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You don't use a food scale?
Replies
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I weigh my calorie-dense foods and use measuring cups for my liquids. For example, today at bfast, I weighed my shredded wheat at 70g and my banana was 120g, but I measured one cup of milk. At lunch, I made a salad, but the only ingredients I actually weighed were the feta cheese and avocado. I can eyeball my cucumber, tomatoes, spinach, and kale. They don't add very many calories to my lunch. And even if I'm slightly off, it takes too much time to prepare the salad if I weigh them too.
Honestly, you can get carried away with all this weighing, and if you've been doing it for months, it will get tedious. If it becomes a fixation, there's a chance you won't enjoy eating out from time to time or sharing a meal at someone else's house.
Don't let it rule you.
If you do a reasonable job of logging your food (and weighing the high calorie stuff) and you don't eat back ALL your exercise calories, you probably won't need to worry about being a few grams off here and there. The only problem I can see is if you maximize your calorie allotment every day without weighing anything and you also overestimate your exercise.
I'm only responding to this because this thread is geared towards new members.
If the above, regarding weighing high calorie stuff and not eating all your exercise calories, works for a person, great. However, a salad is ridiculously easy to weigh. Place plate/bowl on scale and tare, add kale and write down weight and tare, add spinach and write down weight and tare, add tomatoes and write down weight and tare, etc. How could it possibly be easier?! That hardly adds tons of time to prepping a salad.
Also, I really dislike it when others label those who weigh most of their food as "fixated" or "obsessed." A scale is an incredibly easy tool to use. If you're logging already, using a scale doesn't add a big complication. Again, if reducing portion sizes or weighing only high-calorie stuff works for someone, good for them, but it doesn't make everyone else obsessed.
Having used a scale for years now, I'm very happy to have it. It's simple and I know I'm being more accurate than if I eye-balled. It's actually very freeing for me, and I've seen others say the same. I don't eat out regularly, mostly because I think most restaurants around here are mediocre and I don't fancy paying for food that's just so-so, but I don't panic if I eat out. I've been logging long enough that I feel comfortable estimating meals out. I've been on MFP on and off since 2011 (I think, maybe 2012), but very consistently over the past several years. It becomes easier and easier for me, not tedious.40 -
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Just to reiterate the importance of weighing packaged products, the flat bread I eat for lunch often is packaged as 1 bread = 56g = 100 calories. Today's weighed 66g, a difference of 18 calories. No, not much but over time and multiplied throughout the day, it can add up, particularly if you've got a small deficit to begin with.
Not sure why the pics are sideways. Sorry
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lucerorojo wrote: »I have one but I hadn't been using it for everything. Today I weighed a banana (unpeeled) for the first time. This was an average size banana (definitely have eaten bigger and smaller ones) and it was 40 calories more (once I weighed it and took the USDA value) than the banana that is "medium" in the database. So for 6 months I've been using that "medium" and underestimating most of the time for a banana.
I also weighed a thick slice of bacon for the first time. (First time weighing my bacon at all). For thick slices I had been using the calorie equivalent of "2 slices" in the database. In the first place, I had no idea how big those slices were. I was just lazy. Sometimes I'd look on the package but the bacon I have this week has no information--it was fresh from a butcher. Anyway, ONE thick slice was 70 calories more than the "two slices" in the database. So had I not weighed the bacon and the banana today, I would have eaten 110 calories extra that I didn't realize. I'm weighing everything today!!
I can't bear those database entries that jus say '1 piece' or '1 slice' etc. That tells me nothing without a reference point of how big the piece or slice is. They're just useless really.
Well they aren't useless for the person who made them! I knew that there was no reference but I was lazy. I didn't realize it would be "that" off. I think that a lot of newbies don't realize that they are user generated and believe that they are "correct." Whenever I make a recipe or add a food I do NOT add it to the database. No need for me to add to the confusion. When I had a large deficit of 1000 calories it didn't make much difference, but now at 500 cals I need to be more precise.3 -
alwaysbloated wrote: »I stopped using a food scale because they kept breaking. I'm on my third one now, *fingers crossed*
Well not breaking, but these funny numbers kept appearing on the screen when I tried to change the functions and then it would freeze. I'm wondering if I need a non electronic scale to compare numbers with.
