is your family concerned that you are still using a food scale?

csplatt
csplatt Posts: 1,206 Member
edited December 20 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I've gotten a comment or two a la "I thought you said you were done losing weight?" I pretty much am, but I get comfort from still using the food scale to reach my maintenance calories. In reality, it is freeing because it shows me that I can eat more than I instinctively think I should. But it seems to be a red flag in some way to others, who think I need to relax.
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Replies

  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    Nope. My family got used to it, and it no longer seems to even register in their minds. My sister uses one religiously as well. Of course, by "family" I only mean my mom and brother; my extended family members would probably think I was nuts if they knew about it at all. :D
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    No. My husband is used to me doing it and nobody else knows, if I am out somewhere I just make a sensible guesstimate.
    Or things like my lunch box for work are pre weighed at home.
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    edited April 2019
    My parents confuse my scale for a "tablet" all the time and still refer to it as a tablet whenever I clarify what it really is. To be fair, English is not their native language and they aren't the most tech savvy people. My family seems to get that I use it for portion control, and they don't seem concerned about it.
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,157 Member
    No, my family knows it’s important for me to weigh my food as my hunger & non-hunger signals are not clear. I also love to use it because otherwise I’m adding extra calories & I don’t get to eat as much.

    It’s especially important in maintenance!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Not mine, no. Culturally, the food scale doesn't have negative associations here. Most houses have one and many people use it often. When I first started using it for logging my family "got it" right away and it made sense to them that it's an accurate way to record my portions.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Me too. I live in a foreign country and we use a scale to weigh out ingredients everyday. It's a part of life and no one blinks an eye.
  • magpye76
    magpye76 Posts: 51 Member
    I got an eyeroll when i got back from holiday and immediately started weighing my lunch! Still working out my actual maintenance level so he'll just have to deal with it :)
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    ...been using my food scale for a couple of years (not currently losing weight). I'm just used to using it; I can "eyeball" portions pretty well now, but the scale is right there (might as well use it). This doesn't phase my husband at all.

    People at work actually think it's perfectly fine too; I've mentioned that I use 1 and the response has been positive. If you need it to stay on track (and it doesn't interfere with normal life...you still go out and eat at restaurants or parties and don't freak out without the scale)....then it's not a crutch.
  • BattyKnitter
    BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
    I'm not maintaining now, back to losing, but when I was I kept using a scale, been using it for years so everyone is used to it. My parents own a scale and I use it when I visit, when we host a potluck I use my scale so my friends are also used to it.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited April 2019
    I only use it at home and my husband is very supportive. There are few others who see me use it as we're pretty introverted folk. My dad and his wife both use one at home and log on MFP. And, my in-laws, who visit a few times a year, are very laid back, non-judgy people, so they're happy if I am.

    But, even if they weren't supportive, it would be their problem. Using a scale has made my life immeasurably easier and is definitely freeing.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    I'm not a scale person but my current IF practices have drawn a few raised eyebrows. At the start of my journey, I made a promise to myself that nobody, and I mean NOBODY, was going to sabotage my current efforts. And, over 200 days later, this has been my case. Good for you for doing what has worked for you. Keep marching forward even though you've apparently "arrived."
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    No, my husband is used to it, and the rest of my family lives far enough away that they don't know details of my daily routine. However, they've experienced enough issues with obesity, yo-yo dieting, and weight related health problems that most of them understand. They've seen what happens when people just "stop dieting."
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    It's mostly just my husband who sees me use it and he doesn't care, but I get self conscious around others I don't know as well as I do worry it looks obsessive. I tend to just guess when lots of people are over since I have a good eye for it by now--like yesterday when my husband's parents were over. They're also the type to constantly keep asking me if I want food and seeming a bit annoyed when I say no, which I start finding stressful after awhile. My fridge is also now full of sausage rolls and cake that they bought and left, which I don't even want but also don't want to go to waste now they're gone. Grr.

    Sometimes I wish I could bring it to other people's houses to measure out meals but I know I'd get some weird looks.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    thankfully i live with just my son so he doesn't see it as odd or anything.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,192 Member
    My husband doesn't mind and he is used to it, but he doesn't use it when he prepares breakfast.

    I don't weigh things when I have people over, mostly because I don't want to start a discussion (or an argument) about portion control, and because I find it cumbersome. Sometimes I even remove the scale from my counter top and store it inside a cupboard when I have company, and I leave there for few days. The less things that I have on top of my counter, the better I feel.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    My parents were from cultures where you weigh ingredients for recipes, so nobody bats an eye about food scales. My spouse and I both use them religiously - we have a few in our kitchen and both have our own that we keep with us in our vehicles to use at work as well.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    I was present at a social function where there was a passing conversation about eating disorders. One person there said that their daughter is a bodybuilder and weighs everything she eats to the gram. The others laughed or jeered about how dangerously obsessive that was. Thankfully my husband didn't mention that it was my custom as well.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I've been maintaining for 6 years. I only weigh certain things, and then only sometimes. I've gotten used to what a serving of most things I eat look like for me. I'm certainly not obsessive about it and don't use a scale at social gatherings, restaurants, etc.
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    TanyaHooton wrote: »
    staticsplit wrote: »
    My fridge is also now full of sausage rolls and cake that they bought and left, which I don't even want but also don't want to go to waste now they're gone.

    Well it's gonna go to waste one way or another. If it doesn't go in the trash, it'll just be stored on your waist and you'll have to get rid of it the hard way. I'd just have a bite of cake, then take the rest into work and let my co-workers dig in.

    My husband the human garbage disposal ended up eating the sausage rolls at least, haha. I took a bite as an afternoon snack but wasn't in the mood. Wasn't worth it.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    Brother in law gives me $#!÷. He is generally naturally slim. Other than that, they get a little worried sometimes, but have generally gotten uses to it when they come over. Just the price to come to my house.. lol
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    staticsplit wrote: »
    It's mostly just my husband who sees me use it and he doesn't care, but I get self conscious around others I don't know as well as I do worry it looks obsessive. I tend to just guess when lots of people are over since I have a good eye for it by now--like yesterday when my husband's parents were over. They're also the type to constantly keep asking me if I want food and seeming a bit annoyed when I say no, which I start finding stressful after awhile. My fridge is also now full of sausage rolls and cake that they bought and left, which I don't even want but also don't want to go to waste now they're gone. Grr.

    Sometimes I wish I could bring it to other people's houses to measure out meals but I know I'd get some weird looks.

    I believe that eating food you don't want or need is just as wasteful as throwing it in the garbage.

    True, but I wish they'd not bought it so someone else could have it or take it back with them! I ended up having half a chocolate melt in the middle pot and it fit in my calories, so it worked out fine in the end.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,255 Member
    Just tell them it helps you be mindful about what you’re eating. People often make comments about others’ habits because they are secretly wondering if they should be doing it, too but don’t want to make the effort. People are often threatened by things they don’t understand or which depart from their own habits. The problem is theirs and they should not be poking their noses into your business unless they are truly interested in learning about what you’re doing and why. So many people who are overweight try to feel better about themselves by trying to get others to eat more and thus “normalizing” their overeating.
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