all this talk about weighing foods.

StheK

I have never actually weighed my food. I only use cup/spoon measurements, and it has worked out fine for me so far. I don't know why that is when so many people really seem to need to be that precise- but I'm grateful to not have to do the extra work.

flumi_f

How nice it is to live in a country using metrics ;-)

Use a scale whenever possible. When not - wing it a bit.

Matiara

I prefer to weigh my food because you'd be surprised what we think is a tbsp ends up being more or less. Example, before I purchased a digital food scale I was having peanut butter and honey sammy's thinking I was only eating 200kcals worth of peanut butter, turned out it was nearly double that

That's the other thing that concerns me. I have peanut butter on crackers every morning when I get to work and I *know* I'm off on the peanut butter most days. PB is too calorie dense a food to play guessing games with.

brraanndi

Unless you are using the line on the inside of the cup and not stuffing it packed full of something you aren't getting the same weight.

Just like people when they read something like use 1 TSBP and their TSBP is this heaping, overflowing beast of tablespoon ( I'm looking at your peanut butter ).

My scale is there only for when I really doubt the information I am given, I think it's a good thing and will definitely be useful when I get much closer to goal weight.

Hildy_J

You can lose weight without weighing but if you're struggling to lose and can't work out why... it's usually food measurement and/or calorie burn that is inaccurate.

luckydays27

You know what food doesn't have the weight on it next to the serving size? Ranch. My freaking ranch dressing is 2 tbsp (30mL). What am I a chemistry teacher?

Needless to say I weigh out 100grams for my boneless wings and log that as 1 serving.

ml = grams. Thus 30 ml of ranch equals 30 grams which is one serving. you are eating 3.3 servings if you use 100g of ranch with your wings. Which is about how much I use as well. Love that stuff!!!

SailorKnightWing

I weigh some things, but I've been cooking for a while and am very good at estimating. It's something you can learn just buy watching. I know exactly how full to fill the spoon when I'm scooping out peanut butter, for instance, just by scooping it out and weighing it enough times.

Serah87

Love. My. Digital Food Scale!!! More accurate than measuring cups/spoons and my eyes!! JS :bigsmile:

upscalelifedownscalebutt

The Nutritional info will provide the mention the serving size like 1 cup but will also provide the weight. Like Multigrain cheerios which are 1 cup serving or 29 grams. Using the digital scale is the most accurate for this mesurmement. Yes, weigh everything.

Yah this...you should see the difference in cottage cheese...1/2 cup or 125g trust me I weigh it and get 125g...nom nom...it's about 2/3 of a cup...not much no but well worth the scale cost if you are hungry...

so you are saying that weighing food could actually mean more food for your calorie than measuring (in some cases).

I have found large discrepancies, especially with chunky foods like blackberries, miniwheats, grape tomatoes, walnuts, olives, etc. They are also allowed to round the calories down, so I always round them back up.

So I will weigh my cereal, then round up to the nearest 5.

auddii

You know what food doesn't have the weight on it next to the serving size? Ranch. My freaking ranch dressing is 2 tbsp (30mL). What am I a chemistry teacher?

Needless to say I weigh out 100grams for my boneless wings and log that as 1 serving.

ml = grams. Thus 30 ml of ranch equals 30 grams which is one serving. you are eating 3.3 servings if you use 100g of ranch with your wings. Which is about how much I use as well. Love that stuff!!!

Wait, volume = mass. When did everyone up and change physics?!?!?! No one keeps me up to date on these things!

But seriously, no. Mass and volume do not directly equate.

TinaBaily

I'll be investing in a digital food scale in a couple of weeks mainly for measuring rice and pasta. For rice, even using the cup measurement for two servings shown on the box, I always, *always* end up with more than two servings cooked. The same for macaroni, rotini, etc. And for spaghetti, the box says a serving is two ounces dry, which obviously can't be measured without a scale. I know the quarter trick, but I don't like guesstimating.

And I may be weird, but I think it's fun to weigh food. I don't find it troublesome at all. But then, I also find it fun to create my monthly household budget and balance my checkbook, so maybe I'm just a numbers geek.