Is yours battery operated? I noticed that the battery icon was not fully charged on the screen and I ordered some new batteries. It hadn't yet died but it was acting weird. I changed the battery today and the battery icon is still not full but it is working faster and better now.1 -
lucerorojo wrote: »
I also weighed a thick slice of bacon for the first time. (First time weighing my bacon at all). For thick slices I had been using the calorie equivalent of "2 slices" in the database. In the first place, I had no idea how big those slices were. I was just lazy. Sometimes I'd look on the package but the bacon I have this week has no information--it was fresh from a butcher. Anyway, ONE thick slice was 70 calories more than the "two slices" in the database. So had I not weighed the bacon and the banana today, I would have eaten 110 calories extra that I didn't realize. I'm weighing everything today!!
Just wanted to point out that typically the serving weight for bacon is listed for "pan-fried". Raw bacon will be much heavier. I can't remember ever having bacon that ended up being more than the serving weight for the designated number of slices.2 -
lucerorojo wrote: »
Well they aren't useless for the person who made them! I knew that there was no reference but I was lazy. I didn't realize it would be "that" off. I think that a lot of newbies don't realize that they are user generated and believe that they are "correct." Whenever I make a recipe or add a food I do NOT add it to the database.
No, I don't add it either unless I'm able to give an accurate breakdown of the nutrients per 100g. It's rare I find something that's not in the database and needs adding though.
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lucerorojo wrote: »I have one but I hadn't been using it for everything. Today I weighed a banana (unpeeled) for the first time. This was an average size banana (definitely have eaten bigger and smaller ones) and it was 40 calories more (once I weighed it and took the USDA value) than the banana that is "medium" in the database. So for 6 months I've been using that "medium" and underestimating most of the time for a banana.
I also weighed a thick slice of bacon for the first time. (First time weighing my bacon at all). For thick slices I had been using the calorie equivalent of "2 slices" in the database. In the first place, I had no idea how big those slices were. I was just lazy. Sometimes I'd look on the package but the bacon I have this week has no information--it was fresh from a butcher. Anyway, ONE thick slice was 70 calories more than the "two slices" in the database. So had I not weighed the bacon and the banana today, I would have eaten 110 calories extra that I didn't realize. I'm weighing everything today!!
I can't bear those database entries that jus say '1 piece' or '1 slice' etc. That tells me nothing without a reference point of how big the piece or slice is. They're just useless really.
I agree. Also "bowl." A bowl can range in size from a half cup dessert bowl to a cereal type bowl to a much larger soup bowl and even those distinctions vary!!!5 -
diannethegeek wrote: »This image is about plate sizes, but I think it demonstrates how bad our eyeballing can be sometimes:
Super helpful and eye opening. Thanks!7 -
I got a digital kitchen scale recently and it really makes a huge difference. I love it.8
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Monday morning bump.5
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Bumping till we reach them all!7
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I have only been weighing for a week .... its easy to become obsessive, I spent lunchtime browsing the scales in the kitchen shop because my current Scale only counts in 2g increments and they sell them that cound in 0.5g increments.
Then I realised the difference between 100g of steak and 102g of steak is 3cals ... dont think that is going to make a difference ... got to love obsessive behavior though "NOOOOOO I am over weight because of my scales !!!!!"
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I've wanted to get a scale for a long time but never did. I personally always found success using measuring cups and simply overestimating rather then underestimating calories in general.10
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I've wanted to get a scale for a long time but never did. I personally always found success using measuring cups and simply overestimating rather then underestimating calories in general.
I think that's fair. I do many things that aren't optimal. As long as you are aware of them, you know where you can tighten up if you stop losing weight.6 -
Two cups of flour leveled off in a measuring cup = two very different weights.
image credit: http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/five-reasons-to-use-a-kitchen-scale/18 -
diannethegeek wrote: »
Two cups of flour leveled off in a measuring cup = two very different weights.
image credit: http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/five-reasons-to-use-a-kitchen-scale/
Fantastic graphic!5 -
I weigh my calorie-dense foods and use measuring cups for my liquids. For example, today at bfast, I weighed my shredded wheat at 70g and my banana was 120g, but I measured one cup of milk. At lunch, I made a salad, but the only ingredients I actually weighed were the feta cheese and avocado. I can eyeball my cucumber, tomatoes, spinach, and kale. They don't add very many calories to my lunch. And even if I'm slightly off, it takes too much time to prepare the salad if I weigh them too.
Honestly, you can get carried away with all this weighing, and if you've been doing it for months, it will get tedious. If it becomes a fixation, there's a chance you won't enjoy eating out from time to time or sharing a meal at someone else's house.
Don't let it rule you.
If you do a reasonable job of logging your food (and weighing the high calorie stuff) and you don't eat back ALL your exercise calories, you probably won't need to worry about being a few grams off here and there. The only problem I can see is if you maximize your calorie allotment every day without weighing anything and you also overestimate your exercise.
