Are you struggling to lose weight even though you track everything and eat low calories?
claireychn074
Posts: 1,652 Member
There are lots of threads on here from people who are struggling to lose weight and yet they record ALL their food, and eat below 1200.
Lots of the responses from other posters say you need to weigh your food; it’s frustrating isn’t it? You know how much you’re eating and something is wrong but everyone blames your tracking!
Let me tell you about my peanut butter epiphany. I love the crunchy non-sweetened stuff (I’m in the UK) and used to have a “tablespoon” on my crackers. I used a measuring spoon and logged it on MFP. Now a tablespoon is c15grams. One day I weighted it, and it was 27g. Now depending on the brand, that’s between 50 and 100 calories extra I didn’t know I was eating. So 2 tablespoons (still not much to eat) is anything from 100 to 200 cals extra. Imagine doing that most days and you’ve now wiped out the deficit you’ve carefully created.
So when someone replies with the flowchart about CICO and asks if you’re weighing food, or suggests you open your diary so that they can spot logging mistakes, they’re doing that because they want to prevent you making the same mistakes they did. It can feel insulting when someone implies you don’t know how to log properly, I get that.
But I didn’t. And I now weigh every blasted morsel of the crunchy yummy stuff.
Lots of the responses from other posters say you need to weigh your food; it’s frustrating isn’t it? You know how much you’re eating and something is wrong but everyone blames your tracking!
Let me tell you about my peanut butter epiphany. I love the crunchy non-sweetened stuff (I’m in the UK) and used to have a “tablespoon” on my crackers. I used a measuring spoon and logged it on MFP. Now a tablespoon is c15grams. One day I weighted it, and it was 27g. Now depending on the brand, that’s between 50 and 100 calories extra I didn’t know I was eating. So 2 tablespoons (still not much to eat) is anything from 100 to 200 cals extra. Imagine doing that most days and you’ve now wiped out the deficit you’ve carefully created.
So when someone replies with the flowchart about CICO and asks if you’re weighing food, or suggests you open your diary so that they can spot logging mistakes, they’re doing that because they want to prevent you making the same mistakes they did. It can feel insulting when someone implies you don’t know how to log properly, I get that.
But I didn’t. And I now weigh every blasted morsel of the crunchy yummy stuff.
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Replies
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very true! we dont post these things just for the heck of it
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Granola is such a liar!19
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FWIW, I had some frozen Buffalo chicken fingers the other day and according to the label 9 pieces weighed a certain amount but when I weighed the 9 pieces it came out almost double in weight. Weighing food is important especially if you not losing. It helps with making you aware that just because it is on a food label does not mean it is correct.21
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A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.9
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scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
Yes, and . . .
The label of my specific peanut butter brand says 2 Tablespoons is 33g. Not necessarily so.They're allowed to be a bit off, and with calorie dense foods like that, the difference can be meaningful to calorie counting.
Weighing food isn't universally essential for success IMO, but if someone's not losing as expected, it can be very helpful to be more consistent about doing it, to narrow down possible causes.
Besides, for peanut butter, scale is quicker and fewer dishes to wash. Jar on scale, tare, dip out some with spreading knife, read the negative and log it, spread, lick knife clean. 😉
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scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.14 -
Great points and it is very true that measuring on a scale is way more than accurate than using cups or eyeballing things. However, it can also be frustrating for smaller people who are constantly told to eat more, when trust me, we wish we could!
I maintain around 1450 most days despite having a significant amount to lose and it is very difficult to stick to eating smaller amounts of calories. Some people just maintain on less despite being active. Some people have an injury that prevents them from being more active and eating less is sometimes required.11 -
Yep, I have never been able to eyeball anything I've gotten so used to using my food scale that I'm not sure what I'd do without it. It certainly saves me on having to wash exrra dishes!!
