How precise is everyone with food diary?
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I started with a little, very cheap dial scale (picked up at a garage sale), and eventually got a digital scale. If you can spare about $15, a digital scale that has a "tare" feature (lets you put a bowl on the scale, set the readout to zero, and then add food, so that you see just the weight of the food) and that can switch between grams and ounces, is very valuable.
Example: http://a.co/d/e97AtES
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Food Scale made cooking so much easier! I feel like more of pro at cooking using a scale and not in the least bit like I'm obessed with dieting
I cook in bulk for the week, no way I can estimate 1000g of cauliflower. Also heads are not even close to the same size at wegmans at least. And this week I made my delicious Sweet Thai chili turkey cauliflower and rice bowl. I sprinkle peanuts on top but I weight those peanuts because they are super calories dense and it would very easy to rack up some extra calories.2 -
so *kitten* precise you have no idea!!
...kidding. I mean, i try to be as precise as i can without being too crazy about it. i think it's definitely a necessary tool, for me, for weight loss/management. but i'm human, i'm off sometimes i'm sure.
and yes a food scale is awesome and makes accuracy more attainable.4 -
My food scale was $12.00, and it is my best friend. I try to be as accurate with my food diary as I am with my checking account, as mistakes in either can be costly! Be careful when logging things like "Banana
Supermarket, 1 banana, 105 calories", even if they have a green check mark! For example's sake, I peel and weigh my bananas; today's was 117 calories, yesterday's was 112, and Sunday's was 134! That's 48 calories difference with just one item over three days. (I'm on 1200 calories a day, so I have little room for errors.) Good luck to you! You can do this!3 -
I used to be. Now I am not. But... I'm pregnant so I have some leeway since I'm going the other way temporarily...2
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Food scale is a must, I weigh everything including the milk I put in my tea. However, I'm short and have only a small amount to lose so I have to be extremely accurate.2
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Not sure it's a better idea - I'm not advocating that you deliberately start out misestimating portion sizes. More like:danasmashinggoals wrote: »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?
If what you're doing now works, don't fix it.
If what you're doing now doesn't work, do fix it.
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danasmashinggoals wrote: »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 😂
This is a great example of how easy it is to misread tone and intention on the Internet. When I first read this, I thought OP felt like sytchequeen was being rude and hostile ("Is this how you reply?" = "This isn't a nice way to respond to me?") and I was trying to figure out how OP's feelings were hurt by that. It was only the third time I read that it occurred to me that OP might be talking about how the buttons on the forum thread work ("Is this how you reply?" = "Do I click on 'quote' to show what you said that I'm replying to?").
And yes, yes it is.
I find weighing at home greatly improves my estimating when I'm eating away from home. And I already was using a food scale for much of my baking when I started logging on MFP, so it wasn't a great leap to start weighing other food that I prepare at home. I don't consider it being anal. I do occasionally just estimate or even ignore something that I know from experience is low cal and I'm eating in a small amount, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little off.
While I echo everyone who has said that they found food scales to be really helpful, and also that they're not expensive, if you are not having any problem losing weight without using them, and you'd rather not be weighing things, there's no reason to buy them.
But if you eventually hit a point where you aren't losing weight anymore and come back for advice, you will be advised to get a food scale and start weighing.
Best of luck.7 -
Be sure to get a scale with a tare button; it zeros out the scale when you put a container on it. I use it like this: put a bowl or plate on the scale, press tare to zero it out, put in the food. If I have something else to add, tare again and add the additional item. I use gram measurements for the best accuracy.
Once you get used to doing this, it becomes second nature. I tend to eat the same things over and over again, so I have the food search return results sorted by most recent first. Probably takes me a minute or so to record my foods each day.1 -
I use a food scale. I also do a lot of home cooking and those items that are prepackaged or canned I scan and include the portions used. I got a great scale for less than $10 on Amazon. Good luck!
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danasmashinggoals wrote: »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 !
Well I suppose you could use chocolate Easter bunnies or something. Just be sure to weigh it before you eat it!
