weighing food, seriously?

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24

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  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
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    I hope you aren't using your body scale to weigh your food..............
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    measure in grams not pounds. and put your plate, cup whatever on the scale then zero it...then add your food. digital scales are much better.

    This. Its better to weigh in grams.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Try using something other than a postal scale, say...like a food scale.
  • katythemommy
    katythemommy Posts: 437 Member
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    I love my food scale! I use it daily!
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
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    @ACG - That's a brilliant vid. Explains it very well.

    @Original Poster - You know you weigh things in a bowl right? That's what the "tare" function is for. Turn it on, put your bowl on there, hit "tare" and it's back at zero. Do this after every addition to the bowl if you're using multiple ingredients.
  • scottc561
    scottc561 Posts: 329 Member
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    what i can't seem to figure out is why such a variance between what an ounce is? some things says it's 28grams others say 31 grams and i have dried fruit that says 1 portion is 1oz or 20grams. why such a difference for the same measurement?
  • dawnagetsfit
    dawnagetsfit Posts: 81
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    I'm sorry, I can't stop chuckling over the prospect of slathering yogurt on a scale..

    Get a food scale that weighs in grams and ounces and has a tare button. Put a bowl on the scale, hit the Tare button, then deposit the yogurt into the *bowl*. Voila. No mess.
  • Feathil
    Feathil Posts: 163 Member
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    Sometimes I weigh in reverse if it's a messy food, like greek yoghurt. I put the 500g tub onto the scale, scoop out 100g into my bowl, and so when the scale measures the tub at 400g I know I've taken 100 out. The container is going to add to the weight of course, but I just stop at the point where I've taken 100g away from the original total.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    I think the original poster was using a bathroom scale. I did use a bathroom scale to measure food once . . . when I had a whole bunch of green tomatoes and a salsa verde recipe that called for four pounds. For a slice or two of cheese . . . not so much.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
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    Sometimes I weigh in reverse if it's a messy food, like greek yoghurt. I put the 500g tub onto the scale, scoop out 100g into my bowl, and so when the scale measures the tub at 400g I know I've taken 100 out. The container is going to add to the weight of course, but I just stop at the point where I've taken 100g away from the original total.

    You assume everyone know how to subtract. Most people learn that in second grade, but I think some of the posters here never made it that far. :wink:
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    You're pretty!
  • Elle_Jamaicangirl81
    Elle_Jamaicangirl81 Posts: 418 Member
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    I hope you aren't using your body scale to weigh your food..............


    *giggle*


    Anyway, yea...When i first started MFP i bought a digital food scale and weighed EVERYthing. its been 8 months..you'd be surprised how little (or a lot) things weigh and that you could have been underestimating before.

    i can eyeball things now, but i still use it.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    If you're having this hard of a time, you're either doing it wrong or you don't have the right kind of scale. My food scale is super easy - there is nothing to clean up and I can weigh even miniscule amounts of cheese. :-)
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    Get a scale that measures in smaller increments (grams?)

    For yoghurt and things where you don't want to "dirty" other bowls.

    Weigh the pot before
    Eat what you want
    Weigh the pot after :)

    This is what I do with things such as butter, jars of sauces (as the pan is to big to put on top of the scale) etc etc
  • Elle_Jamaicangirl81
    Elle_Jamaicangirl81 Posts: 418 Member
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    you definitely need a scale that measures by the gram or .1 of an ounce.

    there are bigger kitchen scales, but that wont do.
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
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    hahahah.. is she saying she's using a bathroom scales to weight food?! sorry but LOOOOL
    hun.. just get a little digital food scales - simples!



    LOL!
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    Why are you weighing yogurt and cheese? I weigh meat. Everything else has a calorie count on the back of the packaging. If you eat half, log half.

    you buy everything in single serving containers? i buy big tubs of greek yogurt and bags of shredded cheese. i have to weight whatever portion i am going to use.

    But bags of shredded cheese, at least, usually have a serving as 1/3 or 1/4 cup. I think yogurt is often measured by volume, too, not weight.

    *Shrug* I dunno, food scales always seemed a bit pointless to me except in rare circumstances where the only nutritional info you can find is by weight.
  • dawnagetsfit
    dawnagetsfit Posts: 81
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    Why are you weighing yogurt and cheese? I weigh meat. Everything else has a calorie count on the back of the packaging. If you eat half, log half.

    you buy everything in single serving containers? i buy big tubs of greek yogurt and bags of shredded cheese. i have to weight whatever portion i am going to use.

    But bags of shredded cheese, at least, usually have a serving as 1/3 or 1/4 cup. I think yogurt is often measured by volume, too, not weight.

    *Shrug* I dunno, food scales always seemed a bit pointless to me except in rare circumstances where the only nutritional info you can find is by weight.

    Many things that have portion sizes as cups also have it in grams, such as shredded cheese, cereal, etc.
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Put your jar of mayonnaise (for example) on the scale, zero the scale, spoon out how many grams/ounces in a serving until the scale reads that amount.. The scale will read a negative number BAM there is your serving.. How much more difficult do you think it has to be?????????
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,243 Member
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    For those who weigh their food, I doubt if they're weighing servings that state "per cup" or "per half cup". Most will weigh meats and cheeses or anything that say's "per ounce". A good food scale will be very small and will measure the weight in ounces. Good Luck!!

    I weigh anything that have the serving size in grams even if it gives a volume equivalent. Why? Because the volume equivalent is rarely correct if the nutrition information is given in grams as well. For example, a couple of days back I was using some cocoa, the serving size is in tablespoons (1 tablespoon) and it also says a tablespoon of that should be something like 6 grams. I measured out a level tablespoon, it was about 10 grams. Not a big deal, but that is an item one uses a small amount of. If it was something else, I would much rather have the more exact measure.

    Second, you don't weigh on the kitchen scale, you put a bowl or plate on the scale and zero (tare) it. Then you measure out your serving. All you end up cleaning are the dishes you would use anyway.

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