Questions about using my digital food scale

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hj1119
hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just got a scale last night! Had a lot of fun measuring out my entire dinner and it was a real eye opener when it came to a few things.

Couple of questions.

1. Eggs. Should I be weighing my eggs / egg whites or just go with the usual 70 / 17 cal count?

2. Meats and vegetables - should I be weighing them before or after they're cooked?

3. I poured 5 ounces of wine into a measuring cup, tared my glass and poured it on the scale. It showed 5.3 ounces. Can I use the scale the measure fluid ounces?

TIA!

Replies

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    1. I go with the numbers for the egg size and don't weigh, but if you eat eggs alot and have a small deficit then it might be worth it to you. you would want to put a glass or measuring cup on the scale, tare, then put the portion of the egg you want in.
    2. Raw weights are the most accurate, there will be lots of change in weight durring cooking. If you cant weigh it raw then pick an entry that reflects the cut of meat and cooking style.
    3. I just measure in a cup, not honestly sure about this one.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    this lady put out a post, she is a logging fiend so you might find her info helpful
  • hj1119
    hj1119 Posts: 173 Member
    Options
    1. I go with the numbers for the egg size and don't weigh, but if you eat eggs alot and have a small deficit then it might be worth it to you. you would want to put a glass or measuring cup on the scale, tare, then put the portion of the egg you want in.
    2. Raw weights are the most accurate, there will be lots of change in weight durring cooking. If you cant weigh it raw then pick an entry that reflects the cut of meat and cooking style.
    3. I just measure in a cup, not honestly sure about this one.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    this lady put out a post, she is a logging fiend so you might find her info helpful

    Thank you!
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    My digital will measure fluid ounces as well (its a unit setting) so I flip it to there, put my glass on, tare and pour :) If yours does not have a fluid ounce setting then you will have to wing it with cups... 8oz is 1 cup (close) so divide out 5oz and convert into cups.

    I weigh my eggs after I crack them open in grams and use raw weight (ounces or grams) for any meats before cooking...

    Now I get so in depth that I will weigh my food AFTER it is cooked as well and divide by the number of servings I made, then put that weight on my plate... ya crazy I know but it works for me lol
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    Now I get so in depth that I will weigh my food AFTER it is cooked as well and divide by the number of servings I made, then put that weight on my plate... ya crazy I know but it works for me lol

    I do this too and I am fairly sure I am not crazy :wink:
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    Now I get so in depth that I will weigh my food AFTER it is cooked as well and divide by the number of servings I made, then put that weight on my plate... ya crazy I know but it works for me lol

    I do this too and I am fairly sure I am not crazy :wink:

    YAY! good to know I am not the only one and therefore NOT crazy :drinker:
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I wouldn't weigh eggs but I don't weigh much of anything that is pretty 'standardized' or is low in calories (produce).

    Wine calories are by fluid ounces, as far as I know, so its weight is meaningless.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Just got a scale last night! Had a lot of fun measuring out my entire dinner and it was a real eye opener when it came to a few things.

    Couple of questions.

    1. Eggs. Should I be weighing my eggs / egg whites or just go with the usual 70 / 17 cal count?

    2. Meats and vegetables - should I be weighing them before or after they're cooked?

    3. I poured 5 ounces of wine into a measuring cup, tared my glass and poured it on the scale. It showed 5.3 ounces. Can I use the scale the measure fluid ounces?

    TIA!
    1. Just go with the standard. Eggs are sized (medium, large, etc) by weight rather than dimensions so a large egg will be fairly consistent across the board

    2. Weigh them before but make sure you are logging them as raw

    3. Liquids should be measured. Water is the only liquid where the measurement and weight is exactly the same (4 oz by weight will equal 4 oz by volume). Everything else will be different. Calories are calculated by volume, not weight for liquids.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    Options

    1. Just go with the standard. Eggs are sized (medium, large, etc) by weight rather than dimensions so a large egg will be fairly consistent across the board

    I did not know this, useful tip of the day!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Ounce for ounce, wine is probably very close to equal to water -- so an ounce is an ounce -- sort of.

    The difference is probably due to "meansurement error" in the measuring cup. Measuring cups, especially the glass ones we use for liquid measures, are remarkably inaccurate and subject to fuzzy results. Part of the problem is with the printed measures on the side of the glass and how they register and part is because the refraction of the glass makes it difficult to know when the level of the liquid is truly in line with the the marks.

    Another, little recognized factor is that fluid volume ounces and avoirdupois (weight) ounces are different, even for water, and very different for other substances. Although the conversion factor of 28g is often used for an ounce that is only try for dry ounces. The standard in the US for an ounce of water is 29.573 g or 1.04 avoirdupois (weight) ounces.

    The only way to be truly accurate with the measurements of our foods would be to use much more exact measuring implements of the type used in chemistry laboratories and compounding pharmacies. All the measurements we do in our kitchens and for our MFP diaries are CLOSE APPROXIMATIONS, not exact measurements. The dietary calories available in any food is also a close approximation base on certain assumptions, not an exact measurement of how many of those calories are truly converted to energy stores in your body.

    So, should we throw up our hands and give up? No, we should do the best we can with the resources provided for the purpose at hand. An inexpensive digital kitchen scale, a set of measuring cups and spoons, and the USDA calorie figures are usually function adequate.

    My new tag line: Embrace Ambiguity.

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