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So far I've been OK only weighing most calorie dense foods, like nuts. I have, however, in the past weighed out some of my most regular foods so I know how much a slice of cheese weighs when cut with my cheese slicer, what 5g of olive oil looks like on my frying pan, etc. I do take advantage of package labels, tho. For example, the pasta I use comes in 500g bags, and my husband and I use a bag in 3 dinners. So, one dinner is 1/3 of the 500g bag, and I had half that, so 1/6 of 500g. I put in a can of crushed tomatoes, and log half a can. And so on. It's very helpful to me since it's accurate enough for my personal weight loss goals, and I don't have to interrupt things like my burger-building process to weigh everything. Instead, I can sit down, log everything before or afterwards, and just enjoy the cooking and eating without the scale hassle.
To add: I'm fairly tall (5'8"), have still 20+ to lose, and I'm pretty active. I don't even own a car, and I average more than 2500cals in daily burn. If you're petite, inactive and don't have a lot to lose, this might be trickier.2 -
A lot of people mention using a food scale as being good because it can stop you underestimating. But you know what, I also find it useful to stop me from OVER estimating. I discovered that when I was logging 100g of new potatoes, I was not actually serving myself 100g because I was SO concerned about going over that I actually went under.
So, happier and more confident portion sizes. What I love about mine is that I can put my bowl or plate on there, zero out the scale and then add my first item, zero it out again and add the next, etc. So easy, and great when I want a bit of light mayo with my potatoes. Which I always do. 10 -
The food scale is my freedom. I don't worry about overeating because I know exactly how many calories I'm eating. This gives me the freedom to eat whatever I want. It would feel too "diety" without it, having to stick to true and tested lower calorie foods.4
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »danasmashinggoals wrote: »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 😂
This is a great example of how easy it is to misread tone and intention on the Internet. When I first read this, I thought OP felt like sytchequeen was being rude and hostile ("Is this how you reply?" = "This isn't a nice way to respond to me?") and I was trying to figure out how OP's feelings were hurt by that. It was only the third time I read that it occurred to me that OP might be talking about how the buttons on the forum thread work ("Is this how you reply?" = "Do I click on 'quote' to show what you said that I'm replying to?").
And yes, yes it is.
I find weighing at home greatly improves my estimating when I'm eating away from home. And I already was using a food scale for much of my baking when I started logging on MFP, so it wasn't a great leap to start weighing other food that I prepare at home. I don't consider it being anal. I do occasionally just estimate or even ignore something that I know from experience is low cal and I'm eating in a small amount, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little off.
While I echo everyone who has said that they found food scales to be really helpful, and also that they're not expensive, if you are not having any problem losing weight without using them, and you'd rather not be weighing things, there's no reason to buy them.
But if you eventually hit a point where you aren't losing weight anymore and come back for advice, you will be advised to get a food scale and start weighing.
Best of luck.
Oh I’m sorry! I’m relieved you re-read it and saw it wasn’t my intention to be rude! It was my first post in here and the layout is quite different to other forums I’ve used
The advice has been amazing! I’m keeping an eye on my progress while I look for a good scale that has all the right buttons and doesn’t use those little button batteries (I’m taking notes!)
Thank you 😊
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Thank you so much to everyone’s responses! This ‘healthy lifestyle’ is quite new to me (quite different to the quick fad diets) so while my question seemed basic, you guys went above and beyond! I didn’t expect so many people to weigh their food but I now understand why, I’m fairly convinced I’m too generous with my portions even though at the moment I seem to be losing weight (it’s so early on I’m assuming it’s water weight). Thank you for sharing your stories and opinions with me 3
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danasmashinggoals wrote: »Thank you so much to everyone’s responses! This ‘healthy lifestyle’ is quite new to me (quite different to the quick fad diets) so while my question seemed basic, you guys went above and beyond! I didn’t expect so many people to weigh their food but I now understand why, I’m fairly convinced I’m too generous with my portions even though at the moment I seem to be losing weight (it’s so early on I’m assuming it’s water weight). Thank you for sharing your stories and opinions with me
Come back in a few weeks time and keep us posted of how its all going 3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
When I first read this, I thought OP felt like sytchequeen was being rude and hostile ("Is this how you reply?" = "This isn't a nice way to respond to me?") and I was trying to figure out how OP's feelings were hurt by that. It was only the third time I read that it occurred to me that OP might be talking about how the buttons on the forum thread work ("Is this how you reply?" = "Do I click on 'quote' to show what you said that I'm replying to?").danasmashinggoals wrote: »Oh I’m sorry! I’m relieved you re-read it and saw it wasn’t my intention to be rude! It was my first post in here and the layout is quite different to other forums I’ve used
hahaha, it never occurred to me the post might be a negative reaction to my answer... so we're all good.
