So my mom thinks im werid and going over board by weighing my lettuce/onions and stuff like that. I measure out my ketchup..ranch..mustard..just anything and everything i know exactly how many calories it is..i dont think its going over board..i mean im a calorie counter..so every calorie counts right?? I know theres hardly any calories in lettuce but there is some...my mom will say " just have a squirt of ketchup, why are you measuring a tablespoon of it? or i'll weigh my watermelon and she'll say "Amy watermelon is mostly water you can eat a big whole bowl of that and you'll be fine" So im wondering if there's anyone else who does this to?? I cant be the only one right?

I measure cereals, yogurts,and condiments all the time - you can fit like 3 servings of cereal into one bowl! Argh

With fruit and veg I try to measure, but not always. It can become addictive so don't beat yourself up over it. Lettuce might be overdoing it.

If you're measuring lettuce, yes, you may be going overboard.

actually, i measure my lettuce. and by measure, i mean i have a food scale, it lives on my counter, so i just plop a bowl down onto it, hit 0, and then put whatever ammount of lettuce i desire it, keeping track of the quantity.

sometimes, i get lazy and ballpark.

if you're measuring it out cup by cup specifically, you're probably going overboard.

i do it by food scale..i really don't think i am going over board. *shrugs* makes me feel better though that someone else does it to lol

Well measuring lettuce and low cals condiments (ketchup and mustard wtf?) is a but going overboard for me. I just estimate...

i do mustard for the sodium, mustard has zero calories but i try to watch my sodium intake, i guess different strokes for different folks

Depends. Do you have extra health issues or is this just diet?

I deal in blood sugar issues. I do measure that detailed level to get back in touch with portion sizes. Not so much lettuce but condiments can sneak in sugar. When I'm back in touch well, I can eyeball for a loooong time and be fine. Then I don't measure details because my eyeballing's on track and my meter's reading fine.

When I notice things with my eyeballing are getting off, the meter showing not so hot... I have to go back to the detail for a while to get that back in sync.

So... yeah. If you are going thru a stage of eyeball resync, I get it, done it, hear ya. If it is getting obsessive all the time... well, that's another story.

I don't know your health story.

Only you can tell if you are "keep it real" or "getting obsessed" over there in real life. I'm just an internet person to you and I'm not there.

But if your mom's voicing a concern though, maybe you need to talk it out with her and get your reality check from her? Since she is there in person? And most of the time... most moms aren't out to get us. They really do care we're doing alright.

A.

I measure everything, it was NOT measuring that brought me to over 200 pounds, I do not care to go there again.

I will guesstimate extremely low cal things like lettuce and mushrooms but sometimes I measure them to make sure my eyes are correct in their eye-balling. You never know when your eyed portions are creeping up to be larger and larger. I don't let things that are more than approx. 25 cals a serving slide b/c that's a slippery slope.

People are really bad about portions and most would do well to pull out a scale and see that they are overestimating what they think they are eating. You have to do what's right for you and what helps you stay on track. People often tend to call someone obsessive if they don't get the effort they put into something but we all have things we focus on and particularly if we're over/under weight it's ok and only makes sense to weigh portions for accuracy. An average weight person might not feel the need to weigh anything for portion's sake but I can tell you I have to keep track of my food for my health and if that bothers someone or looks obsessive, than it's better than diabetes.

I weigh or measure most foods, but I eyeball things like mustard, pickles, jalapenos, spinach, when it's just used as a condiment. If I'm going to eat a bowl of spinach as a salad, I'm more likely to measure it, but not if I'm throwing a handful onto my eggs in the am. That's just estimated to be 5 calories.

I measure all condiments that aren't 0 calories. I'm a triple or quadruple dipper, so I have to. Pickles are estimated - I eat waaaaay too many of them. No for lettuce and onions although I've thought about it. Sometimes I'll just estimate it.

If your current system is working for you, I wouldn't change it!

Hmm... interesting question. I think whatever works for you is fine. If it's getting to be a burden, you can estimate things like lettuce or mustard.

As for me, I can't be bothered to count spinach, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, celery, lettuce, etc... unless I'm going to be eating a huge serving.

When I cook a whole dish, say a stew for example, that has some low-cal fresh veggie ingredients in it, I generally add about 25 calories per serving to the meal total and call it "for the pot." So if I'm making eight servings of a stew or something, I count all of the main ingredients of course...weigh them out on a scale...and then say plus 200 calories for the pot so that I don't have to bother measuring the light stuff. So far, it's worked for me.

I measure all of my condiments except like mustard. But I do measure my vegetables, even super low calorie ones, my mayonnaise and pretty much everything else. It takes 10 seconds and this way I know what I am eating.

I don't weigh things, and I don't always measure. When I do, I find my eyes are very accurate.

It's safe to say that this method is working for me.

What you're doing might be a little overboard, but I just know I personally would get crazy measuring every little thing which is why I've chosen not to do it. If it's working for you, I guess that's fine...just make sure you don't get too obsessive over every little calorie. Even when you measure you aren't going to be 100% accurate.