I mean, I've never really understood why people are so opposed to using it sometimes (well, I mean, other than folks suffering or who have suffered from ED, of course).8 -
@noosh713, I think having a lower calorie need through weight, age, height, activity level, or whatever, makes it even more important to accurately weigh food instead of measuring with cups, believing labels, or guesstimating.
Being old and short, and having a weight preference toward the lower end of the BMI range I would have never have reached my goal weight without a scale.
My maintenance was 1200!
(Adding in my exercise and upping my daily activity(with little effort), plus a bit of reverse dieting gave me a nice ~1800)
Sorry to digress a bit,
Weigh your food folks
Cheers, h.14 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is water 8 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »Yep, I have never been able to eyeball anything I've gotten so used to using my food scale that I'm not sure what I'd do without it. It certainly saves me on having to wash exrra dishes!!
I mean, I've never really understood why people are so opposed to using it sometimes (well, I mean, other than folks suffering or who have suffered from ED, of course).
I feel like a very competent cook and adjusting to a scale has been hard for me! I do understand the accuracy aspect of it and so far it has been helpful for me, but I am used to doing things in the kitchen in a certain way, so it's like learning all over again!
To help me get amounts I've actually been using measuring cups to put into the bowl on the scale, because I just have no concept in my head of what the right amount should be in grams. Once I have most of my recipes adjusted, though, that will be easier, and save me some dishes!3 -
alisdairsmommy wrote: »I feel like a very competent cook and adjusting to a scale has been hard for me! I do understand the accuracy aspect of it and so far it has been helpful for me, but I am used to doing things in the kitchen in a certain way, so it's like learning all over again!]
I consider myself a very good cook. I don't follow recipes because I think part of the enjoyment of cooking for me is the creativity. I HATE following recipes and so trying to weigh everything when I cook would completely take the enjoyment out of it for me. I'm a man, so I hate following directions
I've personally never had trouble losing weight by counting calories without weighing/measuring everything. Knowing that estimations lack some precision, I've trained myself to measure accurately by challenging myself to do it without measuring and then testing my results. Sometimes I overestimate, sometime I underestimate -- for me it averages out. I've tested myself with olive oil, oatmeal and proteins and I'm within the margin of error required to make consistent weight loss progress.
Obviously measuring and weighing is the most accurate way to calorie count but it's also the most annoying way. I feel like some people give up on calorie counting because they find it too hard to be precise. In my opinion, the awareness that comes with logging is more important than being absolutely perfect with measurements.
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claireychn074 wrote: »So when someone replies with the flowchart about CICO and asks if you’re weighing food, or suggests you open your diary so that they can spot logging mistakes, they’re doing that because they want to prevent you making the same mistakes they did. It can feel insulting when someone implies you don’t know how to log properly, I get that.
I must admit that I find that form letter response of the flow chart annoying. A high percentage of these 'trouble losing weight posts' aren't issues with logging -- they are issues with patience.
In my opinion, there are more people that misunderstand how to measure weight loss than there are people that misunderstand how to weigh granola
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alisdairsmommy wrote: »dragon_girl26 wrote: »Yep, I have never been able to eyeball anything I've gotten so used to using my food scale that I'm not sure what I'd do without it. It certainly saves me on having to wash exrra dishes!!
I mean, I've never really understood why people are so opposed to using it sometimes (well, I mean, other than folks suffering or who have suffered from ED, of course).
I feel like a very competent cook and adjusting to a scale has been hard for me! I do understand the accuracy aspect of it and so far it has been helpful for me, but I am used to doing things in the kitchen in a certain way, so it's like learning all over again!
To help me get amounts I've actually been using measuring cups to put into the bowl on the scale, because I just have no concept in my head of what the right amount should be in grams. Once I have most of my recipes adjusted, though, that will be easier, and save me some dishes!