I'm glad the responses have helped you decide. Now I've been weighing a logging for over 400 days (crikey) I feel much more confident to estimate when I am eating out or at friends houses. So you should find it a very useful learning tool.
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i use a food scale for every meal that In grams and i weight my snacks as well.1
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I never used scales in the beginning, in fact I never even logged my cups of tea! (I tended to always be under on my cals though - so really, I was probably just about there or only slightly over - at least that's what I tell myself) But now I use my scale all the time, quickly realised how much I was underestimating what I ate aha, especially cereal!!! I assumed I was having the serving size on the box, then found out I was eating double that! Now I scan barcodes and weigh my portions and its helped loads! Finally over the half way mark to my goal, so definitely would recommend getting a food scale1
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I didn't use a scale in the beginning and eyeballed. I lost no weight.
Decided to give a food scale a try, and began logging my calories pretty religiously. I meal prep once a week, so I only have to weigh things out on one day per week and log that amount all week. I'm only lax about weighing and counting on the weekends since I only eat once or so per day on those days, and it's usually a big meal.1 -
Very exact. No excuses!0
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I'm probably within 50 cals each day. Sometimes I forget to log gummy vitamins or give myself a freebie cup of tea.0
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danasmashinggoals wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »danasmashinggoals wrote: »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 😂
This is a great example of how easy it is to misread tone and intention on the Internet. When I first read this, I thought OP felt like sytchequeen was being rude and hostile ("Is this how you reply?" = "This isn't a nice way to respond to me?") and I was trying to figure out how OP's feelings were hurt by that. It was only the third time I read that it occurred to me that OP might be talking about how the buttons on the forum thread work ("Is this how you reply?" = "Do I click on 'quote' to show what you said that I'm replying to?").
And yes, yes it is.
I find weighing at home greatly improves my estimating when I'm eating away from home. And I already was using a food scale for much of my baking when I started logging on MFP, so it wasn't a great leap to start weighing other food that I prepare at home. I don't consider it being anal. I do occasionally just estimate or even ignore something that I know from experience is low cal and I'm eating in a small amount, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little off.
While I echo everyone who has said that they found food scales to be really helpful, and also that they're not expensive, if you are not having any problem losing weight without using them, and you'd rather not be weighing things, there's no reason to buy them.
But if you eventually hit a point where you aren't losing weight anymore and come back for advice, you will be advised to get a food scale and start weighing.
Best of luck.
Oh I’m sorry! I’m relieved you re-read it and saw it wasn’t my intention to be rude! It was my first post in here and the layout is quite different to other forums I’ve used
The advice has been amazing! I’m keeping an eye on my progress while I look for a good scale that has all the right buttons and doesn’t use those little button batteries (I’m taking notes!)
Thank you 😊
One other thing to look for is the maximum weight the scale can measure. If you do a lot of batch cooking (i.e., want to be able to weigh an entire recipe like a pot of chili or soup), it can be helpful to have a scale that will weigh the pot + food. Mine can handle 11 lbs/5 kg, and I've never had a pot of food it couldn't handle.
And on the first issue -- I totally meant it as a reflection on reading and interpreting, not on writing in general or yours in particular. Yes, we can all try to be clear in what we write, and pronouns whose antecedents are unclear ("this" in your post) can make it easier for people to misinterpret, but I see a lot of misinterpretations in the forum, some of which lead to heated debate, and I was just trying to show that it can help to take a few extra seconds to think about how we're interpreting a post and whether another interpretation makes sense. And that it's helpful to assume good intent on the part of the writer.3 -
This thread has motivated me to finally get a new food scale. I got one from walmart for like $11. The battery died within a week and it's a piece of crap. I just saw a rechargeable one on amazon for $18!1
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Crochetluvr wrote: »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.
Sadly, scanning is not necessarily any more accurate than searching the food database by hand. Most of the database is crowd-sourced: Entered by regular users. We don't know how committed to accuracy those people were. Any of the entries, even the bar-coded and green-check "verified" ones can be incorrect. The bar code scanning can add convenience, but not necessarily increase accuracy.
