Rookie question about weighing food

momofpgn

When weighing my fruits and vegetables do I only calculate what I'm eating? So do I cut up the pear and weigh it? Do I remove the peel from the banana? And really, does it matter? Thanks

sodakat

You don't count the weight of the peel on bananas or oranges, for example, but with apples I often eat the whole dang thing so I just weigh it whole.

I think it does matter. Just like ketchup, barbeque sauce and soy sauce matter. 100 calories here/there and pretty soon we are talking enough to prevent a deficit if you are trying to lose "X" amount a week. IMO of course.

wozkaa

I agree with Sodakat

If you don't eat it, don't weigh it. I don't eat banana skin, and they can be thick and heavy - adding another 20-30 grams to the weight of your banana. That's half a snack's worth of calories right there you might be missing out on!
I cut my apples or pears into quarters if i'm home, and take the core out and weigh it. Heck, I even take grapes off the stem bfore weighing my portion! :-)

caveninit

Heck, I even take grapes off the stem bfore weighing my portion! :-)

lol I do that too!

garoyall

I don't think it matters as long as you're consistent with how you're weighing stuff. The amount of calories aren't going to be exact either way. Just be consistent with how you weigh stuff and then make adjustments based on progress.

momofpgn

Thanks for the info. It makes so much more sense when someone else tells you. . I'm using the grape idea too!!

lmhbuss

Yeaaaaah. I once weighed my apple, and then weighed the core before I threw it away to subtract the weight from the total. My husband thought I was insane.

The_Enginerd

The USDA entries that the MFP database is based on are only for the edible portion, so yes, that's exactly what you do.

beautifulwarrior18

I don't weigh my fruit, I measure it in a measuring cup since that seems to be how it's measured on the database.

FitterBody

Heck, I even take grapes off the stem bfore weighing my portion! :-)

lol I do that too!

And then freeze them. Then they are a great snack alternative to sweets/candies.

momofpgn

Thanks. I was wondering what MFP based numbers off. That helps.

Sarauk2sf

I don't weigh my fruit, I measure it in a measuring cup since that seems to be how it's measured on the database.

If you look at the drop down, it should give a list of measurement basis to chose from - slices, cups, whole fruits, oz, grams etc. The MFP entry ones do - they are the ones without the asterix.

chrisdavey

I just eat the banana peel

Sarauk2sf

I just eat the banana peel

Karissa_Clohan

I just eat the banana peel

:laugh: That was great!

siqiniq

Wow, I've never thought about it. I generally don't weigh fruit, but just use something in the food lists. However, this morning I discovered that I was guessing way over on my oatmeal, so I'm going to weigh fruit now and see what the difference is.

Dewymorning

When I am putting the banana in a smoothie, I weigh it without the skin, so I have a pretty good idea of the weight of a banana I just pick up to eat (I tend to go on the side of overestimating when I do that).

For most other fruits, I weigh the whole fruit and don't worry about the little bit I didn't eat. It is probably only 10-20 calories worth anyway.

SunKissed1989

I only weigh what I eat - i.e. removing the skin before putting it on the scales - particularly for bananas, oranges and apples (I usually eat the whole apple though so I just weigh that whole, if I leave the core, I weigh the apple whole before eating it then weigh the core before binning it so I know how much I actually ate

nomad1000

Fruits and veggies that get peeled, I weigh once peel is removed.

For fruits with pits and cores, I weigh the whole thing and leave it at that. Mainly to build a bit of a buffer in my log since I may be slightly off on other items or to account for stuff I might miss logging (like a breath mint, piece of gum, spices or herbs added to a meal for example).