Using a scale.....

mom22dogs

I used MFP several years ago and scanned foods and assumed they were correct. I quit when I got sick and had other things to worry about. Once I started getting strong again and joined the gym again, I started using it again. I accidentally stumbled on the message boards when I was messing with the app on my phone a few months ago. Since then, I've learned that a lot of the entries in the database aren't correct, and that prepackaged foods often weigh more than stated, and so forth. I had always just measured by cup, tbsp, ozs and taken what the packages have said as correct. I didn't have a scale.

I've been losing weight - about 15 lbs in the last 5 months or so. I'm not trying to lose weight fast. I'm down to needing to lose another 15-20 lbs, so I got a digital food scale yesterday. Tonight, I weighed my supper. One of the items was a prepackaged 1 serving of salmon. The package said 1 serving was 113 g, I weighed it, it said 126 g. Fine. I then went to the app, and it took several minutes of searching to find an entry in grams - found 1. So I selected that one. It was for 113 grams. I assumed I could change the number of grams on the app, but I couldn't. So, the only other way to change it to the correct calories is to change the number of servings. But, if I have to actually sit down and do math and figure out that 126 g is 1.xx servings of 113g serving, it's not worth it to me. I spent at least 15 minutes trying to figure out just the salmon, between trying to find an entry in grams, and trying to figure out how to convert the one I got to the correct calorie count.

So, what is an easy way to figure these conversions out so I'm not spending 10 minutes every meal tracking this? Maybe I'm just dumb, but there has to be an easier way to track by the gram. I hate using the phone to put things in - I'm constantly correcting mis typed information.

Treuthiness

I honestly don't think you need to be that precise. Just know generally what you're consuming. You will still lose your goal weight in approximately the same amount of time if you have -/+200 calories a day. JUST DO YOUR BEST...and limit the processed foods.

MissusMoon

mom22dogs wrote: »

I used MFP several years ago and scanned foods and assumed they were correct. I quit when I got sick and had other things to worry about. Once I started getting strong again and joined the gym again, I started using it again. I accidentally stumbled on the message boards when I was messing with the app on my phone a few months ago. Since then, I've learned that a lot of the entries in the database aren't correct, and that prepackaged foods often weigh more than stated, and so forth. I had always just measured by cup, tbsp, ozs and taken what the packages have said as correct. I didn't have a scale.

I've been losing weight - about 15 lbs in the last 5 months or so. I'm not trying to lose weight fast. I'm down to needing to lose another 15-20 lbs, so I got a digital food scale yesterday. Tonight, I weighed my supper. One of the items was a prepackaged 1 serving of salmon. The package said 1 serving was 113 g, I weighed it, it said 126 g. Fine. I then went to the app, and it took several minutes of searching to find an entry in grams - found 1. So I selected that one. It was for 113 grams. I assumed I could change the number of grams on the app, but I couldn't. So, the only other way to change it to the correct calories is to change the number of servings. But, if I have to actually sit down and do math and figure out that 126 g is 1.xx servings of 113g serving, it's not worth it to me. I spent at least 15 minutes trying to figure out just the salmon, between trying to find an entry in grams, and trying to figure out how to convert the one I got to the correct calorie count.

So, what is an easy way to figure these conversions out so I'm not spending 10 minutes every meal tracking this? Maybe I'm just dumb, but there has to be an easier way to track by the gram. I hate using the phone to put things in - I'm constantly correcting mis typed information.

Typically the drop down menu will offer just a "gram" entry and the number of servings would be the number of grams. It's pretty rare for them not to be, but it happens.

MissusMoon

Jtreuth wrote: »

I honestly don't think you need to be that precise. Just know generally what you're consuming. You will still lose your goal weight in approximately the same amount of time if you have -/+200 calories a day. JUST DO YOUR BEST...and limit the processed foods.

Nope. When someone is down to the last 15 or 20lbs a lack of precision can make or break their deficit completely. What type of food doesn't matter for weight loss.

PaulaWallaDingDong

If the serving size is listed as grams, click/tap in serving size and select "1 gram." Took me forever to figure that out, but even doing the math on a calculator isn't that tedious. Takes like 5 seconds.

RAinWA

I also add "grams" to the food I'm searching for. I've noticed a lot of entries will only list ounces. So for salmon I would search "salmon raw grams". It will usually bring up a good entry right away.

mom22dogs

I'll try adding "grams" to my search.

I am trying overnight oats for breakfast tomorrow, so I put that together, and happily found that my measuring spoons are dead on with the "tsp" to grams, 1/3 c of steel cut oats measured the exact grams, etc so that made me happy. Not so happy though after putting it all in and seeing it is 450 calories. I think the pre-packaged stuff is going to be the biggest pain for me.

mom22dogs

MissusMoon wrote: »

Jtreuth wrote: »

I honestly don't think you need to be that precise. Just know generally what you're consuming. You will still lose your goal weight in approximately the same amount of time if you have -/+200 calories a day. JUST DO YOUR BEST...and limit the processed foods.

Nope. When someone is down to the last 15 or 20lbs a lack of precision can make or break their deficit completely. What type of food doesn't matter for weight loss.

Yeah, my deficit is around 250-300 calories a day. I'm trying to lose at .5lb a week, which is why I'm trying the scale.