Amen.

I don't use a measuring tape with my food. :) For an apple, a small one is about 80 calories. The difference is, small ones come in the "bags", and the larger ones are the ones that are in the bins by themselves, that you bag yourself. Those large apples are often double the size...once you know that, you don't have to measure apples. :lol: So, I don't. I just buy the small ones.

I own a food scale, but the only thing I ever use it for is meat. I am not obsessive about that at all.

As far as measuring portions...if I am at someone else's house, or at a restaurant, I eyeball. BUT-I do measure at home. Really, it isn't a big deal. It takes me 5 seconds extra, tops to measure peanut butter.

For me personally, I am more careful with my measurements on butter, oil, and peanut butter than most other foods-because they are very caloric foods for the serving size.

If you are eating a 1 cup serving of grapes or berries, going over a tad when you eyeball might put you at an extra 5 or 10 calories...but going over a tad on peanut butter or oil might set you back 50-60 if you overestimate. If you do that on a daily basis...it could be 400 calories by the end of the week.

If I have juice or milk or another higher calorie drink-I found a very simple way to ensure the proper portion without measuring it and then pouring it into a glass. I have a shaker cup that has ounces marked on the side (like a baby bottle would) and I just pour it directly into that cup. Problem solved.

There are so many tricks to calorie counting to make it easier and not obsessive.

I find though, that when I keep track of my portions better at home, that when I am somewhere else, I can eyeball more accurately. If I stopped measuring for a month, my 1/2 cup eyeball would slowly turn into 3/4 cup I am sure...

I am aiming this at new people as well-because the first couple days you might think calorie counting is so hard, and so time consuming. It really isn't. You memorize the calories of foods that you eat often, and you no longer have to look them up.

In my case for instance-large egg-70 calories, 1 cup of strawberries-45 calories, 1 serving of oatmeal (in cannister)-150 calories, small banana-110 calories...I don't have to look any of this up-I already know them! I could rattle off hundreds more... :lol:

It really isn't difficult or obsessive, once you get things down. I am so used to THIS, that memorizing the induction phase of South Beach Diet would seem tedious and difficult. :lol: