Biggest eye opener from weighing food
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mamapeach910 wrote: »Eggs surprised me. For years I used the 1 large = 50g assumption, without thinking about it actually being an average. I started weighing the eggs after I cracked them into a bowl when I changed how I was cooking them, and realized a lot of times, they'll all be over or all be under. If I'm making something with 3 eggs, it'll sometimes work out that I'm short or over by "half" an egg.
They surprised me too. I have to say, though, that Eggland's Best eggs are pretty much consistent within a carton. I usually only get them when they're on sale. They're all pretty much within a gram or two of each other.
These are all I buy generally, and when I do measure (say, when making scrambled eggs vs fried) they are all between 47-52g, a small enough range that I'm not concerned about. Even if each egg was 52g, thats a 4% overage. The eggs are 60 cal each, so that would be an additional 2.4 cal per egg, or 7.2 cal for my usual 3 eggs.
ETA: I am the sort who measures my cooked bacon and (pretty much everything else) to the gram, I just can't be bothered to make an entry to calculate my egg cals to the gram, then weigh them every time (not at all practical without creating extra dishes for fried or poached eggs and inaccurate for soft/hard boiled eggs anyway, since weighing is done after cooking/peeling).
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that my 112g chicken breast was really 300g+
thanks walmart...
I grabbed a frozen meal from Trader Joe's and cooked it up a bit ago after reading this thread. Decided to weight out my TJ's 'Reduced Guilt' Baked Ziti meal out of all the packaging.
Serving size: 1 container (241g) is on the box.
After weighing it out there was 178g. Now granted I did heat it in the micro and didn't eat the packaging... are they seriously weighing the packaging when saying 240g?
Oh I still have the pkg. I'll have to weight it out and see.
I realize that companies are allowed by law to go up 20% or down 20% in what the packages actually say but 20% is 20% sometimes it's probably more.
After looking over the fiber content...maybe they intended the buyer to eat the box?
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I feel like such a newbie on this thread.. are you all weighing your bananas in the skin??
Here's what I've been doing but will likely change it now... Sometimes I pick up a couple small bananas and eat 1/2 of it and call it a small as I'd rather go under than over estimate.
Other times at Trader Joe's since bananas are cheap there I will grab a couple larger ones and eat 1/2 of one and call it small.
Maybe I should start a new account just to wipe out all my foods in there and start fresh! lol I so would love to get out a bunch of old stuff I never use. Why do the current foods we eat disappear but the old ones we'll never eat again seem to stay forever? LOL0 -
Hearts_2015 wrote: »I feel like such a newbie on this thread.. are you all weighing your bananas in the skin??
Here's what I've been doing but will likely change it now... Sometimes I pick up a couple small bananas and eat 1/2 and call it a small as I'd rather go under than over estimate.
Other times at Trader Joe's since bananas are cheap there I will grab a couple larger ones and eat 1/2 and call it small.
Maybe I should start a new account just to wipe out all my foods in their and start fresh! lol I so would love to get out a bunch of old stuff I never use. Why do the current foods we eat disappear but the old ones we'll never eat again seem to stay forever? LOL
Weigh the edible portion only.
Sometimes if I have to grab one while I'm out I'll estimate. The small ones I get are usually between 90 and 120 grams.0 -
Hearts_2015 wrote: »that my 112g chicken breast was really 300g+
thanks walmart...
I grabbed a frozen meal from Trader Joe's and cooked it up a bit ago after reading this thread. Decided to weight out my TJ's 'Reduced Guilt' Baked Ziti meal out of all the packaging.
Serving size: 1 container (241g) is on the box.
After weighing it out there was 178g. Now granted I did heat it in the micro and didn't eat the packaging... are they seriously weighing the packaging when saying 240g?
Oh I still have the pkg. I'll have to weight it out and see.
I realize that companies are allowed by law to go up 20% or down 20% in what the packages actually say but 20% is 20% sometimes it's probably more.
After looking over the fiber content...maybe they intended the buyer to eat the box?
It's net weight, which means just the food.0 -
nicsflyingcircus wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »Eggs surprised me. For years I used the 1 large = 50g assumption, without thinking about it actually being an average. I started weighing the eggs after I cracked them into a bowl when I changed how I was cooking them, and realized a lot of times, they'll all be over or all be under. If I'm making something with 3 eggs, it'll sometimes work out that I'm short or over by "half" an egg.
They surprised me too. I have to say, though, that Eggland's Best eggs are pretty much consistent within a carton. I usually only get them when they're on sale. They're all pretty much within a gram or two of each other.
These are all I buy generally, and when I do measure (say, when making scrambled eggs vs fried) they are all between 47-52g, a small enough range that I'm not concerned about. Even if each egg was 52g, thats a 4% overage. The eggs are 60 cal each, so that would be an additional 2.4 cal per egg, or 7.2 cal for my usual 3 eggs.
ETA: I am the sort who measures my cooked bacon and (pretty much everything else) to the gram, I just can't be bothered to make an entry to calculate my egg cals to the gram, then weigh them every time (not at all practical without creating extra dishes for fried or poached eggs and inaccurate for soft/hard boiled eggs anyway, since weighing is done after cooking/peeling).
