Using a food scale

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JMR010805
JMR010805 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been told by several people on here that I should be weighing my food. I have a scale and am ready to go. However, I'm not sure how I know what number I should be arriving at. I understand the calorie counting and do it daily, I just don't know the "poundage". Could someone enlighten me on this please?

Replies

  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    The "poundage" is your serving size....YOURS....the serving that will end up in your mouth...that helps you stay within your calorie goals.

    When you log it, you can change the serving size automatically displayed so it accurately reflects what you ate.
  • JMR010805
    JMR010805 Posts: 10 Member
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    I get it now, thank you for the great explanation! So my Dr has put me on a 1200 calorie diet right now, do I just experiment with the weighing until I figure out the right amount to eat or is there another way to know? Like I am going to eat x pounds of food today and that equals 1200 calories? Sorry for the dumb questions, I just don't know!
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,256 Member
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    How have you been counting calories so far? How do you know how much you’re eating currently? Are you going off of serving sizes on packages? Using measuring cups and spoons? That might help us answer a little better
  • gemiller87
    gemiller87 Posts: 135 Member
    edited January 2020
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    JMR010805 wrote: »
    I get it now, thank you for the great explanation! So my Dr has put me on a 1200 calorie diet right now, do I just experiment with the weighing until I figure out the right amount to eat or is there another way to know? Like I am going to eat x pounds of food today and that equals 1200 calories? Sorry for the dumb questions, I just don't know!

    The nutritional data for a packaged product or available on MFP searches show a "g" weight or "grams". If a serving is 100g and you scale your product to 100g you know you're within 20% (nutritional labels are allowed to have 20% calorie count error, sometimes people have it corrected for this adjustment in MFP other times they don't). If you say a 100 calorie serving is 120 calories in your log then you know you're safe but could also be passing up on allowable calories.

    I personally tend not to add the 20% in but I also let the app remove my steps when I have workouts so I just kinda "guesstimate" it as a fair trade.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    JMR010805 wrote: »
    I get it now, thank you for the great explanation! So my Dr has put me on a 1200 calorie diet right now, do I just experiment with the weighing until I figure out the right amount to eat or is there another way to know? Like I am going to eat x pounds of food today and that equals 1200 calories? Sorry for the dumb questions, I just don't know!

    No...foods have different caloric values...like 100 grams of apple has 52 calories. 100 grams of broccoli has 34 calories. 100 grams of chicken breast has 165 calories, etc.

    Your packaged foods will also have a weight listed per portion as well as cups or whatever...using the weight is just more accurate.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited January 2020
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    Sounds like you are new to calorie counting. Personally, when starting out, I would just start by eating what you normally eat and log it, see where you're at. Then you can decide from there which things you can eat less of or cut out, or swap etc. Makes it a little less overwhelming that way. Just my opinion. The food scale is to just get more accurate calorie count. instead of eyeballing a cup of broccoli, you can just put your plate on the scale, tare it, and then add however much broccoli you want, and then log however many grams it was. (For example) Don't forget to log butter or oil that you add to things
  • JMR010805
    JMR010805 Posts: 10 Member
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    COGypsy wrote: »
    How have you been counting calories so far? How do you know how much you’re eating currently? Are you going off of serving sizes on packages? Using measuring cups and spoons? That might help us answer a little better

    I've been using either that calorie count on the package, or on MFP when I look it up. I've been doing things this way for at least 6 months now but have hit a scale stall and I'm just trying to figure out the best way top get it moving again. I only have 10 more pounds to go!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    JMR010805 wrote: »
    I get it now, thank you for the great explanation! So my Dr has put me on a 1200 calorie diet right now, do I just experiment with the weighing until I figure out the right amount to eat or is there another way to know? Like I am going to eat x pounds of food today and that equals 1200 calories? Sorry for the dumb questions, I just don't know!
    JMR010805 wrote: »
    COGypsy wrote: »
    How have you been counting calories so far? How do you know how much you’re eating currently? Are you going off of serving sizes on packages? Using measuring cups and spoons? That might help us answer a little better

    I've been using either that calorie count on the package, or on MFP when I look it up. I've been doing things this way for at least 6 months now but have hit a scale stall and I'm just trying to figure out the best way top get it moving again. I only have 10 more pounds to go!

    With only 10 pounds to go, why would your doctor be concerned enough to put you on a 1200 calorie diet, which is lower than most women need to successfully lose weight? Are you very very short AND sedentary?

    https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

    What's your weekly weight loss goal?

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  • srk369
    srk369 Posts: 256 Member
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    Here is a great place to start on logging...
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • JMR010805
    JMR010805 Posts: 10 Member
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    With only 10 pounds to go, why would your doctor be concerned enough to put you on a 1200 calorie diet, which is lower than most women need to successfully lose weight? Are you very very short AND sedentary?

    I have some health issues that got out of control and caused me to gain some weight, then the Drs I was going to decided to "experiment" which caused more weight gain. My endocrinologist is the one that suggested the diet, almost a year ago. I have been able to drop weight following this plan, along with at least 1 1/2 hrs at the gym 4 times per week, until recently. Dr just wants me down to a healthy BMI, which is where the 10 pounds comes from.

    I am 5'7" and not sedentary at all, though I was previously. It may very well be that I should increase my calories but every time I run the goals on MFP it comes up with between 1200 and 1220 calories per day so I stick with it. My goal right now is 10 pounds by March, which shouldn't be too difficult at a rate of 2 lbs per week over 6 weeks, I just have to figure out how to do it.

    Thank you for your insight!

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