How to move away from measuring food?

[rooney]

For a long time, I've had a habit of measuring/weighing my food in an attempt to control and keep track of my calorie intake. I'd really like to move away from this habit, especially now that I'm going to be eating this way.

I'm single and live alone, so I'm only cooking for myself and tend to only make enough for one meal. Previously, I'd just measure out however much food I thought I'd need for one meal, and then not make more than that.

For example, when making oatmeal, I'd measure out a certain amount of grams and cook that. Now, let's say I want to make some oatmeal for breakfast, but am not going to measure -- then how do I know how much oatmeal to make? If I'm batch-cooking something like rice, I guess I could just put as much as I want in a bowl and then if I need more or less, just adjust that way, but with something like oatmeal where you'd usually only make a single portion at a time, what do you do?

[Vegankit]

Rooney, the beauty of this way of eating is you don't have to measure food unless you're following a recipe.

I have a large square storage container with lid. I cook 2 cups of steel cut oatmeal with 8 cups of water in my Instant Pot. When it has cooled down slightly I pour it into this square container. After the oatmeal cools, it becomes more solid. I take a knife and cut it into 8 equal rectangles. Most mornings I just have one rectangle which is approximately one serving of oatmeal. If I'm more hungry or I have a busy day then I might eat 1.5 rectangles. I'm the only one currently eating oatmeal for breakfast and this works well for me. When I go on vacation, I take whatever rectangles left and put them on a tray in the freezer - when they are frozen solid I put them in a plastic bag. It's handy because when I come home, I have frozen oatmeal which doesn't take long to heat and eat.

I batch cook other grains in my Instant Pot and store it in a large bowl. I take out what I need to reheat for a meal by eye balling it on my plate. I love this method because I can always throw together a quick meal and if I'm still hungry, it's easy to heat up some more grain.

[jamietwo]

When cooking oatmeal, there's an oat to water ratio, so I DO measure. But you can adjust based on how you feel. Is 1 cup dry oats/2 cups water too filling? Then try 3/4 cups dry oats and 1.5 cups water the next time. I like frozen fruit in my oats too! And raisins (which I started when I was trying to gain weight).

I don't measure when I make soaked oats. I just pour some in my container, top with raisins and apple slices, add cinnamon and water, then let it soak overnight. My breakfast is ready when I wake up!

I also make my rice in a large quantity and store it cooked in the fridge. I just take what I want for each meal. I usually have greens and carrots or broccoli and carrots over my rice which I also cook in a large batch, so again I just take what I want. If I'm still hungry, I go back for more. If I took too much, and I get full before I've finished, I put it back in the fridge. : )

Keep it simple!

[landog]

Learn and apply the principles of calorie density

Watch this presentation by Jeff Novick

Repeat until it sinks in...

[landog]

I'm single and live alone, so I'm only cooking for myself and tend to only make enough for one meal.

Make a triple batch.
Eat one serving.
Put one serving in the fridge for later.
Put one serving in the freezer for much later.

[JeffN]

For a long time, I've had a habit of measuring/weighing my food in an attempt to control and keep track of my calorie intake. I'd really like to move away from this habit, especially now that I'm going to be eating this way.

I'm single and live alone, so I'm only cooking for myself and tend to only make enough for one meal. Previously, I'd just measure out however much food I thought I'd need for one meal, and then not make more than that.

For example, when making oatmeal, I'd measure out a certain amount of grams and cook that. Now, let's say I want to make some oatmeal for breakfast, but am not going to measure -- then how do I know how much oatmeal to make? If I'm batch-cooking something like rice, I guess I could just put as much as I want in a bowl and then if I need more or less, just adjust that way, but with something like oatmeal where you'd usually only make a single portion at a time, what do you do?

The McDougall program does not recommend measuring food, but eating when hungry until conformably full of the recommended foods. For those trying to maximize their weight loss, there is the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Program, which modifies the regular McDougall program to enhance weight loss based on the principles of Calorie Density. On the MWL Program, certain foods are eliminated because they are the ones we are most likely to overeat on.

These principles apply to the the consumption of the recommend food and not the cooking of it. When cooking food, yes, you may have to measure it to make sure the recipe comes out right, but this doesn't change the principles when consuming the food, which are, eat when hungry until conformable full and don't starve and don't stuff yourself.

You can learn all about this by watching this 80 minute presentation on Calorie Density, which is the principles behind the Maximum Weight Loss Program.

https://youtu.be/0CdwWliv7Hgly

Here is an article explaining the same principles.

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... ition.html

I recently reviewed the MWL guidelines in this post here

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26620&p=578019#p569991

Here is a collection of the best calorie density resources

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=48609

And, here is a list of MWL recipes

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10076

We have a forum dedicated to the Maximum Weight Loss Program here

viewforum.php?f=11

And we facilitate a monthly weigh-in for those following the MWL program here

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=58184

The July group has their first weigh-in tomorrow and I would recommend joining the group.