Me too!! I found my soul sister!! I thought I was the only one who actually liked to play with my household budget, do the checkbook, and even weigh my food. Husband is happy to have me do that since it's not his cup of tea.

Definitely invest in a food scale. I use a postal scale, but it works the same, and is super accurate.

Jewlz280

Hi OP! Here's the thing: You really should weigh. But the big question comes in WHAT to weigh. What do I weigh? Only protein and fats. And even protein I can eye darn quickly. I've just gotten good at it! LOL But you have to weigh them because they are the most calorie dense foods. I eyeball fruits and veggies because a few grams here or there are negligible. Anything else though goes on my scale. I got one at Bed, Bath, & Beyond pretty darn cheap (with a coupon) and it does oz. and grams and can be zero'd out with a bowl on top. I pretty much measure anything that has weight on it. For a long time, I did fruit but not so much anymore. BBQ sacue, ranch, cheese, and all that get measured. It's just easier. I will say the smaller the measurement (tbsps. etc.) the more accurate the weight seems to be if you always do a level amount. But anything else can be off. I measure more dense foods like rice with a cup, though. However, I can honestly say just for curiosity's sake that almost every single thing I've ever eaten has met my scale! It's really a good way to get the most accurate look at portions. PB would be a big one. You'd be shocked at what a portion of PB really is! Most people are actually eating 2 and 3 servings when they think they are eating 1. Butter (for me) was the opposite. For a LONG time I thought I was eating an insane amount of butter but when I measured it, I was literally eating about a1/3 of what I thought I was. Mostly because since butter is so 'fluid' once it gets warm, it spreads out and you need much less than you thought. It's really just a good idea to get one for a learning tool. I don't think most people have 'got to' have it, but I would say a vast majority of people would do better if they ever used one!

mommabenefield

I have read a lot of comments on people's threads that foods should be weighed and that tablespoon/cup measurements are only good for liquids. But what if the product you are using states its nutritional information in cup form? (like cereal, for example). Well, I guess many products will also give the weight equivalent. Are the cup measurements really inaccurate as suggested? should I being weighing all my non liquid "food"?

But what about the ounce, i get confused because i know there are 8 ounces in a cup, but ounces are also weight measurements as well (16 ounces in a pound). If a serving of cereal is 8 ounces...are we talking weight measurements or liquid (i.e. cup).

So, let me tell you this ... I didn't start seeing the scale move until I started weighing my food rather than using a measuring cup, spoon etc.
You can use Google to help translate cup-ounce-gram-lb. that's not really a difficult problem.

Yes using measuring cups is inaccurate, for example when I measure out a quarter cup of quinoa it is significantly MORE than the actual serving size of 43 grams weighed. Meaning if i was targeting a 50 calorie serving I could have actually been eating a 150 calorie serving and turned into one of those posters "I measure all my food under eat my calories and cant lose weight!"..... measuring cups and spoons are not exact and IMO you should weigh your liquids too if possible.

Um cereal is not a liquid. I think you're likely to find if you weight out 8 ounces and measure 8 ounces of cereal you will find you are actually eating more or less than what you thought.

I think you are over thinking this a bit, the only way you will actually see the benefit of weighing versus measuring is by, purchasing a scale, even a little 5 dollar one to start, keep google close by, and giving it a go.

Watch this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

One more example a bag of Tilapia fillets says that a serving size is approximately 1 'FILLET' - 4 oz - but when I thaw out and weight 1 'FILLET' it is NEVER 4 oz .... it more often than not comes out to 2 oz or more than 4.5 oz, but the bag says 1 'FILLET' is 4 oz right?

Measuring cups check volume a scale checks weight - 5 grapes could fill up a measuring cup but a serving weighed out might actually give you 20 grapes

Do you like food?
Yes?
Ok then weigh your food.

If it doesn't make sense by now..... well watch the video ! :flowerforyou:

upscalelifedownscalebutt

You know what food doesn't have the weight on it next to the serving size? Ranch. My freaking ranch dressing is 2 tbsp (30mL). What am I a chemistry teacher?

Needless to say I weigh out 100grams for my boneless wings and log that as 1 serving.

ml = grams. Thus 30 ml of ranch equals 30 grams which is one serving. you are eating 3.3 servings if you use 100g of ranch with your wings. Which is about how much I use as well. Love that stuff!!!

grams to mL only works with water.

mommabenefield

Mostly because since butter is so 'fluid' once it gets warm, it spreads out and you need much less than you thought.