OP, a few more reasons I like using a scale:
1. It's a time-saver vs. cups/spoon measuring. In addition to the "making a sandwich" tip of putting the plate on a scale and hitting tare between ingredients, another time-saving tip is to put a bottle, jar, or hunk of something on the scale, tare, then remove the portion you plan to use. The negative value on the scale is the amount you took out. This works great for things like peanut butter, salad dressing, yogurt from a big tub, or chunks of cheese.
2. If you're meticulous in your logging, and see a scale jump, you pretty much know whether it's water weight or not, unless you noticeably slowed down in your daily routine. If you didn't slow down, and you didn't eat 3500 calories over your maintenance calories, you know an extra pound on the scale is water weight or temporary digestive system contents.
3. Having logging data as accurate as you can reasonably make it also helps with weight loss arithmetic. While losing, I got to a point where I could accurately predict, before eating, what the consequences of a calorie-bomb treat or meal would be, either in hours/days delay in reaching goal weight, or in weight gained (or loss foregone) in the short run. It makes those decisions easier and less stressful.
4. As you get close to goal, you can use accurate log data to estimate your personal maintenance calories quite accurately. Since the calorie "calculators" (including MFP's) are only estimates, and are inaccurate for some of us, this is a way to get a better estimate.
I'd still agree that weighing food isn't essential for everyone, but I'm a believer, for myself.4 -
Only use scales if you're committed to managing your weight and nutrition. Scales + MFP database = knowledge. Knowledge + Committment = Control.
This! I weigh everything & track my exercise. I want the data. Also, if I don’t weigh, I overestimate calories, so by weighing, I get to eat more! By doing calculations on the data, I’ve learned that I lose almost twice as fast as the numbers would indicate.Also, I wanted to add that at first I didn't want to use one, because it seemed 'obsessive' and I like to avoid disordered behaviour. But honestly, it takes all the emotion and obsession out of it, because you are being as scientifically accurate as possible, which for me anyway, reduces my stress about losing weight. I feel secure in what I'm eating. And it's so much easier (and more accurate!) than measuring cups! It's no hassle at all to simply put the plate on the scales and assemble a sandwich, taring the scale before adding each new ingredient. It takes no time at all. I do it with my phone in my hand, and the great thing about that and the scales is that I can see very quickly if I want to add more calories or take some away. It becomes second nature very quickly, and I think it's the best way to learn about portion sizes and what is actually in our food.
Me too!When I was estimating, I wasn't losing weight since I didn't know what a normal portion size was (I was underestimating on my calories but way overeating) Now that I bought my food scale, I measure EVERYTHING. It's a pain at first but honestly, I feel weird if I don't portion things out now. It is so worth the $10-$15!
Yep, me too!Using a food scale has been a liberating experience for me. It took the guesswork out of my logging and turned losing (and maintaining, and bulking) into a peaceful experience. It's also faster than measuring and affords quicker clean up. And as someone who also cooks a lot from scratch, I greatly prefer using weights to volume measurements now.
Much easier, as this poster says, than cleaning measuring cups...and salads are so easy...put bowl on scale..tare..and greens..tare..tomatoes...tare...etc
[/quote]I love my food scale so much I bought a second one to have as a back-up It's a very handy and useful tool.
Same!!
And.. if I fill up early, I can weigh what I didn’t eat and subtract it.
OP - one idea I had for you.
Perhaps you could just use the scale for cheese & meats since you mention those specifically & see how it goes for 2-4 weeks?
Since you mentioned how much you love cheese which I used to love & eat quite a bit myself. When I began dieting, I would allow myself one ounce every day and the scale came in very helpful for that. (I also gave myself 1-2 ounces of raw, unsalted nuts and up to 1 ounce of 82% dark chocolate per day.) My deal with myself was as long as I weighed and kept within those maximums, I could have them.
As I got closer to goal weight, I decreased cheese (realized it was the salt I liked). I now have an oz of cheese 0-2 times a week, 1 to 1 1/2 unsalted nuts and about 1/2 to 1 of dark chocolate per day, and I don’t have any problems with eating more, so the scale helped me learn to manage trigger foods well.
I did weigh my other foods so I could more accurately build the nutritional profile that I felt was best for my body.0
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