In Health
Jeff

[viv]

I measure some of my food. As Jeff says measure when it's for a recipe, e.g. every morning I measure 2/3 cup of quaker old fashioned oats and add 2 cups of water to cook my breakfast oatmeal. Most evenings I cook one pound of potatoes with veggies of some kind for dinner and yes I weigh out one pound of potatoes! And I like to cook fresh every day, I don't like leftovers and reheated food and the McDougall meals are so quick and easy, they are cooked in a jiffy. For people who "batch cook" great, but it's not for me.

Viv

[Lyndzie]

For me, i have a bowl that I use for lunch and dinner. I know that if I fill it up, it is enough food to keep me full until the next meal, but not stuffed. It holds 4 cups. It also happens to be the perfect size for 1 lb of potatoes. I usually have a piece of fruit on the side as well. So, while not technically measuring out my food, i am using a dish that I know is just the right amount of food for me. (I know all if this because I went through a measuring phase, too.)

[verde]

I'm single and live alone, so I'm only cooking for myself and tend to only make enough for one meal.

Make a triple batch.
Eat one serving.
Put one serving in the fridge for later.
Put one serving in the freezer for much later.

In all fairness, if you're not measuring how do you know you're making a triple batch? Technically, You only know if you're measuring. For someone experienced enough you may have had time enough to figure out how much you eat in one sitting, but not someone new to not measuring like the OP.

I like your rinse and repeat advice on the calorie density video though!

[f00die]

...For someone experienced enough you may have had time enough to figure out how much you eat in one sitting, but not someone new to not measuring like the OP.
...

how much is eaten in one sitting differs over time
and is not worth the time figuring out
the focus of efforts is eating the recommended foods
how much is eaten changes day to day, year to year
over ones lifetime/activity
one doesnt measure(or divine) how much they ate or should eat (its irrelevant)
one stops eating when they are full.
and the experience of fullness
also changes with time, day to day, year to year
one moves away from measuring
once they get what to eat down
kinda like the caloric measuring blah
is built into the process of how the recommended foods
became recommended

[verde]

...For someone experienced enough you may have had time enough to figure out how much you eat in one sitting, but not someone new to not measuring like the OP.
...

how much is eaten in one sitting differs over time
and is not worth the time figuring out

I wasn't saying it was worth the time figuring out, you're taking my post out of context. If you read it thoroughly you'd see I was merely pointing out a contradiction: you cannot "put two doses in the fridge and freeze one" when you're not measuring doses.

Don't take my words out of context and change their meaning. I agree that one eats different portions at different times.

[JeffN]

In all fairness, if you're not measuring how do you know you're making a triple batch? Technically, You only know if you're measuring.

To clarify....

Yes. If someone is to make a recipe, they have to measure to follow the recipe. In regard to my fast food cooking series, there is a basic template/recipe that one follows for the recipe to come out, though perfect precision is not required. That template/recipe is considered a batch. In general, I say that makes enough for 1-3 people. That is a rough estimate. You will experiment and find what works for you. You do that by consume food from the batch until comfortably full. That amount may differ from meal to meal, day to day but the determining factor of how much is enough, is hunger/satiety. The reason we recommend making a double or triple batch is so one always has some on hand in case one day it consumes more to feel full.

That is why I say, make a double to triple batch. At each meal, eat from the "batch" until comfortably full. See how long the batch you made lasts. If it isn't enough for a few meals, make more so you always have some around. If it is way too much for a few days and you have to throw some out, make less or freeze the extra.

At the program, we do the exact same thing. The kitchen follows our recipes and again, yes, they measure the food that goes into each recipe so the recipe comes out right. The food is then served at an ad-libitum buffet. Everyone gets to choose how much they want based on their own hunger, not based on any serving sizes, cups, portions etc.

I posted this a few times in regard to this issue which is from a recent discussion with my long-time colleague Jay Kenney, PhD, RDN, said this,....

“Nutrition science is about what to eat. It gets complicated when that focus shifts form what to eat to how much to eat and/or when to eat. Knowing when to eat is simple and knowing when to stop eating is simple. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are comfortably full (not stuffed). Calorie restriction (CR) & IF (and other forms of time restricted eating) complicates when (and sometimes also how much) one should be eating because it proclaims you should not eat even when you are hungry or you must stop eating before being satiated. CR as a means of weight control or as an attempt to induce longevity or slow aging complicates how much one should eat. If one understand how different foods impact disease risk factors and satiety/kcal, one can change what is being consumed in order to treat and prevent disease and maintain a healthy body weight and likely live a longer and healthier life.. ”

So, how to move away from measuring food?

Simple.

Follow the process we recommend (eat when hungry until comfortable full. don't starve, don't stuff). Give yourself some time to figure it all out. If you need more help in managing weight, incorporate the principles of the MWL program and calorie density, which will only modify "what you eat" somewhat.

In Health
Jeff