Measuring and Counting

[disneychrista]

Does anyone (else) measure/count everything they eat?
In the past I resisted having to meausre everything out but I am finding it very helpful to do so, especially since I am journalizing (another thing I resisted in the past) w/ calories everything I eat to help keep on track.
I am finding that with somethings the "serving size" is actually MORE then I would normally eat (2 TBS of salad dressing on my 1.5 cups of salad is too much), other cases I have found that it is a less then I would have eatten (7 triscut cracker is considered a serving) and some are just about right on.

 

[Lesley]

I think keeping track of portion sizes is essential for me. I know how many carbs are in a certain portion of a food....so I know I need to limit myself to that portion. There are certain things that I can eye up pretty well now, though....the dish I eat nuts out of holds 1/4 cup and the bowls I use for salad are very full at 3 cups, just about right at 2 cups, etc.....

I think this is just how I have to eat from now on....being on Atkins, though, I just need to know carb counts and fiber to work out what I can have. Not too hard.

 

[tiggerlover]

I do measure a lot of things just to get the accurate count. Some things I know the portion size so I don't bother, but most I do.

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Since I am counting calories I weigh and measure everything I eat pretty much. I am not good at eyeballing things yet. I am sometimes really surprised at how much a serving is. Due to stomach problems Im actually having difficulty eating enough calories a day and Im slowing my weight loss because of it. A wise friend gave me the idea of eating five smaller meals instead of three regular meals in order to get my calorie count up to 1200.

 

[dizneenut]

Yes, I do measure alot. I'm getting good at eyeballing some things, though.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'm glad you posted this because I was just thinking that I should get a small scale to weigh my food.

Do any of you know where I can get a decent INEXPENSIVE food scale???

I have a feeling that I am eating a little more, per portion, than I should be!

 

[believe]

I have gotten good a 'eyeballing' the size. If I am at home I do measure, only because if I am eyeballing I tend to give myself less...just incase I am off here or there.

 

[TigH]

I measured a lot when I started my program, but I am good at eyeballing now though. I am thinking about starting WW this week, so I will probably start measuring all over again! It's a good way to hold yourself accountable for what goes in your mouth!

 

[nativetxn]

I measure the items that could really wreak havoc with my eating plan success. Cheese, nuts and vegetables. Actually that is about all I need to measure, now that I think of it. It's helpful to measure. There are a lot more nuts in one ounce than I thought there was.

 

[caitycaity]

i measured everything at the beginning. now i am pretty good at eyeballing.

i couldn't believe how much a cup was when i first started measuring. it seemed like so much! LOL

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Seaspray my dh bought a scale for me at Albertsons. Its nice because it has a bowl for things that can roll around or you can take the bowl off and measure for things like meat etc... It was not very expensive I want to say around 10.00.

 

[robinb]

I have a "Sunbeam Programmable Digital Electronic Postal Scale" from Office Max. It's about $29. I wanted a digital scale where I could "tare" out what was already on the scale. That is, I could weigh a bowl, hit the tare key and it would zero out the weight of the bowl and then I could add my stuff. It works great .

I also bought a set of large measureing spoons from Weight Watchers years ago. They are more like large plastic ladles with long handles. One is 1/2 C and the other is 1 C. I serve myself using those spoons and it's much easier to calculate how much of something I had.