Why weighing is important

mapnerd2005

I weight and measure all my food. If it's dry, it goes on the scale. If it's liquid, it goes in the measuring cup.
But what about those times when dry products are portioned out by size, as in "one scoop"? Yep, I put it on the scale. Here's why:

Take my protein powder as an example.
Following the directions, I mix one level scoop (one serving) with 8 oz of water. I log it into my diary, and it adds 130 calories.


But right next to that "One Level Scoop" there's a number in parentheses (36.5g), which is how much one serving size is by weight and the amount of product tested to come up with the nutritional information. Being the curious person I am, I decided to experiment.

First, I put the scoop on the scale and reset it to zero.


Then I filled the scoop as directed - "One Level Scoop" and weighed it again (remember, the scale was set to zero with the empty scoop on it).


WAIT A MINUTE! The scale says one level scoop is 44g, not 36! That means it's 159 calories, not 130. I know, 29 calories may not seem like a lot, but they do add up. And if you're just "eye-balling" it, there may be even more variation than you think.

neanderthin

Humidity, sometimes people may pack down to facilitate a level serving.......regardless, you now know there is a difference. There's also a 20% allowable error in labeling either way, therefore even if it was actually 44, they aren't legally in error, stupid I know, but true..

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mfpcopine

Humidity, sometimes people may pack down to facilitate a level serving.......regardless, you now know there is a difference. There's also a 20% allowable error in labeling either way, therefore even if it was actually 44, they aren't legally in error, stupid I know, but true..

^^^ This. Labeling is not only allowed to be off by as much as 20%, but think about who is out there making sure they are within 20%. LOL. Answer. No one. So, it's probably off by more than we know. So, the lesson is: People, stop being so anal about it.

I always point this out too when people say they're not losing weight. Occam's Razor: they're underestimating their calorie consumption.

I'm often not into weighing and measuring. My solution is to come in under.

mapnerd2005

this was just the example I was using. Following the directions was almost 25% off. I've always known there was a difference. I do research for a living and I'm a numbers person. I like to be as accurate as possible. Does that make me slightly anal? Yep. Oh well, it's my choice. The point is even following directions you can be off, and for those who just "eye-ball" and don't measure at all, they can be WAY off. I see people who are questioning why they are not losing weight and when asked if they weight and measure their food say no.

lucysmommy

you need to know the weight of the spoon also - even though its at zero the sppon when filled will add to the weight

neanderthin

this was just the example I was using. Following the directions was almost 25% off. I've always known there was a difference. I do research for a living and I'm a numbers person. I like to be as accurate as possible. Does that make me slightly anal? Yep. Oh well, it's my choice. The point is even following directions you can be off, and for those who just "eye-ball" and don't measure at all, they can be WAY off. I see people who are questioning why they are not losing weight and when asked if they weight and measure their food say no.

Oh, I agree 100%. There was a study using 20 women and 10 were dietitians and where given instructions on how to calculate and compute calorie intake data, because that is what they were going to be quizzed on and what the study was about and they still weren't close. The dietitians were out 220 cals and the other 10 were out around 400 calories a day. The conclusion was that dietitians are better equipped at estimating calories consumed. lol

mapnerd2005

you need to know the weight of the spoon also - even though its at zero the sppon when filled will add to the weight

I reset the balance of the scale so that when the spoon was on it, it was ZERO. That way, I was only measuring the weight of the product. The spoon itself weighs more than 44g. This is not my first time to work the scale.

samantha1242

you need to know the weight of the spoon also - even though its at zero the sppon when filled will add to the weight

Once you zero the scale with the measuring cup on it, the scale is zero accounting for the weight of the cup. If she were to remove the cup on the scale it would show a negative weight. It was done correctly.

hattie869

its very true! I weighed out the serving of the museli that i eat and the 45gram serving was tiny!!! I now savour each mouthful of the very small looking portion

rm7161

I am aware that labels can be incorrect, but using the food scale has helped me immensely to lose almost 58 pounds so far, and in a fairly shortish period of time -- started seriously in mid August. I think its working, safe to say.

mapnerd2005

I am aware that labels can be incorrect, but using the food scale has helped me immensely to lose almost 58 pounds so far, and in a fairly shortish period of time -- started seriously in mid August. I think its working, safe to say.

Congratulations on your weight loss! You are doing very well. I lost a little over 100 pounds a few years ago (my goal was to lose 130-I didn't think I'd ever come close to that, let alone my true goal of losing 150). I did really well keeping it off until I moved, my routine was thrown off, I quit weighing my food, and then I moved halfway across the country and started working full time instead of part-time and didn't find a gym for six months....and over those few years (mostly the last 6 months), I let old habits creep in and I gained 30 pounds back. I've lost 20 of them since Jan. 2, but I reset my ticker to my new starting weight and FINAL (that 150 loss from my all-time heaviest) when I started back again two months ago. Honestly, the reason I log my food now is to make sure I'm eating enough because I work out a lot, but since I like to be as accurate as possible, I weigh and measure everything and log it as it's weighed. And I have steadily lost 2 lbs a week since I started this again.

majope

I've had the opposite experience--since I got my scale, I've been weighing things I used to measure dry, and am almost always pleasantly surprised to find that the weight is right on or even a little less.

LizardQueen4PointOh

You sparked my curiosity, so I decided to weight my protein powder. Thankfully, it was only off by 1g.

rm7161

You sparked my curiosity, so I decided to weight my protein powder. Thankfully, it was only off by 1g.

It varies about 1-2 grams for me too... but that adds up after a while. So I measure it on the scale. Cost reduction as well as calorie

weird_me2

Great post! One of my first suggestions to people who aren't losing is to use a digital scale to measure everything, even stuff that has cup or tablespoon measurements. One place I noticed the biggest discrepancy is with condiments. My Kraft light mayo says 1 T is 15g is 35 calories. When I weighed it, I discovered that one measured level T is closer to 25 g, which means it's almost double the calories. A little here and a little there really can add up.

rm7161

I am aware that labels can be incorrect, but using the food scale has helped me immensely to lose almost 58 pounds so far, and in a fairly shortish period of time -- started seriously in mid August. I think its working, safe to say.

Congratulations on your weight loss! You are doing very well. I lost a little over 100 pounds a few years ago (my goal was to lose 130-I didn't think I'd ever come close to that, let alone my true goal of losing 150). I did really well keeping it off until I moved, my routine was thrown off, I quit weighing my food, and then I moved halfway across the country and started working full time instead of part-time and didn't find a gym for six months....and over those few years (mostly the last 6 months), I let old habits creep in and I gained 30 pounds back. I've lost 20 of them since Jan. 2, but I reset my ticker to my new starting weight and FINAL (that 150 loss from my all-time heaviest) when I started back again two months ago. Honestly, the reason I log my food now is to make sure I'm eating enough because I work out a lot, but since I like to be as accurate as possible, I weigh and measure everything and log it as it's weighed. And I have steadily lost 2 lbs a week since I started this again.

Thank you It's about the same for me, a steady 1-2 pounds a week, sometimes its more though. It came off faster than I expected. I think regular exercise and watching the diet at the same time was key. Speaking of which... off to exercise!