Why weighing is important (even for packaged food!)

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  • gymprincess1234
    gymprincess1234 Posts: 493 Member
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    Are you sure you didn't weight the bowl too? I have had those and they were 280g
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    pootlepootle1972 wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    goatg wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    yep same with protein bars. I had one that said 60g or 65g it was almost 80g.

    Ok that’s slightly terrifying

    which is why I weigh everything since packaged foods can be off by up to 20% . I have had things weigh less, but most of the time its more, very rarely is it right on.even stuff that isnt packaged can weigh more than its supposed to. 2 cuts of chicken breast can be the same size but can be different weights. for me weighing makes it easier to see how much Im really eating

    It can be off by 20% per serving... on top of the inaccurate amount of servings in a package. So even one serving could really be 380 calories.

    That's why a lot of people who eat packaged food can't lose.. not because it's bad, but because the calories can be way off.

    ok yeah weighing will show you that though.wasnt saying packaged food was bad or that it wasnt off per serving. was saying bread and things like that can be off. which is why I said weigh everything.but most protein bars are usually one serving,

    But they aren't....which is why you should weigh everything in a packet. My 50g protein bars are between 54 and 60g.

    they arent what? one serving? any of the ones I get are and I weight them out of the package and the wrapper.I do weigh everything which is what I was saying
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    write to the company if under and give them the info on the label a lot of times they will want to keep customers happy by sending coupons or whatever on their products.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.

    yeah serving sizes usually include the weight. but if she writes to the company they may tell her if thats the case or not. some will tell you some stupid things though lol
  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    goatg wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    yep same with protein bars. I had one that said 60g or 65g it was almost 80g.

    Ok that’s slightly terrifying
    goatg wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    yep same with protein bars. I had one that said 60g or 65g it was almost 80g.

    Ok that’s slightly terrifying

    But think of all that food you are getting for free!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    marissafit06 wrote: »
    goatg wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    yep same with protein bars. I had one that said 60g or 65g it was almost 80g.

    Ok that’s slightly terrifying
    goatg wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    yep same with protein bars. I had one that said 60g or 65g it was almost 80g.

    Ok that’s slightly terrifying

    But think of all that food you are getting for free!
    free money wise, but not calorie wise.
  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    I agree with OP that you should weigh packaged foods, but otherwise think that excess food is a benefit and there is no negative. YMMV
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.

    I drained them. I know some people would keep the liquid for cooking but to me thats a ton of salt and slime.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited February 2018
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.

    I drained them. I know some people would keep the liquid for cooking but to me thats a ton of salt and slime.

    Draining them takes away some weight and you need to account for that. It was still 3.5ish servings of beans. After you drain them, you can weigh just the beans and divide that weight by 3.5 to see about how much a liquidless serving of beans would weigh.

    The liquid likely has some calories but most of the calories will be in the beans. 130 grams of just beans would be more calorie-dense than 130 grams of beans plus liquid.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.

    I drained them. I know some people would keep the liquid for cooking but to me thats a ton of salt and slime.

    Draining them takes away some weight and you need to account for that. It was still 3.5ish servings of beans. After you drain them, you can weigh just the beans and divide that weight by 3.5 to see about how much a liquidless serving of beans would weigh.

    Thanks. I just weighed out the 130 grams drained, found the corresponding entry and went with that. Still a very small serving.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    newheavensearth wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    newheavensearth wrote: »
    What about coming in under? I weighed out servings of beans, 130g as per the label, 3.5 servings per can. I only got 2 and maybe a quarter servings per can.

    I demand a refund. :p

    Did you drain the beans before you weighed them? I'm betting that the serving weight included the liquid in the can.

    I drained them. I know some people would keep the liquid for cooking but to me thats a ton of salt and slime.

    Draining them takes away some weight and you need to account for that. It was still 3.5ish servings of beans. After you drain them, you can weigh just the beans and divide that weight by 3.5 to see about how much a liquidless serving of beans would weigh.

    Thanks. I just weighed out the 130 grams drained, found the corresponding entry and went with that. Still a very small serving.

    I tend to eat whole cans of things to avoid the mental gymnastics of issues like this. B)
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    gymprincess1234 wrote: »
    Are you sure you didn't weight the bowl too? I have had those and they were 280g

    nope - i tared the bowl out; the picture you can't see - had the container of pasta by itself not in a bowl and was 517g (so 10g for the packaging)
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    Yes! I weigh my flatbreads, too - they are frequently off by several grams. Tonight I had a Lean Cuisine. I usually do NOT weigh them because I figure, how far off can they be? No worries right?

    My Chicken Carbonara that is listed as a single serving (255g) for 240 calories was actually 299 ounces and an additional 40+ calories!!! I eat a LOT of Lean Cuisines - sometimes two a day.

    Most days I'm not TOO worried about it because I frequently have "spare" calories at the end of the day - but today I did not....I have 8 calories left, I think....I would seriously have gone over if I had not weighed that lean cuisine tonight. ...and if I did that several times over the course of the next week that could have been quite the disaster for my deficit.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    What's bizarre is that the front label shows the correct weight, 500 grams(which should be about 3 servings) which matches the scale weight within margin of error.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Interesting. I eat a ton of packaged/prepared foods and go with the stated numbers. My weight loss has been fairly steady when I'm disciplined to stay on plan, so I don't think the numbers end up being that far off (in my case). If things weigh over the stated numbers, do they ever weigh under? Do things balance out in the long run?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Interesting. I eat a ton of packaged/prepared foods and go with the stated numbers. My weight loss has been fairly steady when I'm disciplined to stay on plan, so I don't think the numbers end up being that far off (in my case). If things weigh over the stated numbers, do they ever weigh under? Do things balance out in the long run?

    Very rarely in my experience. Some bread slices can be smaller if it's the end if the loaf, and yogurts are often a bit less, but I'd guess that they don't do it too much because they don't want to get lawsuits, lol.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    I weighed my bread last night. It was over 10% off! Since people in my house also eat the loaf it would not even out. Thanks for all the info!
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Interesting. I eat a ton of packaged/prepared foods and go with the stated numbers. My weight loss has been fairly steady when I'm disciplined to stay on plan, so I don't think the numbers end up being that far off (in my case). If things weigh over the stated numbers, do they ever weigh under? Do things balance out in the long run?

    Very rarely in my experience. Some bread slices can be smaller if it's the end if the loaf, and yogurts are often a bit less, but I'd guess that they don't do it too much because they don't want to get lawsuits, lol.

    That's interesting... I would have assumed the opposite, because they could skim a bit more profits if they slightly under sold an item.

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