I'm only responding to this because this thread is geared towards new members.
If the above, regarding weighing high calorie stuff and not eating all your exercise calories, works for a person, great. However, a salad is ridiculously easy to weigh. Place plate/bowl on scale and tare, add kale and write down weight and tare, add spinach and write down weight and tare, add tomatoes and write down weight and tare, etc. How could it possibly be easier?! That hardly adds tons of time to prepping a salad.
Also, I really dislike it when others label those who weigh most of their food as "fixated" or "obsessed." A scale is an incredibly easy tool to use. If you're logging already, using a scale doesn't add a big complication. Again, if reducing portion sizes or weighing only high-calorie stuff works for someone, good for them, but it doesn't make everyone else obsessed.
Having used a scale for years now, I'm very happy to have it. It's simple and I know I'm being more accurate than if I eye-balled. It's actually very freeing for me, and I've seen others say the same. I don't eat out regularly, mostly because I think most restaurants around here are mediocre and I don't fancy paying for food that's just so-so, but I don't panic if I eat out. I've been logging long enough that I feel comfortable estimating meals out. I've been on MFP on and off since 2011 (I think, maybe 2012), but very consistently over the past several years. It becomes easier and easier for me, not tedious.
i wanted to add to this a little bit to include a strategy that works really well for me when i want to add things quickly and painlessly. the example i'll stick with is salad, but i do this for a lot of recipes that i use a lot. i eat chopped salad really often. and i make it in several variations. so i started by creating a recipe in the recipe builder.
i put a large salad bowl on the food scale, chopped the first ingredient and added it to the bowl. then i searched the database for the ingredient as follows "baby spinach usda 100 grams" when i find the correct entry i adjust for the weight of what's in the bowl and move onto the next ingredient. when all is said and done, this gives me my base for chopped salad.
now the next time i make it i may use slightly different stuff depending on what i have on hand. i may add feta cheese. use a different brand of spiced nuts (for crunch), i may be out of red peppers but have a ripe avocado that needs to be used. i use the same recipe. zero out anything i'm not using in the quantity and add any new items. different brands i swap out using the "find replacement" function. if you just zero out the quantities the calories adjust correctly but the ingredient remains in the recipe.
by the time i've made a few variations pretty much every ingredient will be in the recipe so i don't have to search the database anymore. i just scroll through and adjust my quantities as i toss ingredients in. the whole process is painless and i find it pretty useful in any recipe that has a standard base. i eat greek yogurt based quiche pretty frequently as well and so the crust and filling are pre-entered along with most of my standard add ins and the weighing and logging takes virtually no extra time.27 -
I've always found it helpful to weigh out what i eat daily including liquids. It helps me keep better track of my daily calorie intake. Doesn't have to be a fancy scale. A small one will do and they cost very much to purchase.3
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Just to reiterate the importance of weighing packaged products, the flat bread I eat for lunch often is packaged as 1 bread = 56g = 100 calories. Today's weighed 66g, a difference of 18 calories. No, not much but over time and multiplied throughout the day, it can add up, particularly if you've got a small deficit to begin with.
Not sure why the pics are sideways. Sorry
What brand of flat bread is that? The whole thing is 100 calories give or take that's really good.0 -
Just to reiterate the importance of weighing packaged products, the flat bread I eat for lunch often is packaged as 1 bread = 56g = 100 calories. Today's weighed 66g, a difference of 18 calories. No, not much but over time and multiplied throughout the day, it can add up, particularly if you've got a small deficit to begin with.
Not sure why the pics are sideways. Sorry
What brand of flat bread is that? The whole thing is 100 calories give or take that's really good.
Joseph's
I get them at Wal-Mart, nothing fancy! They're in front of the service deli section. 4 -
One of the things I'm loving about weighing everything (I've measured for years, but finally broke down and bought a scale) is that I'm pretty sure my "eat out eye-ball amounts" are getting a LOT more accurate. I try to guess what my food will weigh before I put it on the scale, and am finding pretty quickly that I'm getting fairly accurate (not to the gram, but enough where we're not talking huge calorie differences).
Overall I think it's not only far more accurate, but at least with my pre-guessimate I'm a lot more honest when estimating that [enter Meal Pal meal here] actually contains.6 -
Just to reiterate the importance of weighing packaged products, the flat bread I eat for lunch often is packaged as 1 bread = 56g = 100 calories. Today's weighed 66g, a difference of 18 calories. No, not much but over time and multiplied throughout the day, it can add up, particularly if you've got a small deficit to begin with.
