Food scale
briittanyxxoo
Posts: 40 Member
I finally bought a food scale, as per a few people telling me to on my other posts.. it's supposed to arrive today. So just wondering do I weigh everything, liquids and solids?? Like would I weigh salad dressings?
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Replies
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Weigh only solids on the scale.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p11 -
I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.
"They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!12 -
I weigh everything on mine, liquids included. I just swap to ounces when I do liquids.3
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Hmmm, Quik, learned something new.1
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Ok, so another question, can I put my plate on the scale, tare it, and add one thing at the time weighing and tearing before adding a new food?
Hope that made sense... lol8 -
Yep, you got it.5
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quiksylver296 wrote: »I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.
"They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!
Same here. Milk for my coffee and cereal, salad dressing for my salad, the olive oil I put in the pan for cooking, I do it all by weight.MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »I weigh everything on mine, liquids included. I just swap to ounces when I do liquids.
There are two measurements called "ounces". Liquid volume measurement, which is fluid ounces, and weight measurement, which is ounces (16 ounces per pound). They are somewhat close for many liquids which are predominately water (8 fluid oz of water weighs 8.35 ounces), but can be quite off for other liquids. A scale can only measure weight.briittanyxxoo wrote: »Ok, so another question, can I put my plate on the scale, tare it, and add one thing at the time weighing and tearing before adding a new food?
Hope that made sense... lol
Exactly...
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I weigh anything that lists a gram weight on the nutrition info on the package. I've found some dressings and condiments do and some don't. Table/teaspoons aren't as accurate, but despite me being super detail oriented, I find it annoying to have to figure out/keep track of conversions to weight on liquids so I measure them if that's all that's on the package.
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You can also weigh a bucket of something and as you take items off the scale will measure the difference. Our scale also measures in grams which is a much more delicate measurement for light items. Glad you bought one. We use ours numerous times a day and it takes the guesswork out of keeping track. Besides being vigilant about the MFP website postings, I think it is the most useful item for losing weight. When I cook in bulk (i.e. a roast, etc.,) I weigh out the meals before I vacuum seal and put them in the freezer and mark the bags with weights. That way I know what I have in the freezer to defrost for meals. We purchased a very high end scale but were fortunate to purchase it from friends for about 1/6 the retail cost.0
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I use grams for solids and mls for liquids on my scale.2
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In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.1
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I am with @kimny72 on keeping this simple. I am super careful to weigh calorie-dense nut butters, and as she says, the easiest is to measure by putting it into the destination dish and noting the change.
There are a lot of low density, easy-to-clean-up-after items like vinegar that I still use measuring spoons for.0 -
briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.3 -
diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it1 -
briittanyxxoo wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it
But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.
For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.1 -
briittanyxxoo wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it
But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.
For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.
This is so confusing to me lol!
How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?1 -
briittanyxxoo wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it
But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.
For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.
This is so confusing to me lol!
How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?
I know! That's why I don't understand why scales have mls on them at all. If they don't have grams on the package, I use a standard measuring spoon set. For something generic like olive oil, you can probably find an entry in the database for olive oil in grams and weigh it in grams. If you only use a condiment sparingly, any method you choose is probably fine! Sorry I made it more confusing, I do that to myself all the time...
I believe I've heard that in Canada ice cream is only marked with cups and mls, that would drive me bananas
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briittanyxxoo wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it
But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.
For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.
This is so confusing to me lol!
How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?
I know! That's why I don't understand why scales have mls on them at all. If they don't have grams on the package, I use a standard measuring spoon set. For something generic like olive oil, you can probably find an entry in the database for olive oil in grams and weigh it in grams. If you only use a condiment sparingly, any method you choose is probably fine! Sorry I made it more confusing, I do that to myself all the time...
I believe I've heard that in Canada ice cream is only marked with cups and mls, that would drive me bananas
Oh my. Lol. I was so proud and excited to get a scale to accurately log my food but now that doesnt seem so simple... I will weigh solids and measure liquids, or semi liquids and hope it works out lol
Ugh, losing weight shouldn't be this hard, was this hard to gain it all haha 🙄0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
Uh oh, I just started eating salads again and weigh the dressing since it has grams. The dressings I use aren't calorific but...now I have to get a tablespoon dirty!0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
Uh oh, I just started eating salads again and weigh the dressing since it has grams. The dressings I use aren't calorific but...now I have to get a tablespoon dirty!
It's fine to do that. You're using weight based on the given weight on the bottle. Mils are volume measurements and don't equate to weight except for liquids close to the density of water. Higher density liquids, like oils, will be off.2 -
diannethegeek wrote: »briittanyxxoo wrote: »
milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
Uh oh, I just started eating salads again and weigh the dressing since it has grams. The dressings I use aren't calorific but...now I have to get a tablespoon dirty!
It's fine to weigh it in grams if the nutrition label gives you a grams weight as the serving size. I'm only talking about using a food scale for volume measurements such as milliliters or fluid ounces.1 -
These links might be useful information:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10640205/the-basics-of-accurate-logging/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p11 -
*stares at @kami3006 and @diannethegeek Don't. Scare. Me. Like. That.
LOL but yeah...if it's in grams, it goes on the scale.3 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.
"They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!
Same! I used to weigh my almond milk by using ounces.0 -
Almond milk does not weigh the same in oz as its fluid measurement in fluid ounces. The difference is about 8% on the low side, meaning that if one uses a calorie count from a fluid ounce panel on the side of a carton, and then weighs out an amount on the scale and converts to a calorie count, one is off by 8% (approximately).
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wilson10102018 wrote: »Almond milk does not weigh the same in oz as its fluid measurement in fluid ounces. The difference is about 8% on the low side, meaning that if one uses a calorie count from a fluid ounce panel on the side of a carton, and then weighs out an amount on the scale and converts to a calorie count, one is off by 8% (approximately).
8% of 30 calories? I'll risk it.2 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.
"They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!
Yup, this is how I measure salad dressing.
For peanut butter, I put the jar on the scale, zero (TARE) it, and knife out what I want. The negative number is how much I took. Don't forget to lick the knife (use a butter knife ) 3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.
"They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!
Yup, this is how I measure salad dressing.
For peanut butter, I put the jar on the scale, zero (TARE) it, and knife out what I want. The negative number is how much I took. Don't forget to lick the knife (use a butter knife )
Absolutely! If you weighed out that PB and logged it, licking the knife is a must. Might as well get all of what you logged.1
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