Success WITHOUT a food scale?

EmmieEatsEverything
EmmieEatsEverything Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright, so I’m going to preface this question with this: I’m well aware of the benefits of a food scale, I’m well aware of accuracy being important on a food log, and I’m well aware that estimations can be horribly off and stall my progress. Without going too deep into the gory details, my Therapist and I have agreed that it is in my best interest to throw the food scale out...so I did. Chucked it right in the bin and I’m not going to fish it out. The look of relief on my husband’s face was pretty gut wrenching and very telling.

Now I’m wondering if this app is worth keeping on my phone without it and for similar reasons that I threw it in the garbage in the first place. I can’t help but think that I have to chose between a sound mind and a lean body. The question on my mind is simple: has anyone had success losing, even slow success, guessing on their entries?

Replies

  • DaisyHamilton
    DaisyHamilton Posts: 575 Member
    I lost weight my first time "dieting" without a food scale. Just logging whatever was on the box for pre-packaged meals and estimating for things like an apple. My weight loss slowed and ended up completely stopping around 20lb lost (from 172lb starting weight, so around 150ish pounds). It's doable if you're being honest with yourself on how much you're eating and can eyeball well enough.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Right off the top of my head, there are several successful users here who either have never used a food scale or have stopped using a food scale. It's just a tool that people find useful for accuracy, it's not obligatory.

    I think some people might possibly find it hard to progress well without one, but we have no way of knowing if you are one of these people.

    It may mean that your weight loss progress looks a bit slower than it would with the scale (or it may not!). I would not think of it as "guessing," I would think of it as a different way of estimating.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    I reached my goal weight without ever using a food scale. But it was sloooooow going and I was okay with that.
    Just the act of logging my food (even if it wasn't as accurate as it could be) was enough to keep me accountable for everything that I ate. I maybe wouldn't have that third cookie if I knew I had to log it.
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    Approaches that don't require a food scale or counting include:

    https://www.intuitiveeating.org/
    https://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/
    http://diet.beckinstitute.org/

    I don't believe in a one size fits all approach to weight loss. I've used principles from intuitive eating, mindful eating, and cognitive therapy in my own efforts - lost weight and have kept it off for several years - but I also found that weighing everything is helpful in learning portion control. But that's me.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    edited December 2018
    I’ve never used a food scale, I actually despise them. It would annoy the heck out of me to have to weigh and measure every little thing. Granted I didn’t really have any weight to lose, I was still considered a normal weight but I just wanted to get fitter, I dropped 20 lbs just watching my portions. The biggest key I think is you must know what feeling full is like and you must know what normal portions look like. If you are confident in your “eye balling” ability then you can be successful without stressing out over measuring. For me I bake and cook a lot, so im well acquainted with measuring tools, it’s easy for me to eye ball what a tbsp of brown sugar packed looks like, or what a cup of milk looks like. I enjoy using this app because I don’t get enough protein , it helps me keep track of my macros and the community is really fun! My diary is open if you want to check out how I log 😊.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Yes and you can really get in touch with patience and forgiveness in the process :) If you have been overly obsessed with weighing your food, my guess is that you may have a reasonable idea of portion. Whether or not continued "tracking" without getting down to specific weighed # of g or oz is useful to you, I don't know. It might be, or it might be a gateway to more severe restriction of food than is necessary. Making peace with yourself sounds like the best goal.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I don't use it as much as I did during the loss but still use it a fair amount. It is a really good educational tool for things in bulk like cereal and meat to know how much a serving is or how much the piece of meat you are having weighs compared to what the label calls a serving.
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
    Your mental health is far more important than the occasional inaccuracies you might come across. If you used it for a while, you are probably aware of approximately what portions you need anyway.

    As far as the app goes, I think you should go based on how you feel. If you think it is leading you down an unhealthy (mentally or physically) path, I would ditch it and just record what you eat in a journal or notebook.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
    I did. I bought a food scale, but did not use it for nearly all of my progress. I found I got close enough with estimated servings for logging food and still made the predicted progress. For a while (maybe 2 months), I tracked calories in from MFP vs calories out from my smart watch in an excel sheet and got an estimated loss based on those differences. I found it was basically right on with how much I actually did lose in that time frame. If you are making progress without a food scale, there is no requirement that says you have to use it. Especially if it is having a negative impact on your daily life.
  • dhiammarath
    dhiammarath Posts: 834 Member
    I'm a lazy food scale person. I'll weight out things like granola that goes into my yogurt, and guess at the weights of the chicken in my dinner. This is largely because a) I don't cook, my husband does and b) we also eat out a lot and I have to guess. What I did do was weigh out what servings of high calorie foods look like, so I have a frame of reference. I usually add a 20% margin of error, and eyeball the scale. If my weight goes from expected to a slug rate, I know I'm overeating and I adjust. Either by really taking time to examine my portion sizes or by scrutinizing how I'm logging.

    I do use a foodscale and one of the best posts I read here (that I can't find a link to anymore) was how to log food using the USDA database and measure it in grams/serving. That was really helpful to me when it came to "guestimating" my food whether from restaurants or my husband's "I think this will be tasty!!" experiments.