I love to cook too..its like one of favorite passtimes. I guess for me the difference is that I didn't really start to get invested more into it until the last five to ten years or so, and by then I was already using the food scale. It sort of just became part of the routine. I just know from the few experiences I've tried that my eyeballing "serving" usually ends up being more like a serving and a half, especially when it comes to ice cream! 😂2 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »I love to cook too..its like one of favorite passtimes. I guess for me the difference is that I didn't really start to get invested more into it until the last five to ten years or so, and by then I was already using the food scale. It sort of just became part of the routine. I just know from the few experiences I've tried that my eyeballing "serving" usually ends up being more like a serving and a half, especially when it comes to ice cream! 😂
Even if I did measure everything out, it would only cover 2/3 of my meals. My wife is in early retirement while I still work. She cooks all of the dinners during the week and I cook dinners on the weekends. She doesn't track calories and I was never going to ask her to measure things out for accuracy, so I've always had to estimate my dinners. It's actually a little easier now because we use one of the meal services (Green Chef now, we've used all of them over the last 4 or 5 years) that provides raw ingredients and a calorie count. But, there is no way to know how much olive oil she uses. She separates the total contents into two plates, who knows what percentage I'm getting. I just think over time it averages out as long as you are honest with yourself and you estimate conservatively (over estimate a little).
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FitAgainBy55 wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »So when someone replies with the flowchart about CICO and asks if you’re weighing food, or suggests you open your diary so that they can spot logging mistakes, they’re doing that because they want to prevent you making the same mistakes they did. It can feel insulting when someone implies you don’t know how to log properly, I get that.
I must admit that I find that form letter response of the flow chart annoying. A high percentage of these 'trouble losing weight posts' aren't issues with logging -- they are issues with patience.
In my opinion, there are more people that misunderstand how to measure weight loss than there are people that misunderstand how to weigh granola
Not sure why you find the flow chart annoying then - one of the first things on it is How long have you been doing this?
It addresses the issue of patience ie of doing it long enough to have significant data/ results to work on.15 -
I love to cook and never use recipes except for inspiration. I actually think this is why when I switched to weighing it was easier for me vs. estimating cups. I never used cups for cooking much -- for baking, but baking actually is better with a scale, and I much prefer cooking to baking anyway. So I still chop up as much whatever as I plan to use, but then I put it on the scale when creating my mis en place or before throwing it in/on the pan, if it's one of those evenings. I'll estimate some things if I forget to weigh them or if it's easier (I estimate olive oil, and I'm consistent enough that I figure it's fine).
I never struggled to lose, both before I started weighing or after (maybe I'm a good eyeballer), but I find logging easier and more fun when I weigh. Some people do, though, and for them weighing for a while and being super duper careful in logging for a while until they know their numbers are right is likely important--their tracking wasn't close enough if they weren't losing (or their goal was the wrong number, but better to find that out).1 -
FitAgainBy55 wrote: »alisdairsmommy wrote: »I feel like a very competent cook and adjusting to a scale has been hard for me! I do understand the accuracy aspect of it and so far it has been helpful for me, but I am used to doing things in the kitchen in a certain way, so it's like learning all over again!]
I consider myself a very good cook. I don't follow recipes because I think part of the enjoyment of cooking for me is the creativity. I HATE following recipes and so trying to weigh everything when I cook would completely take the enjoyment out of it for me. I'm a man, so I hate following directions
I've personally never had trouble losing weight by counting calories without weighing/measuring everything. Knowing that estimations lack some precision, I've trained myself to measure accurately by challenging myself to do it without measuring and then testing my results. Sometimes I overestimate, sometime I underestimate -- for me it averages out. I've tested myself with olive oil, oatmeal and proteins and I'm within the margin of error required to make consistent weight loss progress.
Obviously measuring and weighing is the most accurate way to calorie count but it's also the most annoying way. I feel like some people give up on calorie counting because they find it too hard to be precise. In my opinion, the awareness that comes with logging is more important than being absolutely perfect with measurements.
I don't think any of us disputes that some people can lose weight successfully without precise measuring
nor does anyone claim you have to be absolutely perfect at it.
Heck, I am the biggest fan of 'lazy logging' and my logging is full of estimates and law of averages - and that's fine if it is working.