Thats funny lol Butter who in the world ever thinks they need less butter

fitmusiclifeviola

I lost all my weight with measuring cups, or even just rough estimation. I was conservative in my food estimates, and that worked for me. Even using measuring cups feels a bit over the top for me, and a tough 'lifestyle' change to keep up.

There were days when not knowing the 'exact' # ate at me (pun intended), and a scale may have helped ease my mind then. I ate out at restaurants during my weight loss too, and no weighing would matter there, I would just estimate. Do what works for you. If you're losing, great, if not, mix up your routine.

The key thing that started my weight loss is that I made a few 'substitutions' to my regular diet. I usually at 2-3 large desserts/day, and I reduced it to one small one that I would savor. Simpler changes are easier to maintain. Not that the weighing or more in detail tools/methods don't work. Good luck.

MB_Positif

I don't know. I never weigh anything but myself and I am doing just fine.

Brige2269

in the cheerios example, do you know what the discrepency is? have you weighed out 29 grams of cheerios and put it in a cup and see if it comes close? just curious. i don't own a food scale...but may start looking into one. i am sure there are many theads out there with scale suggestions.

I did this with dry oatmeal. The cup was off by 10 grams or so. So I no longer use the cup for measuring.

Someone made a great example on a different thread using broccoli. If you measure a cup of broccoli, it depends how big the pieces are for the calorie per cup. Say you leave the florets large, about three would be a cup, if you diced up the broccoli, it would take more to fill that cup. If you measure it with a scale, no matter the size of the florets, you will have an accurate measure and know exactly how many calories. Hope I explained that right, lol.

Francl27

You know what food doesn't have the weight on it next to the serving size? Ranch. My freaking ranch dressing is 2 tbsp (30mL). What am I a chemistry teacher?

Needless to say I weigh out 100grams for my boneless wings and log that as 1 serving.

I'd buy another type of dressing, lol. Seriously maple syrup is the same, how are you supposed to measure milliliters? I found some site that gives a gross approximation of grams to cup at least (for maple syrup). Otherwise it's pretty much just guesswork.

The biggest difference I've seen honestly is in the whole wheat flour I've been using. They say a serving size is 1/4 cup, or 34g, but a 1/4 cup (filled to the rim, flat) is about 46g. Which is a nightmare in recipes too, what do you use, 46g or 34g? And just imagine the calorie difference if you use a recipe that uses a cup of it...

Bleh... That's why I weigh everything.

BigGuy47

A scale is well worth the tiny investment. You could buy 5 scales for the same amount of money as a single month of Gym membership.

servilia

Food scale for the win. It's awesome.

SailorKnightWing

The biggest difference I've seen honestly is in the whole wheat flour I've been using. They say a serving size is 1/4 cup, or 34g, but a 1/4 cup (filled to the rim, flat) is about 46g. Which is a nightmare in recipes too, what do you use, 46g or 34g? And just imagine the calorie difference if you use a recipe that uses a cup of it...

Bleh... That's why I weigh everything.

A big part of that is scooping flour vs. spooning flour. If you take your measuring vessel and scoop up the flour, it's going to get packed a bit and end up being more than you realize. If you scoop it out with a spoon and sprinkle it into your measuring vessel it doesn't get as compacted and ends up a lot more accurate. If your cakes or breads are coming out too dry or dense, this may be the problem.

brynnsmom

.
[/quote]

Yah this...you should see the difference in cottage cheese...1/2 cup or 125g trust me I weigh it and get 125g...nom nom...it's about 2/3 of a cup...not much no but well worth the scale cost if you are hungry...
[/quote]

Weighed my cottage cheese last night for the first time (usually use the standard 1/2 cup measuring cup). I was surprised to see this as well - yay!

Jewlz280

Mostly because since butter is so 'fluid' once it gets warm, it spreads out and you need much less than you thought.

Thats funny lol Butter who in the world ever thinks they need less butter

That is HILARIOUS! I'm dying laughing! Mmmm... BUTTER.