My first day with a food scale

sammidelvecchio
sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!

I have been counting calories since Feb 23, and have been losing weight at a good pace (-24 lbs in about 16 weeks) but I haven't weighed my food yet. I still have a significant amount of weight to lose, so I figure I will have to start sometime so why not now? I'm also just reallllly curious about it because so many people on these forums swear by it. So, I opened my new food scale last night and here is what i've learned so far:

Grapes - wow, 138 grams of grapes is a lot. If I would have measured in a cup, I would have been shorting myself some precious, delicious, $0.88/lb grapes.

Protein Powder - 1 scoop is more grams than the serving size. Not by much, but probably enough to turn my 2-scoop, 220 calorie serving into a 2-scoop 250-260 calorie serving. Again, not a big deal, but I guess that would potentially add up to 200 extra calories over the 5 days I drink it.

Fiber supplement - this was pretty much correct. Calls for 1 serving = 1 rounded teaspoon, which what does that mean really? But I have been estimating very close so no big shockers here.

Tuna packets - I buy the Starkist chunk light in water low sodium. These were good, one pack was 1g over the serving size and the other was 1g under.

Mayonnaise - I've been using a "heaping teaspoon" to eye a 1-tbsp serving size which is supposed to be 15g. I was also pretty good at this one. Seems to be the same amount.

Crackers - I eat the tuna salad I make with Ritz Crisp and Thins, and 1 serving is 21 chips/30g. Turns out I can have more than 21 chips for 30g! Happy day :)

Overall, it's been good so far. I think I will have the most eye-opening happen with meats. But, for anyone on the fence about getting one or switching over, these are a few real life examples to help you weigh the options :D
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Replies

  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Thank you for sharing. I've had a food scale in the past that a prior tenant left behind and I used it occasionally. Don't know what happened to it. I've wanted to buy one in my current journey, now in maintenance, but have resisted because I had enough measurements going on in my life with my Garmin heart rate monitor and using MFP for my food diary. I wondered about the accuracy of my judgements triggered by the repeated advice of people here talking about needing to measure, particularly when weight loss wasn't aligning with perception.

    I've figured my measurement errors will be a combination of high and low with a net sum of zero and that my actual weight loss would validate how good a job I'm doing. I think, like apparently you, my perceptions have been good enough. I do think I err when peanut butter is involved.

    Thanks for sharing and may all your fitness, health and wellness goals be realized because of your disciplined and hard work.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    @pierinifitness the curiosity was too much for me to hold out any longer :D I've also been afraid of the stigma, and the feeling of becoming too obsessed with my diet. For personal reasons, this is a real fear of mine and I still need to keep an eye on it. But hopefully I can find balance with it as with everything else in this world.

    Thank you for your kind words! And I wish the same for you.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    @kimny72 grapes are so easy to snack on, I probably would have eaten more than I thought if I hadn't weighed them, but eaten less if I had only measured them. Made me laugh a little.
  • alondrakar
    alondrakar Posts: 67 Member
    I ate large amounts of fruits when I decided that counting calories was not for me a few years back. I thought that as long as I ate 'healthy foods' mostly, my body would react the way I wanted. Although I did not gain back the 10 pounds I had lost via counting cals, it was very difficult to maintain my weight and eventually I was watching the pounds creep back up. It was happening so slowly that had I not been weighing myself periodically, I probably would not had noticed.

    Weighing foods is still a bit of a chore for me, but I am grateful for the eye opener.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Definitely an eye opener for me too!
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    @Sharon_C i've heard horror stories about peanut M&M's servings :D
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    sammidelvecchio wrote: »
    Hello!
    *snipped for brevity*

    Overall, it's been good so far. I think I will have the most eye-opening happen with meats. But, for anyone on the fence about getting one or switching over, these are a few real life examples to help you weigh the options :D

    Weighing foods can be an eye opener. It can also be a very positive experience where you can see that your instincts are good.

    I am very good at eyeballing. I also can play fast and loose with my portions so weighing keeps me honest. The best part is that I am confident when I go out to eat or eat at someone else's house. I can guesstimate well enough to log after I get home since I weigh at home (all solids and semi solids. I measure liquids).

    The craziest is when I bring a bulk pack of meat or a large roast home and cut it into portions to freeze. One time I cut a roast and was within 3 grams of the 1.5 lb portion I wanted.