I think most of us make judgment calls at some point. Someone told me recently that body builders often weigh the yolks and whites of the eggs separately for increased accuracy. Some people are willing to take their food scales out to restaurants. Both of those things are just too much for me. I don't even weigh pre-packaged foods unless it's something I've never weighed before. It's just usually not worth it to me.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »I feel like such a newbie on this thread.. are you all weighing your bananas in the skin??
Here's what I've been doing but will likely change it now... Sometimes I pick up a couple small bananas and eat 1/2 and call it a small as I'd rather go under than over estimate.
Other times at Trader Joe's since bananas are cheap there I will grab a couple larger ones and eat 1/2 and call it small.
Maybe I should start a new account just to wipe out all my foods in their and start fresh! lol I so would love to get out a bunch of old stuff I never use. Why do the current foods we eat disappear but the old ones we'll never eat again seem to stay forever? LOL
Weigh the edible portion only.
Sometimes if I have to grab one while I'm out I'll estimate. The small ones I get are usually between 90 and 120 grams.
Thanks! You mean you don't stand there and peel them all to find the net weight you are looking for? 0 -
Hearts_2015 wrote: »ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »I feel like such a newbie on this thread.. are you all weighing your bananas in the skin??
Here's what I've been doing but will likely change it now... Sometimes I pick up a couple small bananas and eat 1/2 and call it a small as I'd rather go under than over estimate.
Other times at Trader Joe's since bananas are cheap there I will grab a couple larger ones and eat 1/2 and call it small.
Maybe I should start a new account just to wipe out all my foods in their and start fresh! lol I so would love to get out a bunch of old stuff I never use. Why do the current foods we eat disappear but the old ones we'll never eat again seem to stay forever? LOL
Weigh the edible portion only.
Sometimes if I have to grab one while I'm out I'll estimate. The small ones I get are usually between 90 and 120 grams.
Thanks! You mean you don't stand there and peel them all to find the net weight you are looking for?
:laugh: I haven't reached that level yet. But I do peel them and weigh them if I'm eating them at home, and that gives me the ability to more accurately estimate when I'm not at home and grab one on the go. 0 -
That's what I've always taken it as...this thread has me all freaked out now and that perhaps I've been doing it all wrong. lolILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »that my 112g chicken breast was really 300g+
thanks walmart...
I grabbed a frozen meal from Trader Joe's and cooked it up a bit ago after reading this thread. Decided to weight out my TJ's 'Reduced Guilt' Baked Ziti meal out of all the packaging.
Serving size: 1 container (241g) is on the box.
After weighing it out there was 178g. Now granted I did heat it in the micro and didn't eat the packaging... are they seriously weighing the packaging when saying 240g?
Oh I still have the pkg. I'll have to weight it out and see.
I realize that companies are allowed by law to go up 20% or down 20% in what the packages actually say but 20% is 20% sometimes it's probably more.
After looking over the fiber content...maybe they intended the buyer to eat the box?
It's net weight, which means just the food.
I think I'm over thinking and should probably just go log my dinner.
Thanks for the clarifications @ILiftHeavyAcrylics I've always found your posts really helpful.
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.. I'm buying my first actual digital scale tonight and you have all terrified me.
Hahaha. I can't wait to contribute; I've probably been overeating ridiculously for some time! 0 -
Hearts_2015 wrote: »
That's what I've always taken it as...this thread has me all freaked out now and that perhaps I've been doing it all wrong. lolILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »that my 112g chicken breast was really 300g+
thanks walmart...
I grabbed a frozen meal from Trader Joe's and cooked it up a bit ago after reading this thread. Decided to weight out my TJ's 'Reduced Guilt' Baked Ziti meal out of all the packaging.
Serving size: 1 container (241g) is on the box.
After weighing it out there was 178g. Now granted I did heat it in the micro and didn't eat the packaging... are they seriously weighing the packaging when saying 240g?
Oh I still have the pkg. I'll have to weight it out and see.
I realize that companies are allowed by law to go up 20% or down 20% in what the packages actually say but 20% is 20% sometimes it's probably more.
After looking over the fiber content...maybe they intended the buyer to eat the box?
It's net weight, which means just the food.
I think I'm over thinking and should probably just go log my dinner.
Thanks for the clarifications @ILiftHeavyAcrylics I've always found your posts really helpful.
I think if what you're doing has been working then there's no need to worry. :flowerforyou: And thank you.0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »nicsflyingcircus wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »Eggs surprised me. For years I used the 1 large = 50g assumption, without thinking about it actually being an average. I started weighing the eggs after I cracked them into a bowl when I changed how I was cooking them, and realized a lot of times, they'll all be over or all be under. If I'm making something with 3 eggs, it'll sometimes work out that I'm short or over by "half" an egg.
They surprised me too. I have to say, though, that Eggland's Best eggs are pretty much consistent within a carton. I usually only get them when they're on sale. They're all pretty much within a gram or two of each other.
