Weighing food=wasting food?

GetNew81
GetNew81 Posts: 26
in Food and Nutrition
I'm in the market for a food scale but I have a question for those of you using them. If you weigh an item and it's over your portion limit, do you just cut off the excess? If so, what do you do with the leftovers? I'm specifically asking about meat here.

I want to watch my portions but I hate the idea of throwing out excess food. I hate wasting food and - by extension - wasting money. So I'm curious. What do you do with the extra meat scraps?

Replies

  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    A portion is whatever you decide it is. Weighing is for accurate tracking. Don't let a package or suggested "serving size" dctate how much you eat of something.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    I'm in the market for a food scale but I have a question for those of you using them. If you weigh an item and it's over your portion limit, do you just cut off the excess? If so, what do you do with the leftovers? I'm specifically asking about meat here.

    I want to watch my portions but I hate the idea of throwing out excess food. I hate wasting food and - by extension - wasting money. So I'm curious. What do you do with the extra meat scraps?

    If, for instance, I am having 6oz chicken, I will weigh it as I carve it off the carcass, I do the same with all other meat. If any is left over, my hubby is not on weightloss, so he gets the extra lol. The same goes for other food such as cheese, fish etc etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I don't waste food. I simply use my scale to be more accurate. I have on occasion cut a chicken breast in half to be roughly 4 oz each and grilled them both up...eat one and then reserve the other for a salad or something the next day...but I never waste food. As magerum stated, a "portion" is whatever you decide your portion is.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    What I do is fairly complex, but I have a system. What I don't eat, I put in the refrigerator. Then I eat it another day.
  • GetNew81
    GetNew81 Posts: 26
    Thanks for the response. That was helpful!
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
    A portion is whatever you decide it is. Weighing is for accurate tracking. Don't let a package or suggested "serving size" dctate how much you eat of something.

    Ditto this... I bought chicken breasts today and they're all around 4.5-5oz...I just track that I'm eating that much instead.
  • GetNew81
    GetNew81 Posts: 26
    All right, I'll keep that in mind. I find that when grocery shopping, the cheaper the price the smaller the portions. I have to discipline myself to choose those over the bigger ones.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Good luck with picking out an awesome food scale, OP!
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
    Don't throw it away!!

    Save it for the next day and incorporate it into your diary.. never waste food!!
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
    Well my thought process is that it can either go to waste or to my waist. I keep a Tupperware container for soup and any excess goes in there.

    I also agree with the above person that you cut off what you feel is a portion and weigh it for tracking. If it adds up to way more calories simple save half for your next meal or snack.

    Shirley Gauthier
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    Not necessarily. If it's chicken breasts for example, I eat a whole one. I weigh it and then adjust the serving size from 1 to like 1.5 or 1.75 servings to get it to the size I am eating. Example. Tonight, I'm having chicken. The serving size on the package says 4oz is 120 calories. My piece is 6 oz so I adjust the serving size to 1.5 servings which is 180calories.

    If it's ground meat, I usually weigh the types I buy to get a cooked and an uncooked weight since a serving size is based off uncooked meat. If I'm cooking for me and my boyfriend, I can weigh out my portion without cooking it separately. If I am cooking just for me, I'll cook the whole package and then weigh out serving sizes and eat it for a few meals.
  • zeebruhgirl
    zeebruhgirl Posts: 493 Member
    Hubby and I are eating pork loin tonight for dinner.
    We are cooking the whole thing, weighing our 3-4oz serving, and putting the rest aside for left overs :]
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    Good luck with picking out an awesome food scale, OP!

    you are incredibly supportive!



    OP...typically what i weigh is what i eat....if i put 12oz of chicken on the scale...im eatin it.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Good luck with picking out an awesome food scale, OP!

    you are incredibly supportive!



    OP...typically what i weigh is what i eat....if i put 12oz of chicken on the scale...im eatin it.

    THANK YOU!
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    Good luck with picking out an awesome food scale, OP!

    you are incredibly supportive!



    OP...typically what i weigh is what i eat....if i put 12oz of chicken on the scale...im eatin it.

    Or, if it's only 4 oz...then I know to add more chicken for a proper meal.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Good luck with picking out an awesome food scale, OP!

