I've got a smidge of a complaint....

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feelin_gr_8
feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It drives me nutty when founds are listed by the ounce or some other measuring....If I'm having salsa and chips, I measure out by tablespoons my salsa and a number of chips (for example)...I don't measure out x many ounces of chips....who does that?! Why in sam's hill can't they put an estimated quantity? I don't always want to weight my lunch meat, or chips, or dry pasta. I do have a scale but it's not always convenient.

*phew* glad you let me get that off my chest. Feel free to share your complaint ;)
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Replies

  • 1linde
    1linde Posts: 34 Member
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    A lot of people weigh and measure their food, some foods you really have to weigh to get an accurate accounting. I have been able to find foods listed both ways in the database. Also some bags of tortilla chips etc will list how many chips make out a serving and the corresponding weight.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
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    It drives me nutty when founds are listed by the ounce or some other measuring....If I'm having salsa and chips, I measure out by tablespoons my salsa and a number of chips (for example)...I don't measure out x many ounces of chips....who does that?! Why in sam's hill can't they put an estimated quantity? I don't always want to weight my lunch meat, or chips, or dry pasta. I do have a scale but it's not always convenient.

    *phew* glad you let me get that off my chest. Feel free to share your complaint ;)

    I bet you a tablespoon of salsa doesn't meet the projected weight. For example my salad dressing is 90 calories for 2 tablespoons/34 grams. But when I weighed the amount in a tablespoon (put spoon on scale, zeroed out, added dressing) that tablespoon was 25 grams. Two tablespoons would have been 50 grams vs the 34 I think I'm eating. Not a huge difference really, but imagine it's something more calorie dense like peanut butter or just normal butter or mayo or whatever else.

    I weigh my chips too. the bag says 10 chips/whatever grams and you know what? That amount of grams is more like 20 chips. I want all my damn chips.

    TL;DR: I appreciate everyone who puts their stuff in grams and want to banish all the people using cups to measure things that aren't liquids.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?

    I just really like weighing everything.
  • andrewquamme
    andrewquamme Posts: 3 Member
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    I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?

    I just really like weighing everything.

    ^^This... into what size pieces should I cut my apple before I measure it, because I can eat more apple if I cut it smaller... Just give me the weight so I can plop it on my food scale...
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
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    The majority of people here weigh and measure their food.
  • hararayne
    hararayne Posts: 261 Member
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    I recently started using a scale to weigh food. I saw just how far I was off on a lot of things. I thought I was pretty close on serving sizes until I started weighing. I'm really glad that people use weights like grams or oz.

    I also like that there are the other options available too, just takes a little longer to pick the one you want sometimes. And I don't mind for accuracy.

    Sorry it bothers you but it really helps the rest of us. ;)
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I'm the opposite, I hate it when stuff isn't entered by weight. A cup of carrots, or apples? Am I being stingy with my cup or should I cram in as much as possible?

    I just really like weighing everything.

    ^^This... into what size pieces should I cut my apple before I measure it, because I can eat more apple if I cut it smaller... Just give me the weight so I can plop it on my food scale...
    Agreed. Volume measurements are horribly inaccurate for non-liquids, and mostly inaccurate for liquids also. If your liquid is about the same density as water, volume is ok, but if it's any thicker, you really want to go by weight.

    incidentally, a liquid that is the same density as water will actually be the same in fluid ounces as it is in avoirdupois ounces. So I even weigh most of my liquids on my scale, too.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I pretty much measure everything on my digital scale. for salsa, I use condiment cups, tare the scale, and measure it that way.

    It drives ME nuts when there aren't weight measurement units because volumetric measurements, like tablespoons, can be way off. I dare you to measure what you think 2 tablespoon serving of peanut butter is, and then weigh it to check your accuracy.


    Plus, the nutritional information is accurate to the weight, not the volume, so if a label says (1 TBSP/28 g) the actual information is true to the gram weight.
  • moss11
    moss11 Posts: 236 Member
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    Got to agree I go by the scales. My idea of a cupful, tablespoonful etc could be quite different from someone else's. Chips are varying sizes, slice of bacon different weight, fat content. Ideally I would prefer all measurements in grams, but by searching I can usually find what I need-as a result of someone else's input I should add.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    This is one of the reasons why I weigh every chance I can: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    and specifically this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY



    I recommend that people do weigh where possible and not measure, unless liquid, or eyeball.
  • sveeties
    sveeties Posts: 1 Member
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    Maybe look into weightwatchers pro-points plan or filling and healthy, both plans are more generalised. They round foods up to a 'points value' so that it all balances out over the week. I have been tracking with both - myfitnesspal and ww and, over the week, it works out that the calorie allowance/need for exercise is the same. On average 1500 cal per day and 30 min of light cardio daily (power walk, cycle etc), work-out 3 times per week (pilates x 2 and personal training x 1). This equals about 2-3 lbs of weight loss. Interesting - most plans are based on the same principles but the science behind it is the same. Just need to find something that works for you. I weigh my food but that's not everyone's cup of tea!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    It drives me nutty when founds are listed by the ounce or some other measuring....If I'm having salsa and chips, I measure out by tablespoons my salsa and a number of chips (for example)...I don't measure out x many ounces of chips....who does that?!

    Who does that? People who are serious about losing weight or people who want to track their calories accurately. Love my scale!
  • VioletNightshade
    VioletNightshade Posts: 197
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    I'm the opposite. I wish everything was listed in grams.

    Yes, everything.

    Well... grams and milliliters.
  • RosyBest
    RosyBest Posts: 303 Member
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    Same here....I thought it was just me. I had some chicken wings for dinner and it kept asking me how many ounces I ate. I got so frustrated lol
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    I measure my food with a digital scale so ounces and grams are helpful.
  • GenF32
    GenF32 Posts: 184 Member
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    Sorry, I think weighing is really the only way to be accurate.
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
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    Me and my digital scale are best friends :)
  • Its_Nat
    Its_Nat Posts: 184 Member
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    This is one of the reasons why I weigh every chance I can: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    and specifically this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY



    I recommend that people do weigh where possible and not measure, unless liquid, or eyeball.

    Wow! I do tend to weigh most foods, but have also used cups/tablespoons etc. I have always run a blunt knife across the top to get an 'even' amount. But, I guess even that isn't good enough sometimes. Thank you for posting that youtube vid, very enlightening!
  • slim4health56
    slim4health56 Posts: 439 Member
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    My scale is an inexpensive little thing, not the digital model. I don't mind measuring cups, tablespoons, and ounces, but grams I don't do. On the flip side, when it does list the number of a given item (like potato chips for example), I often wonder how that works given that all chips are not the same size...I guess I could just pull out 16 of the biggest chips in the bag and call it a day...

    I read a post last week from a poor newbie who searched in the mfp database until she found something she really liked...3 chicken thighs for 150 calories. Ha! She had no scale, had cooked 10 thighs in a crock pot and wanted help calculating how many calories she had. Broke my heart to tell her an average chicken thigh of 190 grams wasn't 50 calories, but over 400 calories (3 thighs would be 1200 calories, not 150). Does anyone have a 50 calorie chicken thigh to spare? I'm hungry! :laugh: (Anyhow, I get why some foods are listed by weight and some by quantity).
  • Claireabo84
    Claireabo84 Posts: 6
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    'smidge' - i like that word! :P

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