something to get me started so I can see if my guesstimates are anywhere near the mark!
  • cjcool88
    cjcool88 Posts: 188 Member
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    Measuring cups, measuring spoons and a food scale are a must! Period. I'm a food biochemist, meaning I have worked with food on large production scales, I've worked in chemistry labs and feel that I'm good at measuring stuff by heart, but, I've found out that I underestimate weights and measurements all the time, so the average person definitely underestimates and overestimates measurements for sure. And even if you have a scale and other tools, there's still a margin of error, that's how machines work (a ± margin), so it is very very difficult to achieve a total precision when using the food diary, but you can definitely get very close if you know how to use them.
  • jckgmz
    jckgmz Posts: 39 Member
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    I always guesstimate lol as long as I know I am not adding less calories than it should , I rather add a little extra calories and not intake them than adding a less and over doing it. Am I making any sense lol?

    But keeping track of what I been eating lately is helping me loose all the weight I gained with my pregnancy , sometimes I want to be lazy and not add it but now that I made up my mind and started a food journal and keeping track in here too its been super effective I've lost 6 lbs since I started logging everything and not cheating which I've noticed I been losing weight more consistently and faster since I started logging my food but in total I've lost 24lbs already.

    Whish you the best of luck!
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I have one.....but its currently packed away in another state and I simply can't justify buying ANOTHER one until I get the one own here with me, which I will soon. I used it religiously when I was here the first time around.

    Having said that, I try to scan labels whenever possible to get the right info. I DO measure physical amounts....just not the weight at the moment. I DO miss my scale.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    danasmashinggoals wrote: »
    alspran wrote: »
    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!
    I’m in Australia, nothing is cheap here 😂 but will definitely check out all the cheap stores, just something to get me started so I can see if my guesstimates are anywhere near the mark!
    Try Amazon :)
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
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    danasmashinggoals wrote: »
    funjen1972 wrote: »
    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.
    I *think* I’ve been overestimating on calories as well just to be safe - I’m still at the beginning of this journey (ha, I love that word) so I’m unsure if how I’m doing it is right for me or if I’m just fooling myself 😂
    You'll find the answer when you weigh over the next few weeks. If the results are not as you expected then you evaluate how you can improve (get a scale to log more accurately) and move forward. A few weeks of experimenting is really insignificant compared to the journey (yes, love that!)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited September 2018
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    danasmashinggoals wrote: »
    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 :)

    I was spinning my wheels until I got a food scale and realized I was *kitten* at using cups and spoons and estimating! A fine in between would be to pick up a food scale and commit to using it for all solids for a couple of weeks. Whenever you can, first eyeball or measure your portion, then put it on the scale. If it seems like you were doing a pretty good job, you can save the scale for just calorie dense stuff or stuff that's hard to put in a cup.

    Alternatively, just do what you're doing for 6-8 weeks. Then if you aren't losing like you expect to, start weighing out your portions at that point. Some people use it for every little thing, others just for stuff that is calorie dense or they have a mental block on appropriate portion sizes.

    You have to find the right balance for you personally between exactness and compliance. In general, the food scale isn't really a pain once you get in the habit, but plenty of people find success without it. My personality is very detail and data oriented, and doubting my estimates was causing me a lot of stress, so the food scale was a life saver. For others, not so much. Good luck :drinker:
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
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    Get a food scale, use metric measurements, never use a volumetric measurement for solids, track every component of your meals. Sorted.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I'm not a big weigher as most people here are. You can certainly lose weight without weighing everything you eat, but it's a useful tool to have. I do have a food scale and weigh things, but not everything. I will say the food scale comes in handy, not just for logging in MFP. It's good to use for some recipes, baking, and I buy my meat in bulk so I use it to portion out my meat for the freezer too. Not to mention they are inexpensive, so why not.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    If what you were eating that caused slow weight gain is the way you plan on continuing to eat, so no whole-sale changes to your way of eating (which is what the vast majority actually do so they have no idea how much they were eating) - then you could skip the scale, and merely do some lookup on items you could skip in your daily eating.

    Find about 600-800 calories worth of food to not eat anymore.

    That could be as simple as leaving out non-diet pop, or 2 servings of desserts, or a midday snack, or as much fast food extra meals weekly, or some other easy method.

    Knowing of course as you lose weight (depending on how much) - your regular way of eating needs to be less when you have less body to move around.

    If you have started moving more also - you don't even need to find that much to leave out - perhaps only 500 is needed to go missing, because you are keeping more active by about 250 extra daily.
    That would take care of creating a deficit to lose weight, and losing the calories that caused the gaining of weight.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,139 Member
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    I will be the odd one in here and I will [probably get a lot of woos but here it goes.

    I only had about 12lbs to lose when I joined MFP 9 years ago. I didn't have a food scale (I am not a baker so I never needed one). I estimated everything and I used measuring cups for everything. Yes, even solids (OMG!).

    I lost the extra weight slowly but I didn't care and I was also expecting it. I exercised and I didn't eat all of my exercise calories, unless I was hungry. After being in maintenance for about 4 years I decided to get a food scale to keep better track of my macros (protein, fat and carbs). I became attached to the scale and I actually resented that attachment. I still do.

    I left MFP for few months to give myself a reprieve from logging, but I continued weighting the food according to packages' directions. For home cooked meals, I had printed recipes and good looking daily diary and they guided me during part of my journey. I came back few year ago just for the macros, but I had kept my weight down and under control.

    I give myself rest from the scale and the logging by not using MFP on vacation, while eating at friends' houses or a restaurants. I have been in maintenance for over 8 and half years, and I only give myself a two lbs, up or down, limit.

    I still weight my food, specially for my own homemade recipes by I am not OCD about it. I estimate a lot. So OP, just do what you think that is best for you and what gives you the best results.

    If you feel that you need to get a scale to make sure that all your macros are balanced, and because you are not losing weight. Go and buy one. It may help you to get a better idea of portions and reduce your anxiety about how much you are really eating. Be your best judge, you got good suggestions already.

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