Are you struggling to lose weight even though you track everything and eat low calories?
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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
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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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When I first started MFP, I set my weekly weight loss to 2 lbs per week. The realty was that I lost 3 pounds a month despite weighing and logging all food. As I exercised each month and grew fitter, the amount of weight lost each month has increased. My experience runs counter to many on this site but I have read of others on here that lose small intervals at when they start instead of the large drops that others experience the first couple of months.3
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dragon_girl26 wrote: »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.
But that assumes that a) the spoon is a standard size and b) you don't pile on the peanut butter but only go to the edge and not over.1 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »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.
But that assumes that a) the spoon is a standard size and b) you don't pile on the peanut butter but only go to the edge and not over.
Here in the US, home of the dipwit "tablespoon" type measure, there are standard measuring tablespoons that all have the same volume capacity, and "one tablespoon" would be understood to refer to those special spoons.
Anyone who cooks recipes using the dipwit tablespoons method understands that "one tablespoon" means a level tablespoon, unless it explicitly says otherwise. Specifically, it means one is intended to pack the spoon full, and scrape over the top of it with something flat like a knife, to remove the excess. "Measuring tablespoons" are normally designed in a way to facilitate this scraping process. This is the dumb way we usually standardize recipes here, without using a scale. 🤷♀️
None of this makes tablespoons less dipwit as a measuring scheme. But here, to anyone accustomed to the measure, your (a) and (b) would be implied and assumed when "one tablespoon" is referenced, such as on a peanut butter jar. 😉😆9 -
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 >
For me, the awareness and the consistent feedback on my body weight scale are the most important parts. I lost weight 10 years ago and maintained it for 5+ years (3 logging, 2 not logging) using this method. Unfortunately I stopped weighing myself and working out ... shocker ... the weight came back. I tried several times to just start eating better without logging and resuming workouts but it didn't work. What I've learned is that consistent logging (albeit estimates) allows me to see trends and mid course correct. Last night my wife and I had a really nice dinner out. We each had lobster bisque, an 8 ounce filet, loaded baked potato, wine and sautéed veggies. I have no way to log that dinner accurately but I logged it and now I'm over budget for the week. Last week I was also over budget for the week. For the next couple of weeks I'll try to get back on track by eating a little under and increasing my activity level.
Also, I'm about to go on spring break. I will log everything but when you are eating out for all meals over 4 days it's impossible to be precise. My strategy for vacations is to increase my activity level using all that free time. That's the advantage of being a runner, I can take my workout anywhere I go.
The awareness of these macro trends is far more important than knowing if my oatmeal was 150 calories as planned vs 178 calories.
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dragon_girl26 wrote: »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.
But that assumes that a) the spoon is a standard size and b) you don't pile on the peanut butter but only go to the edge and not over.
Here in the US, home of the dipwit "tablespoon" type measure, there are standard measuring tablespoons that all have the same volume capacity, and "one tablespoon" would be understood to refer to those special spoons.
Anyone who cooks recipes using the dipwit tablespoons method understands that "one tablespoon" means a level tablespoon, unless it explicitly says otherwise. Specifically, it means one is intended to pack the spoon full, and scrape over the top of it with something flat like a knife, to remove the excess. "Measuring tablespoons" are normally designed in a way to facilitate this scraping process. This is the dumb way we usually standardize recipes here, without using a scale. 🤷♀️
None of this makes tablespoons less dipwit as a measuring scheme. But here, to anyone accustomed to the measure, your (a) and (b) would be implied and assumed when "one tablespoon" is referenced, such as on a peanut butter jar. 😉😆
😅🤣
I just had to laugh about the "dipwit" tablespoons, because you're so right on that. 😂😂😂
Yeah, it may be great for spices and some liquids, but just trying to measure out chunky peanut butter with those things is ridiculous. I'd put measuring cups in your dipwit category too. I can pack a ton of ice cream into a 1/2 cup if I'm dedicated enough.12 -
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
essentially the first point of the standard flowchart is to BE PATIENT.
Just because you find it annoying or insulting, does not mean that the answer is not in that chart 98% of the time.15 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »
😅🤣
I just had to laugh about the "dipwit" tablespoons, because you're so right on that. 😂😂😂
Yeah, it may be great for spices and some liquids, but just trying to measure out chunky peanut butter with those things is ridiculous. I'd put measuring cups in your dipwit category too. I can pack a ton of ice cream into a 1/2 cup if I'm dedicated enough.
Or "packed" vs "unpacked" brown sugar. Have I smushed it in the cup well enough to count as packed? (Actually, one of the first things I started doing when I was trying to reduce sugar was just always doing unpacked when baking. I don't notice a taste difference at all.)4 -
From the title, I thought this was going to be a support post for people who lose very slowly, or have trouble losing because of health/metabolic/medication issues.
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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.cwolfman13 wrote: »
A Tbsp serving of peanut butter is 15 grams...says so right on my label.scarlett_k wrote: »Your label is wrong. Or your peanut butter is water
The label might might not be that wrong. I looked up the density of peanut butter. Depending on the recipe, it seems to be anything between 1.01 g/ml and 1.1 g/ml. 1 tbsp of the less dense would be 15.15g, of the heavier one would be 16.5g. That's assuming a smoothed tablespoon, of course. Heaped you could easily be at 27g or 30g.
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callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »essentially the first point of the standard flowchart is to BE PATIENT.
Just because you find it annoying or insulting, does not mean that the answer is not in that chart 98% of the time.
@callsitlikeiseeit just because you find my opinion annoying, doesn't mean I'm not right 98% of the time
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