Not sure why the pics are sideways. Sorry
What brand of flat bread is that? The whole thing is 100 calories give or take that's really good.
Joseph's I get them at Wal-Mart, nothing fancy! They're in front of the service deli section.
Thanks!0 -
What about frozen veggies do we weigh them frozen, cooked, or thawed?0
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jessiferrrb wrote: »I weigh my calorie-dense foods and use measuring cups for my liquids. For example, today at bfast, I weighed my shredded wheat at 70g and my banana was 120g, but I measured one cup of milk. At lunch, I made a salad, but the only ingredients I actually weighed were the feta cheese and avocado. I can eyeball my cucumber, tomatoes, spinach, and kale. They don't add very many calories to my lunch. And even if I'm slightly off, it takes too much time to prepare the salad if I weigh them too.
Honestly, you can get carried away with all this weighing, and if you've been doing it for months, it will get tedious. If it becomes a fixation, there's a chance you won't enjoy eating out from time to time or sharing a meal at someone else's house.
Don't let it rule you.
If you do a reasonable job of logging your food (and weighing the high calorie stuff) and you don't eat back ALL your exercise calories, you probably won't need to worry about being a few grams off here and there. The only problem I can see is if you maximize your calorie allotment every day without weighing anything and you also overestimate your exercise.
I'm only responding to this because this thread is geared towards new members.
If the above, regarding weighing high calorie stuff and not eating all your exercise calories, works for a person, great. However, a salad is ridiculously easy to weigh. Place plate/bowl on scale and tare, add kale and write down weight and tare, add spinach and write down weight and tare, add tomatoes and write down weight and tare, etc. How could it possibly be easier?! That hardly adds tons of time to prepping a salad.
Also, I really dislike it when others label those who weigh most of their food as "fixated" or "obsessed." A scale is an incredibly easy tool to use. If you're logging already, using a scale doesn't add a big complication. Again, if reducing portion sizes or weighing only high-calorie stuff works for someone, good for them, but it doesn't make everyone else obsessed.
Having used a scale for years now, I'm very happy to have it. It's simple and I know I'm being more accurate than if I eye-balled. It's actually very freeing for me, and I've seen others say the same. I don't eat out regularly, mostly because I think most restaurants around here are mediocre and I don't fancy paying for food that's just so-so, but I don't panic if I eat out. I've been logging long enough that I feel comfortable estimating meals out. I've been on MFP on and off since 2011 (I think, maybe 2012), but very consistently over the past several years. It becomes easier and easier for me, not tedious.
i wanted to add to this a little bit to include a strategy that works really well for me when i want to add things quickly and painlessly. the example i'll stick with is salad, but i do this for a lot of recipes that i use a lot. i eat chopped salad really often. and i make it in several variations. so i started by creating a recipe in the recipe builder.
i put a large salad bowl on the food scale, chopped the first ingredient and added it to the bowl. then i searched the database for the ingredient as follows "baby spinach usda 100 grams" when i find the correct entry i adjust for the weight of what's in the bowl and move onto the next ingredient. when all is said and done, this gives me my base for chopped salad.
now the next time i make it i may use slightly different stuff depending on what i have on hand. i may add feta cheese. use a different brand of spiced nuts (for crunch), i may be out of red peppers but have a ripe avocado that needs to be used. i use the same recipe. zero out anything i'm not using in the quantity and add any new items. different brands i swap out using the "find replacement" function. if you just zero out the quantities the calories adjust correctly but the ingredient remains in the recipe.
by the time i've made a few variations pretty much every ingredient will be in the recipe so i don't have to search the database anymore. i just scroll through and adjust my quantities as i toss ingredients in. the whole process is painless and i find it pretty useful in any recipe that has a standard base. i eat greek yogurt based quiche pretty frequently as well and so the crust and filling are pre-entered along with most of my standard add ins and the weighing and logging takes virtually no extra time.
This is excellent advice! I do the exact same thing with my frequent dishes and didn't even think to offer that advice. My frequent dishes are beans, lentils, pasta that's more like veggies with some pasta thrown in, and baked or stir-fried veggies of some type. I use whatever veggies I'm feeling like eating, have on hand, need to get rid of, etc. It is sooo easy to just zero out an ingredient in the recipe builder and add in something new if you need to, and then like you said the other ingredient is there for next time. When I figured this out, I was just like, duh, that makes it so much faster and easier!6 -
Wow, never even thought of the scale vs. measuring cups!
Thanks for all the info and videos guys. I use both but will try to use scale only. I have to check if my food scale does grams. 6 -
Thanks!!! I just got my first scale. Stoked to figure it all out! Great info OP2
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