But if it isn't, trouble shooting diary errors and tightening your logging is best place to start.13 -
paperpudding wrote: »I don't think any of us disputes that some people can lose weight successfully without precise measuring
nor does anyone claim you have to be absolutely perfect at it.
Heck, I am the biggest fan of 'lazy logging' and my logging is full of estimates and law of averages - and that's fine if it is working.
But if it isn't, trouble shooting diary errors and tightening your logging is best place to start.
This is the point I was trying to make too, but didn't do it nearly so well.2 -
paperpudding wrote: »I don't think any of us disputes that some people can lose weight successfully without precise measuring
nor does anyone claim you have to be absolutely perfect at it.
Heck, I am the biggest fan of 'lazy logging' and my logging is full of estimates and law of averages - and that's fine if it is working.
But if it isn't, trouble shooting diary errors and tightening your logging is best place to start.
This is the point I was trying to make too, but didn't do it nearly so well.
I wrote this post precisely because of what you’ve both said. The reality is there are lots of posts from people saying they 100% believe they are eating 1200 cals and not losing, or they’ve hit a plateau, and in a lot of cases they are not logging accurately. Then the (helpful) posters give the flowchart and comment about using a scale. If someone’s been using measuring spoons then they probably won’t know the huge differences there can be.
And @FitAgainBy55 its great that you have a a balanced approach to food and eyeball / average portions. But not everyone is the same, and again that is evident by the plethora of posters asking why they aren’t losing weight.5 -
paperpudding wrote: »I don't think any of us disputes that some people can lose weight successfully without precise measuring
nor does anyone claim you have to be absolutely perfect at it.
Heck, I am the biggest fan of 'lazy logging' and my logging is full of estimates and law of averages - and that's fine if it is working.
But if it isn't, trouble shooting diary errors and tightening your logging is best place to start.
Yes, this is why I started weighing to begin with. It turns out that I actually really wasn't that far off for many things, but it keeps me honest. And I don't do it for absolutely every last ingredient, but for calorie dense things. I still eyeball or volume measure vegetables. For some things that I make myself, like soup stock or pickles, I have no easy way of determining exact nutritive value, so I just pick a commercial version and then use that version consistently in my log.
I value flexibility too - I hate wasting or throwing things away, I adjust recipes all the time to make room for what I have on hand and need to use up. My plan is that once I hit my goal weight and have maintained for a while, I can back up on being so precise or changing the recipe in the builder every time I make it to make sure it's as close to accurate as possible. I should, I hope, have a good understanding by then of what a good amount looks like, how much I should be eating. And if I'm still logging fairly accurately by volume and maintaining my weight, then I should be fine. But if it starts to creep upward, I can get precise again.3 -
alisdairsmommy wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »I don't think any of us disputes that some people can lose weight successfully without precise measuring
nor does anyone claim you have to be absolutely perfect at it.
Heck, I am the biggest fan of 'lazy logging' and my logging is full of estimates and law of averages - and that's fine if it is working.
But if it isn't, trouble shooting diary errors and tightening your logging is best place to start.
Yes, this is why I started weighing to begin with. It turns out that I actually really wasn't that far off for many things, but it keeps me honest. And I don't do it for absolutely every last ingredient, but for calorie dense things. I still eyeball or volume measure vegetables. For some things that I make myself, like soup stock or pickles, I have no easy way of determining exact nutritive value, so I just pick a commercial version and then use that version consistently in my log.
I value flexibility too - I hate wasting or throwing things away, I adjust recipes all the time to make room for what I have on hand and need to use up. My plan is that once I hit my goal weight and have maintained for a while, I can back up on being so precise or changing the recipe in the builder every time I make it to make sure it's as close to accurate as possible. I should, I hope, have a good understanding by then of what a good amount looks like, how much I should be eating. And if I'm still logging fairly accurately by volume and maintaining my weight, then I should be fine. But if it starts to creep upward, I can get precise again.