    So far, it's worked. I'm almost down 40kg. But it does require me to be highly sensitive to trending data (not fluctuations) and a desire to inspect and adapt on a frequent basis.

    I log via food scale way more at work, than I do at home... after I found out the salad I "guessed" was like 300 calories turned out to be 600+. Dang that ninja chicken!! So the food scale has been EYE OPENING in terms of really and truly understanding what servings look like. In that regard, while I lazily use the food scale, I still check in with it on various items in a "trust but verify" moment. Ie, I'll be like "this is one serving of deliciousness!" and after a while of using that, I'll weigh it to make sure I still understand it is roughly one serving of deliciousness or if I've fattened it up into the Thanksgiving Turkey of deliciousness.

    It works for me as I don't really have the ability, time, or patience to weigh everything I eat.

    YMMV. Good luck!
  • EmmieEatsEverything
    EmmieEatsEverything Posts: 15 Member
    Thank you all for the kind responses
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    msalicia07 wrote: »
    I’m one of the first people to recommend a food scale when someone is complaining about a plateau or saying they’re gaining on 1200 calories... only because they need a concrete understanding of facts before they can move forward.

    However, do I use a scale? No. Why? Because I am following my trend and it is continuing to go down, so whatever I’m doing is working. But if I truly was confused about a stall or gaining, I would get back to diligently weighing everything until I found my groove again.

    This is basically me. When I started on MFP almost 6 years ago, I didn't know about food scales, etc - so I just started with estimating my calorie intake as best as I could. I was losing weight, and feeling good about it. As I read more and more on the boards about the importance of logging accurately, particularly if one is stalled with weight loss, I committed that if/when I hit a plateau I would invest in one right away. I never really did, lost the weight I set out to lose and have been in maintenance for 4.5 years without using one - but I am a staunch advocate of them for new members or for people who think they are eating at a targeted calorie level and not losing weight as desired.

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Yes absolutely. I have lost weight without a food scale in the past. I have one now but I only use it sometimes. Most of the stuff I log I just guess.
  • anothermfpuser
    anothermfpuser Posts: 84 Member
    I've actually never used one for sake of my calorie intake. Have one on hand for when I buy bulk foods (especially meat) and want to freeze in 'meal' sized packs.

    For that matter, I never measured anything either (cups/spoons). Only eyeball...
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    yes, plenty of people can and have lost weight without a food scale.

    for me, personally, I can MAINTAIN without logging/weighing, but its near impossible for me to LOSE without it. If i added exercise in and did not eat anything extra, I will assume there would be a slow rate of loss (and really, this is more or less how im doing it now)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Sure, I've lost weight many times without counting calories. But if I were going to count calories, I'd use a food scale. I left mine at Mom's and was without it for a few days and going back to measuring cups made me nuts. But if using cups doesn't hurt your brain, sure, you could do that.

    If it is the counting that hurts your mental state, try one of these approaches. Beck is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-based so may be an especially good one to discuss with your therapist, who surely is familiar with CBT:
    vingogly wrote: »
    Approaches that don't require a food scale or counting include:

    https://www.intuitiveeating.org/
    https://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/
    http://diet.beckinstitute.org/

    I don't believe in a one size fits all approach to weight loss. I've used principles from intuitive eating, mindful eating, and cognitive therapy in my own efforts - lost weight and have kept it off for several years - but I also found that weighing everything is helpful in learning portion control. But that's me.

  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I agree with essentially everyone who has replied. I think that your mental health is far more more important than weighing your food. One of the reasons why I have used MFP off and on over the years is because there have been times when it's become clear to me that I could easily slip into disordered eating so I stopped while I was ahead.

    I do have a food scale and have for longer than I've even considered counting calories, but I primarily use it for cooking. I suspect the fact that I like to use scales for cooking (especially baking) is part of what allowed me to always keep one in the house. Most of the time I eyeball my portions or use measuring cups (if say, I'm making one serving of oatmeal), but I also make almost everything I eat from scratch which I suspect makes eyeballing a little easier. Either way, I'm still losing weight over time - 21 pounds since August 1st actually.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I lost the majority of my 30lbs without a food scale, it was only for the last stubborn 7 I had to introduce one. When I got to know portion sizes with weighing foods eyeballing became second nature. I'm in my 5th year of maintenance now. I no longer weigh anything (nor log what I eat).
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I lost without a food scale, although I find using a food scale easier and less stressful than estimating. Which brings me to the question: taking into account WHY the food scale was a problem for you (and I simply don't know), is there a reason you think estimating would be less of a problem? This is just a thought question, I am not presuming the answer would be yes or no, and assume you will be able to judge that.

    For me, what occasionally feels burdensome is the logging (and then I skip it for a while). Weighing itself I find a really easy tool to be confident I know how much I am eating, whether I write it down or not. But I get people are different.

    One possible alternative -- and what I did the only other time I tried to lose (and it worked well for me) -- is writing down what you eat to keep yourself honest and mindful and to be able to look back and make adjustments, but not to become obsessive about hitting a particular calorie target or going as low as possible, if that was the issue.