  • movgrl1
    movgrl1 Posts: 23 Member
    Frozen veggies always make me laugh. The bag says there's about 4 servings but most times when I way them out it's more like 2. A salad kit will say 4 servings, but weighing it there's usually 6. So crazy!
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    katiesmom_99 wrote: »
    I'm going to order a scale from Amazon today, since I have absolutely no idea what most actual portions look like. I've been measuring as much as I can, and have managed to lose 2 lbs so far, but still want to be more accurate.

    You can be surprised in both ways, fortunately. There will be things where the actual serving size is smaller than thought, but there are also situations where the serving sizes is actually much more than expected. For me, a food scale allows me to more easily incorporate treats into my diet without accidentally going over.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    @katiesmom_99 I got this one:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • katiesmom_99
    katiesmom_99 Posts: 87 Member
    @earlnabby I do plan to use the gram setting, as it is more precise! As a bonus, Husband gave me a cookbook for Christmas that uses UK measurements, so having the scale will be a huge help in not having to convert.

    @sammidelvecchio What made you choose that particular scale? I've been looking at this one
    https://amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    A portion of their proceeds go to charity, it has great reviews, multiple measurements (grams, ounces, fl ounces), comes with a spare battery, and my body weight scale is the same brand and I really like it! It is also cute and fits in my backpack purse so I can bring it to work :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    oooh- I like that one, sammidelvec. Less nooks and crannies to have to try to keep clean -and Charity donation!

    41KIFoXTJ4L.jpg

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    katiesmom_99 wrote: »
    I'm going to order a scale from Amazon today, since I have absolutely no idea what most actual portions look like. I've been measuring as much as I can, and have managed to lose 2 lbs so far, but still want to be more accurate.

    My suggestion is to have tissues ready for when you weigh nut butters and cereal. :)

    Even whole nuts are ridiculous. I can pound those suckers down but a 180-calorie serving is barely a mouthful.
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    katiesmom_99 wrote: »
    I'm going to order a scale from Amazon today, since I have absolutely no idea what most actual portions look like. I've been measuring as much as I can, and have managed to lose 2 lbs so far, but still want to be more accurate.

    My suggestion is to have tissues ready for when you weigh nut butters and cereal. :)

    Even whole nuts are ridiculous. I can pound those suckers down but a 180-calorie serving is barely a mouthful.

    the serving size of almonds gives me the sads. 28 almonds? barely a mouthful.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,743 Member
    thanos5 wrote: »
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    katiesmom_99 wrote: »
    I'm going to order a scale from Amazon today, since I have absolutely no idea what most actual portions look like. I've been measuring as much as I can, and have managed to lose 2 lbs so far, but still want to be more accurate.

    My suggestion is to have tissues ready for when you weigh nut butters and cereal. :)

    Even whole nuts are ridiculous. I can pound those suckers down but a 180-calorie serving is barely a mouthful.

    the serving size of almonds gives me the sads. 28 almonds? barely a mouthful.

    It's why I like unshelled pistachios. At least they take a bit longer to eat.

    Usually.
  • katiesmom_99
    katiesmom_99 Posts: 87 Member
    Even whole nuts are ridiculous. I can pound those suckers down but a 180-calorie serving is barely a mouthful.

    This totally makes me want to cry. I bought roasted almonds in a 'single serve' packages without actually looking at the stated weight. Those little packets are actually 1.5 servings, 270 calories, and 22 grams of fat. Ugh!
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Im not too bad with judging by eye. Liquids is what I struggle with.

    Unfortunately over the years, weighing and judging foods has its legacy.

    I realise that many people on here weigh out pre packaged portions but Im not doing that, perhaps I would need to further down the line I dont know.
  • GetFitNowKrystal
    GetFitNowKrystal Posts: 71 Member
    I Iove my food scale and use it daily.
  • TrishSeren
    TrishSeren Posts: 587 Member
    Pasta, when I first weighed it, I could have cried. Also beef, I had no idea beef had so many calories.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    movgrl1 wrote: »
    Frozen veggies always make me laugh. The bag says there's about 4 servings but most times when I way them out it's more like 2. A salad kit will say 4 servings, but weighing it there's usually 6. So crazy!

    I have never weighed my frozen veg, but this makes me wonder because a bag of frozen steamed broccoli that I buy is 120 calories according to the package. But if I weigh out 120 calories of fresh cut broccoli and steam it it is actually WAY more in volume compared to the steamed frozen.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Another sad one was my cereal. A few years ago before I used a scale, I used cups. 1 cup weighed a LOT more than it was suppose to. By 1c they meant 1 fluffed up cup filled below the top of the measuring cup.

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