Why weighing is important (even for packaged food!)
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Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »I've also found powdered peanut butter is one of those things you HAVE to weigh since it settles in the canister. I found out I was eating almond double even though I measured level tablespoons since the powder was more "packed" than what they considered a tablespoon.
Yes, that's why I don't like US recipes that use cups as a measure instead of grams either.JerSchmare wrote: »If the label isn’t accurate, what makes you think the calorie per serving is accurate. This is what cracks me up about this whole thing. I don’t Weigh packaged food, and I never will. It’s close enough given all the variables thought out a week.
I’ve heard of people weighing eggs. Lol.
He's not wrong though... the only reason I liked weighing packaged food (honestly don't bother anymore because I don't eat much of it, unless it's something like chicken) is because it can lead to you eating more in the end - not just from the extra calories in the package, but from whatever you might end up eating later 'because you have calories left'. But now I eat maybe one packaged thing a day, and it's pretty much never anything over 200 calories, so I let it go.
About the eggs - I actually understand not weighing those because a 'large' will always be within a 10% weight range, and yeah, sometimes those are smaller (but again, the yolk isn't always the same size either, so it's pretty much a guess).
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I just bought a package of fresh zucchini from Trader Joe's. The package says it's 18oz, or 510g. For fun I weighed the zucchini on my food scale--633g! Granted, since it's zucchini it only makes about 20 cal difference, but it does say that the weight is very different than what is stated! I guess for these it's approximate.2
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Am going against the grain here - I don't weigh ( shop bought) eggs or packaged things or even things like mandarines ( they are all medium or 3/4 medium in my diary, all bananas are small etc.
As long as your method is working for you - ie you are losing, gaining, maitaining as intended - I don't think it is neccescary to weigh to the nth degree.
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OP could the weight difference be due to the fact that it's frozen?0
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Either way, nutrition information typically works for the state the food is in when you buy it, unless it specifies 'cooked' (that's why I loathe frozen 'steam in the bag' veggies).1
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Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.6 -
Moisture could also sublimate away from unsealed frozen meat if it sits in the freezer long enough. The meat also loses extra water (besides any gathered when freezing unsealed) when thawed since freezing the meat ruptured some cells.Aaron_K123 wrote: »Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.
Lean Cuisines are in a sealed container and that doesn't let the moisture level change enough to bother about. Frost may gather on the inside of the plastic cover as moisture sublimates out of the food but it's still there to be part of the overall package + food weight.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.
That's a very true possibility. However, in OP's case, I believe the company had a massive label issue. Someone upthread mentioned that the front of the package shows a 500g net weight. Also, I was curious, and I Googled the product, and although this listing is a bit older, the nutrition label shows a much closer estimate of 140 g * 3.5 servings = 490 grams total: https://www.amazon.com/Priano-Authentic-Italian-Spinach-17-6-oz/dp/B01CF76UVS4 -
Moisture could also sublimate away from unsealed frozen meat if it sits in the freezer long enough. The meat also loses extra water (besides any gathered when freezing unsealed) when thawed since freezing the meat ruptured some cells.Aaron_K123 wrote: »Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.
Lean Cuisines are in a sealed container and that doesn't let the moisture level change enough to bother about. Frost may gather on the inside of the plastic cover as moisture sublimates out of the food but it's still there to be part of the overall package + food weight.
True. Also points for the proper use of sublimates
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.
That's a very true possibility. However, in OP's case, I believe the company had a massive label issue. Someone upthread mentioned that the front of the package shows a 500g net weight. Also, I was curious, and I Googled the product, and although this listing is a bit older, the nutrition label shows a much closer estimate of 140 g * 3.5 servings = 490 grams total: https://www.amazon.com/Priano-Authentic-Italian-Spinach-17-6-oz/dp/B01CF76UVS
yeah I was being a bit nitpicky. I think it is a very valid point that the amount of food in a package is much more accurately tracked by weighing than by assuming the number of servings stated on the bag is correct. Don't mean to undermine that point.0 -
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Although I agree with the premise and overall Point here I think it worth pointing out you appear to be weighing something that is still frozen.
Freezing tends to recruit moisture from the air and lock it in on surfaces of what is being frozen therfore increasing it's weight. A frozen slab of meat can end up weighing considerably more than when it is fully thawed and that frozen liquid melts and disperses back into the air.
as above - nope not frozen at all - its gnocci - its typically sold in a vacumn packaged bag in the pasta aisle...
(trust me when I say I've been weighing food for a while and knew the issue as soon as I weighed the bag - this was an example for people who blindly trust serving sizes...3 -
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Wow! I am just getting into weighing all of my foods. It's amazing how much more we eat than we think we do!5
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Im looking at this pic and all I was thinking was " score, free serving of gnocchi !" .. Weigh everything0
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Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »WOW! This needs to be saved to refer to when people are having trouble losing weight but aren't weighing all their foods and going by package serving sizes.
This!0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey 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
What I've found that usually weighs right on or a little under is usually packaged single serving yogurt cups with the exception of Noosa.
Most everything else is either off 20-100+ calories.1 -
JerSchmare wrote: »
I’ve heard of people weighing eggs. Lol.
I collected the eggs from my (all the same age and size) chickens today. I think a generic "One Egg, 80 cal" would be in error...
This would be true when using fresh eggs, but if you are using store-bought eggs, the sizes in the cartons have very little variation and I find the few calories that variation means evens out in the long run.3 -
GOT_Obsessed wrote: »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.
This may sound silly but how do you weigh it? It's a frozen chunk in a box till microwaved.
Do you weigh it first, heat, eat then weigh the empty box?
I eat them from time to time at work and don't want to bring my scale along.
I take my food scale to work & have gotten a few comments over the years, but most know I am trying to lose weight again.0
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