    Of course, any tool can be abused.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I’m down 20lbs not using a food scale and eating out a lot, with a few exceptions. I weigh cashews and every once in awhile I weigh something to recalibrate my eyeballs in particular cheese, potatoes and pasta.

    I have a coach that’s fine with it however I know that if my weight loss stalls I might need to pull it out.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,184 Member
    EmmieEatsEverything wrote: »
    Alright, so I’m going to preface this question with this: I’m well aware of the benefits of a food scale, I’m well aware of accuracy being important on a food log, and I’m well aware that estimations can be horribly off and stall my progress. Without going too deep into the gory details, my Therapist and I have agreed that it is in my best interest to throw the food scale out...so I did. Chucked it right in the bin and I’m not going to fish it out. The look of relief on my husband’s face was pretty gut wrenching and very telling.

    Now I’m wondering if this app is worth keeping on my phone without it and for similar reasons that I threw it in the garbage in the first place. I can’t help but think that I have to chose between a sound mind and a lean body. The question on my mind is simple: has anyone had success losing, even slow success, guessing on their entries?


    I haven't read any of the other postings yet so I don't know what you were told or recommended, but I will be very honest: I didn't buy/used a food scale until I was in maintenance; and the only reason why I bought one was because I wanted to keep a better tally of my macros, and because it was easier to enter the wt. of the ingredients while putting a recipe together. In retrospect, I wish I had not done it.

    I am not dismissing the benefits of weighing our food to know exactly (sort off...) how much we are eating and how to reach our daily calorie goals. However, and only based in my personal experience, we can lose wt. slowly but surely if we keep an eye on our portions. I don't know if this principle would apply to those with a binge condition, those that are obese or very overweight, emotional eaters, sweet lovers or people that really love to eat. I only had about 12lbs to lose (lost 14lbs and in maintenance for 9 years), so just cutting down the portions, being aware of the foods that I was eating (important for me), and don't using exercises calories to justify eating more did the trick.

    I can only say that you may need to experiment and see what works best for you. The scale is a tool, but I know that there are people in this forum that never used a food scale, and some that are not even logging but still losing or keeping their wt. down. Good luck to you with what ever method you decide to embrace, and just remember that determination, consistency, and self-motivation are also as important as the scale.

    Your therapist may have a reason for suggesting ditching the scale. Maybe he/she is more concerned about your emotional being than in your weight, at the present rime


  • counting_kilojoules
    counting_kilojoules Posts: 170 Member
    I started out using a food scale but stopped after a month or two. I'm pretty good at estimating portion sizes and I tend to eat similar things a lot so it works out for me.
  • Frogfisg
    Frogfisg Posts: 17 Member
    I lost 30 pounds in eight months over four years ago. I used mfp daily but only did the cups and tablespoon measures for all things like veg and fruit and grains and beans and nut butters (which is basically what I eat). I cook almost everything I eat from scratch, so I relied on the recipe builder where I did the same sorts of “cup” entries, although it made it easier when using scanned items like soy crumbles or tofu etc (probably more accurate). At least I roughly knew how many calories my meals were (whole wheat pasta with lentil bolognaise is the bomb!).

    Even though the “cups measuring” is not the most accurate, I lost weight because I learned the generalities about calories per portion and how much I was eating. I am also more likely to overestimate than underestimate what I’m eating. I am a grazer for the most part - I rarely sit down to a giant meal as it will upset my stomach for hours . Basically I used hunger as my guide. Real hunger - Not boredom or “peckishness” or mindless in front of the tv. I waited until my stomach was grumbling loudly before I actually ate something. It worked fabulously. Also if I went to bed mildly hungry - I knew I was most definitely in a weight loss mode (not to mention it was a lot easier on my stomach with no regurgitation in the night).

    It wasn’t always easy but I learned the cues from my body about hunger. I stopped using MFP and used the same strategy for several years on my own to maintain my weight with success. Sometimes my weight would fluctuate - but never more than five pounds as I kept tabs on how I fit my new clothes as a guide. I came back to MFP just a few months ago to monitor my fibre intake as some new meds have thrown my stomach into some new troubles.

    So in a nutshell - it can be done, but it’s helpful to have a ballpark idea of the calories you’re eating.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,740 Member
    I lost 55 pounds without a food scale and have maintained that loss for several years. I do log everything I eat. It lets me know approximately how many calories I have to play with at the end of the day. Do I eat a cookie (120 cals) or a bowl of ice cream (300 calories)? It reminds me that I should pick lower calorie meals at restaurants and skip the second beer and dessert. It encourages me to eat an apple when I get hungry mid-afternoon instead of a couple of cookies. I get a lot of exercise, which helps make up for some of the uncertainty in how many calories I'm eating. I also somewhat overestimate some of my calories because I split meals with my husband and he generally gets the larger half, though I count the calories as if portions were equal.
  • Frogfisg
    Frogfisg Posts: 17 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    . I also somewhat overestimate some of my calories because I split meals with my husband and he generally gets the larger half, though I count the calories as if portions were equal.

    Ditto!! Haha!

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