What things should I weigh?

KateSimpson17

So I just got a food scale, and I know I'm supposed to weigh anything that doesn't have the consistency or milk or water, but I'm really wondering about pre-packaged food. For example, I had a prepackaged oatmeal which said it was 75 grams, I weighed it anyway and it was actually 78 grams. Should I really weigh stuff like that, or should I just not worry about it?

BWBTrish

So that says it all isnt it?

Weigh EVERYTHING!

because even serving sizes are not accurate
I dont use serving sizes, cups or spoons...i weigh everything!

IsaackGMOON

... Anything you eat...

Faithful_Chosen

If it goes into your mouth, weigh it.

KateSimpson17

I feel like you both just read the main question and didn't actually read the body.

Annie_01

I don't weigh pre-packaged items. I have always lost fairly consistently. Maybe at some point if I stop losing and can not find another reason then I might.

Dariasen

I personally don't weigh prepackaged stuff...yet. My loss has been consistant, if it stalls I will re-evauluate those +/-1g descrepancies.

ExRelaySprinter

I actually don't weigh every single thing i eat.
For example, slices of packaged Bread that says "81 calories per slice"...i'm not bothering to weigh that.
But most things i do weigh..... especially things like Meats, Rice, Pasta & Cereals.

LiftAndBalance

How did they not answer the question? Weigh everything, including packaged foods where possible (i.e. if you eat them at home) as those can be off, just like your oatmeal. I actually even weigh milk and such as I find it much easier than getting out measuring cups (and thus dirtying additional dishes).

shadow2soul

At first I didn't, but I do now. I didn't at first because my deficit was large enough that a couple extra calories here or there didn't make a difference. I'm really close to stopping now (2-10 lbs depending on where I decide to stop) and my deficit not near as large.
Some things I've notice:
Bread slices can be off by a couple grams adding 5-15 calories (I don't eat the whole loaf, so there is no balancing it out with lighter slices)
My little pre-packaged snack crisps are usually 2-3 grams off which adds 7 -11 calories
I occasionally by 100 calorie almond snack packs...by weight they are usually 120 + calories/so additional 20+ calories
Cheese can sometimes be off by 1-2 grams which adds 2-4 calories or 3-6 calories (depending on the cheese)
I've even started logging my crystal light this month (which I previously never had) and that was an extra 45 + calories
Just those little missing calories brings me up to 79+ calories that I wasn't logging originally. As my deficit is getting smaller those little things are starting to make a bigger impact.

bubaluboo

I suspect they did read it all but still insist on weighing. If you want to do everything to the absolute limit, then yes you do need to weigh everything but I don't and it works for me. If the package says 4 biscuits are 200 calories for example, I don't weigh them and calculate down to the last calorie but then I tend to go about 100 calories under my limit to allow for those sort of discrepancies. But at the same time, I don't generally use cups/spoons etc for things that I have to portion myself. My weightloss over time seems to have agreed with what was expected so it worked for me. If I found that it wasn't working though, I'd start weighing everything including prepackaged food to see where the error was.

Annie_01

kateyb94 wrote: »

So I just got a food scale, and I know I'm supposed to weigh anything that doesn't have the consistency or milk or water, but I'm really wondering about pre-packaged food. For example, I had a prepackaged oatmeal which said it was 75 grams, I weighed it anyway and it was actually 78 grams. Should I really weigh stuff like that, or should I just not worry about it?

OP...to address specifically your oatmeal...

The next package you weigh might be 72g...thus balancing itself out. If you want to be precise then you would have to weigh each package.

For myself...that is far too obsessive...I would be insane.

I did an experiment with my loaf bread. For one week I weighed it. One slice would be over...the next slice under. This was consistent throughout the loaf. I never bothered after that because I felt as if it was a wash and my sanity was still intact.

You know yourself...what would best work for you?

SLLRunner

kateyb94 wrote: »

So I just got a food scale, and I know I'm supposed to weigh anything that doesn't have the consistency or milk or water, but I'm really wondering about pre-packaged food. For example, I had a prepackaged oatmeal which said it was 75 grams, I weighed it anyway and it was actually 78 grams. Should I really weigh stuff like that, or should I just not worry about it?

Yes, weigh prepackaged food too, as it generally renders more calories than indicated on the package.

SLLRunner

kateyb94 wrote: »

I feel like you both just read the main question and didn't actually read the body.

They answered your question, and many people answered the same throughout with variation based on preference.

FitFroglet

I weigh everything that I play a part in portioning.

If it is pre-packaged I tend to trust that it will be fairly close (companies don't tend to give lots of food away for free).

PrizePopple

kateyb94 wrote: »

I feel like you both just read the main question and didn't actually read the body.

But it still applies, weigh it all. As you saw the serving on the package didn't accurately reflect what was in packet. While it seems small if that happens with everything you're eating and you are working with a small deficit it can have a serious impact. I'm set to lose .5 pound per week because I'm about 10 pounds from my goal. That's only a deficit of 1750 calories per week, or 250 calories per day. If I'm off by 25 calories 10 times a day my deficit is gone, and it's easy to do especially if you've got a couple of calorie dense items like cheese, butter, or peanut butter.

This video helps give a good visual, and while it's not pre-packaged foods it still gets the point across..

https://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

Liftng4Lis

I read the whole thing.
Weigh everything!