These are all I buy generally, and when I do measure (say, when making scrambled eggs vs fried) they are all between 47-52g, a small enough range that I'm not concerned about. Even if each egg was 52g, thats a 4% overage. The eggs are 60 cal each, so that would be an additional 2.4 cal per egg, or 7.2 cal for my usual 3 eggs.
ETA: I am the sort who measures my cooked bacon and (pretty much everything else) to the gram, I just can't be bothered to make an entry to calculate my egg cals to the gram, then weigh them every time (not at all practical without creating extra dishes for fried or poached eggs and inaccurate for soft/hard boiled eggs anyway, since weighing is done after cooking/peeling).
I think most of us make judgment calls at some point. Someone told me recently that body builders often weigh the yolks and whites of the eggs separately for increased accuracy. Some people are willing to take their food scales out to restaurants. Both of those things are just too much for me. I don't even weigh pre-packaged foods unless it's something I've never weighed before. It's just usually not worth it to me.
I'd NEVER done this pkg. weighing thing until tonight after this thread. I'm with you, I think it'd be easy to go overboard and get obsessed. I mean it is important that we're as accurate as we can be, I do agree but...0 -
I think I kind of cheat with peanut butter. Then again, it says there are ~14 servings in the jar and I'm always able to eat that many sandwiches from one jar so I am probably pretty close to two TBSPs on my guess.0
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KrissyMuree wrote: ».. I'm buying my first actual digital scale tonight and you have all terrified me. Hahaha. I can't wait to contribute; I've probably been overeating ridiculously for some time!
aw..maybe, maybe not but having a scale is actually rather fun and you will learn a lot for sure! I just think weighing my bread is gonna be overboard for me so I don't think I'll go there. lol I can get too far to the other extreme if I'm not careful so I'll quit weighing out frozen meals. That was my experiment one and only!
Have fun scale shopping... might check out a thread or two and see what some recommended as most helpful to them. There's a few different types. I use a Salter brand and it was around $15-20 (with coupon on at BBB) and it's been going well for years. I love the tare feature 0 -
benjaminhkohl wrote: »I think I kind of cheat with peanut butter. Then again, it says there are ~14 servings in the jar and I'm always able to eat that many sandwiches from one jar so I am probably pretty close to two TBSPs on my guess.
That's how I feel about a loaf of bread. LOL0 -
ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »
That's what I've always taken it as...this thread has me all freaked out now and that perhaps I've been doing it all wrong. lolILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »Hearts_2015 wrote: »that my 112g chicken breast was really 300g+
thanks walmart...
I grabbed a frozen meal from Trader Joe's and cooked it up a bit ago after reading this thread. Decided to weight out my TJ's 'Reduced Guilt' Baked Ziti meal out of all the packaging.
Serving size: 1 container (241g) is on the box.
After weighing it out there was 178g. Now granted I did heat it in the micro and didn't eat the packaging... are they seriously weighing the packaging when saying 240g?
Oh I still have the pkg. I'll have to weight it out and see.
I realize that companies are allowed by law to go up 20% or down 20% in what the packages actually say but 20% is 20% sometimes it's probably more.
After looking over the fiber content...maybe they intended the buyer to eat the box?
It's net weight, which means just the food.
I think I'm over thinking and should probably just go log my dinner.
Thanks for the clarifications @ILiftHeavyAcrylics I've always found your posts really helpful.
I think if what you're doing has been working then there's no need to worry. :flowerforyou: And thank you.
I think that is some seriously healthy advise which I'm gonna take! 0 -
Pasta
This morning while packing lunch I discovered what 2 ounces of spaghetti actually looks like...practically heartbreaking -.-
I know this feeling oh so well. That is NOT enough pasta, but it's certainly enough carbs for that little lol.
That's why I usually just throw everything I can in it lol. Like chicken, turkey, broccoli, peas, pepperings, whatever I have sitting around lol.0 -
Wow, and I thought I was a stickler for weighing food. I've never weighed an egg. I call them all large. I do enough dishes!0
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Brownsbacker4evr wrote: »Pasta This morning while packing lunch I discovered what 2 ounces of spaghetti actually looks like...practically heartbreaking -.-
I know this feeling oh so well. That is NOT enough pasta, but it's certainly enough carbs for that little lol.
That's why I usually just throw everything I can in it lol. Like chicken, turkey, broccoli, peas, pepperings, whatever I have sitting around lol.
That's smart! That way you get your protein and more veggies in it and it goes further. 0 -
I measure most things, but not all to be honest. But, I live alone and most food I buy is for me. So, I don't weigh my bread or other items that are easy to portion. If one piece is a little big and one is a little small it will even out once I eat the whole loaf. I've also never measured a packaged food with one serving and probably won't unless it looks huge.
I think having balance in life is as important as having accuracy in my measuring. I weigh 90% of what I eat and don't worry if I'm off by a tiny bit (chicken might be 3.1 or 2.9 oz instead of 3). The point is im not accidentally eating 6 oz instead of 3. Or 4T of peanut butter instead of 1T.
Actually, I've been doing a crap job of sticking to my deficit lately so measuring is the least of my problems0
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