I think you've hit on something important (at least for me). The point isn't that I necessarily weigh every single thing every single time (although I do usually weigh calorie dense things). If I'm throwing an extra onion in a recipe or my husband gives me his leftover broccoli at dinner, I'm usually not tracking that very specifically, especially now that I'm maintaining. The point is that I know what to do if my weight begins increasing unexpectedly. The tools are there and I know how to use them.11 -
This is so helpful and why measuring cups vary on how people pack them. For people who are still skeptical, just look at how they fill chip bags. It's by weight. That's why it's NEVER filled to the brim and you have so much space in it.callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »very true! we dont post these things just for the heck of it
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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paperpudding wrote: »Not sure why you find the flow chart annoying then - one of the first things on it is How long have you been doing this?
I find it annoying because I know most people aren't going to read it because it is so long. Why is it so long ? Because it address all possible root causes. If you read what people post you can narrow it down to a much more succinct list specific to the OP.
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FitAgainBy55 wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Not sure why you find the flow chart annoying then - one of the first things on it is How long have you been doing this?
I find it annoying because I know most people aren't going to read it because it is so long. Why is it so long ? Because it address all possible root causes. If you read what people post you can narrow it down to a much more succinct list specific to the OP.
Many of the posts asking for help are initially so vague that it would be hard to narrow it down to a specific list for the OP. People are vague about timing, plans, and how they're measuring, so that gives two options: post the chart and hope it helps the OP or ask some follow up questions. I'm more of a follow up question person myself, but I can understand the appeal of the chart, as it really covers just about everything that might be an issue for OP. In the meantime, those of us who are okay with follow-up questions can still do that in the thread if we'd like to uncover more specific areas where we can help.10 -
scarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is waterscarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is water
My peanut butter shows 32 grams for a 2 Tbs serving so 15g for 1 would be in the right ballpark.7 -
I think accurate measuring and weighing is important for calorie dense foods. It’s really easy to go over a serving size on nut butters and nuts. I’m depressed every time I weigh out 0.5 oz of pecans for my oatmeal.6
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scarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is waterscarlett_k wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.
Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is water
My peanut butter shows 32 grams for a 2 Tbs serving so 15g for 1 would be in the right ballpark.
Yeah, I have several jars of different brands of pb in my cabinet and every one of them say 32g for 2 tbsp as well. I doubt every peanut butter jar is mysteriously wrong.7 -
scarlett_k wrote: »A tablespoon is only 15 grams if you're weighing water. It's always 15ml but different items have different densities.
It's even worse than that. A tablespoon in Australia is 20mL (and a cup is 250mL). Another reason to use standard SI units.2 -
FitAgainBy55 wrote: »I consider myself a very good cook. I don't follow recipes because I think part of the enjoyment of cooking for me is the creativity. I HATE following recipes and so trying to weigh everything when I cook would completely take the enjoyment out of it for me. I'm a man, so I hate following directions
s more important than being absolutely perfect with measurements.
I consider myself to be a barely cooking cook. That's because I almost never follow any directions. Heck I open up the fridge and the pantry without a plan and then start cooking depending on what grabs my eye. And halfway through change what I am making depending on the ingredients I've used and how they seem to be cooking together. Seriously. Literally totally change it. Has happened more than once.
Scale, pen, paper, tare, dishes.... jot jot jot. No issues keeping track!
Sometimes I get confused and forget what it was that I was jotting based on the weird kitten abbreviations I used... or forget to log total finished weight and have to make a guess as to how much I end up eating as a guessed broad percentage of what went in.... all that falls under my more recent "loose logging" at maintenance set up!
When I was starting out on MFP, and still in the obese range, I was a bit more "compulsive" with weighing my food and I had a self made rule of not eating any food until it was fully logged in my MFP diary. I also used to test log alternatives to get an idea of where I might end up for the day.... I am not doing any of this at maintenance, or even when trying to create deficits these days... it's more along the lines of keeping track of what was consumed and keeping myself aware.... relatively accurately
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