    You're slowly killing my will to live, you know that?
  • PhoenixStrikes
    PhoenixStrikes Posts: 587 Member
    I'm in the market for a food scale but I have a question for those of you using them. If you weigh an item and it's over your portion limit, do you just cut off the excess? If so, what do you do with the leftovers? I'm specifically asking about meat here.

    I want to watch my portions but I hate the idea of throwing out excess food. I hate wasting food and - by extension - wasting money. So I'm curious. What do you do with the extra meat scraps?

    Two words. Left overs.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    I eat them later.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I think I waste LESS food with my scale.

    I already weighed it, so I gotta eat it!
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    I like to think of it this way... Let's say you have a baby that weighs 9lb 13oz. You don't just cut off the baby's foot so that it weighs an even 9lbs. You simply make your baby book entry read "9lb 13oz."

    You could make the baby run later to burn off the calories those extra 13oz packed on, though. Just.... strap it to the treadmill or something.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I like to think of it this way... Let's say you have a baby that weighs 9lb 13oz. You don't just cut off the baby's foot so that it weighs an even 9lbs. You simply make your baby book entry read "9lb 13oz."

    You could make the baby run later to burn off the calories those extra 13oz packed on, though. Just.... strap it to the treadmill or something.
    I also support 13oz feet and peg legs.
  • kaned_ferret
    kaned_ferret Posts: 618 Member
    I actualy find it is saving me money as i buy a packet of meat e.g. four pork chops, then pre-weigh out portions and freeze them individually and just defrost the day I want to eat them. It's making food go further with less waste :smile:
  • christianteach
    christianteach Posts: 595 Member
    We typically have to cook extra pieces of chicken to get enough protein. We try to eat 5-6 oz per meal. We weigh out what we want and put the rest up for leftovers. I love to warm it up and eat it in my salad.
  • LyndaTay
    LyndaTay Posts: 48 Member
    I weigh it then save whatever is leftover and scramble with some eggs for breakfast or make a nice salad or wrap with it for lunch. I seldom ever throw away food, especially meat!
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    I weigh the food to identify it's contents, not to shrink the portion based on the results. So if I decide I want a particular piece of meat, I weigh it and document the five ounces or whatever it is. If I weigh it and determine it's five ounces and I really only want to eat three ounces, I cut the excess off and throw it back with the rest of the meat on the table. Or if it's just me, I throw it in a container and chop up the other two ounces to add protein to a salad for lunch the next day.

    Most of us are not overweight due to our excessive consumption of lean meat. I wouldn't sweat the small stuff over an ounce of meat here or there. Weigh it to document your consumption, not necessarily to limit it.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
    How much are you cooking that you have too much after it's prepared?
    I wonder whether you could weigh it before cooking it.
    Then you would have "just the right amount."
    What do you do with the extra meat scraps?

    Eat it.
    Just at a different meal.
    Think "leftovers" I suppose
    Lunch tomorrow, etc.


    :-)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    not currently tracking, but when I do track, I weigh my food, eat it, log it, and towards the end of the day I see how many calories I have left over, whether I need to eat more protein etc, and choose something to eat based on that. If I have to cut something down to size to be able to fit it into my calorie goal, the rest of it goes in a container in the fridge and I eat it the next day.

    My local supermarket had a special offer on, something like 24 different size containers for two or three Bahraini dinars. If you get freezer proof and microwave proof plastic containers you can store them in the fridge, freezer or use them in the microwave to reheat and/or thaw them as necessary. IMO they're a great investment, and no need to waste food.... and I still use them when I'm not tracking, except that I don't weigh my portions... I eat until I'm satisfied and put the rest in the fridge for the next day.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    What I do is fairly complex, but I have a system. What I don't eat, I put in the refrigerator. Then I eat it another day.

    I detect sarcasm here... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    But, yeah. That's pretty much what I do.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
    What I don't eat, I put in the refrigerator.
    Then I eat it another day.

    This is what I do too.
  • KinzieElise
    KinzieElise Posts: 584 Member
    What I don't eat, I put in the refrigerator.
    Then I eat it another day.

    This is what I do too.

    I definitely live off of leftovers for a large portion of the week.

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