Weighing Foods

Lesliecs

Ok.... so I've been weighing and measuring all my foods since July when I started and I think I may have been weighing some items wrong!

For instance..... tonight I had some hash brown potatoes. I just got a new food scale and decided to compare. The serving size on the bag says 1/2 cup. In the PAST..... I would weigh out 4 oz. on my scale (assuming that is 1/2 cup). Tonight I measured 1/2 cup into a measuring cup and then put it on the scale and it only weighed out at 2.6 oz.! Imagine my surprise.

So all along.... on some foods, I've probably been eating WAY more than I thought I was. If I had just used the scale tonight, I would have only accounted for 2.6 oz when I actually had 1/2 cup. Could be the reason my weight loss has slowed!

Now I'm not sure what foods I should measure in measuring cups and what foods I can actually weigh out on the scale.

Anybody else experience this....... or have some insight as to how I should be weighing and measuring?

Mindful_Trent

Most foods I use have both volume and weight on the food label (typically in grams). If that's the case, I almost always go by the weight measurement. (Edited to clarify: if it says 1/2 cup or 4 oz. for a serving size, I'll measure out 4 oz. and not worry about the volume.)

The only things I don't bother weighing are the things that are very easy to ACCURATELY measure by volume - which are foods that are almost liquid (like yogurt) or foods that are small, similarly shaped solids (like cheerios or raisins). Examples of things I weigh are meats, most fruits/veggies, cereals like granola that may be really chunky/stuck together, cheese (when I'm cutting a piece off a block), etc.

skinnypigeon

This is just my take.

I think the weight is actually the more accurate measurement. I have started measuring my food in grams. Usually there is always a gram measurement next to the serving size. Depending on the size of the food it might vary how much fits into your measuring cup.

I think the safe bet is always go for the weight. ie..you can pack a 1/2 cup of brown sugar or loosely pack it...obviously the packed one has more calories. Weight can't be fudged...it is what it is. Hope this helps.

SarahLiz24

4 oz = a 1/2 cup of water

Everything you eat or drink has a different weight or volume. So I would go by what it says on the package. If it says a serving is a 1/2 cup, then I would get out a 1/2 cup measuring cup and measure it that way. If it says a servings is 4 oz, then go ahead and use the food scale. Every package is different. I'm pretty sure they do that to confuse us.

Lesliecs

Thanks everyone! I never thought about using the grams measurement before because my old scale didn't weigh in grams, but my new one does and I have noticed that most foods have the grams measurement listed..... live and learn!