Weighing food VS Measuring... WOW!

124

Replies

  • pansyviolet
    pansyviolet Posts: 34
    I have been with mfp for 165 days and have lost 20lbs. I measure everything. Last week a few people on this blog told it was better to weigh over measure. So, I measure my peanut butter and then weighed it, exactly the same.

    My husband has been a weight expert in many years and he also said it will come out the same.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Just to add to the topic, I bought some really cute measuring spoons from Pier1...and guess what? they are double the size comparing to those ugly plastic little round ones I got at grocery store...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I have been with mfp for 165 days and have lost 20lbs. I measure everything. Last week a few people on this blog told it was better to weigh over measure. So, I measure my peanut butter and then weighed it, exactly the same.

    My husband has been a weight expert in many years and he also said it will come out the same.

    No.
  • sashanicole88
    sashanicole88 Posts: 180 Member
    good to know!!! Guess I'll need to invest in one...
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    My tortilla that shows 40g on the package weighed in at 46g today.

    :flowerforyou: food scale
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    Agreed. Losing weight was so much easier once I started weighing everything.
  • steffipaulina
    steffipaulina Posts: 161
    I have been with mfp for 165 days and have lost 20lbs. I measure everything. Last week a few people on this blog told it was better to weigh over measure. So, I measure my peanut butter and then weighed it, exactly the same.

    My husband has been a weight expert in many years and he also said it will come out the same.

    A scale will probably come in handy when you want to lose those few last pounds. A scale is the most precise tool you can use.
  • Dreya711
    Dreya711 Posts: 79 Member
    bump
  • jess135177
    jess135177 Posts: 186 Member
    Hummus is a big one, 29 g is NOT 2 tablespoons. I love my food scale!
  • CindaWhite
    CindaWhite Posts: 104 Member
    I guess I am not very educated on this subject. This could be a really stupid question and probably learned during elementary school but, how do you know how much weight is in a cup or how much a serving size is in grams?

    Most packaged items list the grams right in the serving size such as (potato chips) 28g about 15 chips... so gram amounts are pretty much readily available. For other things you will have to find the entry in the listing that shows grams. Bananas for example usually say calories per ounce in the food database but you can find the entry that lists grams. Or if not add your own entry for items you use frequently.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Saw a news article the other day about a guy who is suing a store over selling tubs of ice cream that didn't weigh what it said on the outside.... On the outside it said 1.5 Quarts (48 fl oz)

    He was taking them home and weighing them, and getting different weight for different flavors, but the packages were full.

    He thinks a weight ounce is the same as a volume oz.

    I think it is just another example of why the US needs to switch to metric.
  • Cheekies_
    Cheekies_ Posts: 319 Member
    Bump.... Great information here :flowerforyou:
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
    Saw a news article the other day about a guy who is suing a store over selling tubs of ice cream that didn't weigh what it said on the outside.... On the outside it said 1.5 Quarts (48 fl oz)

    He was taking them home and weighing them, and getting different weight for different flavors, but the packages were full.

    He thinks a weight ounce is the same as a volume oz.

    I think it is just another example of why the US needs to switch to metric.

    I'm in Australia and we use the metric system and it's great, but switching to metric won't solve that problem. Imperial is not an in-exact system. The issue is with the tolerances in the factories that produce the food.
  • palmerdanielle
    palmerdanielle Posts: 341 Member
    Well this has decided it for me, I was wondering if measuring was enough but I want to be accurate, I'm going to buy a food scale on the weekend. :)
  • fe_nyx
    fe_nyx Posts: 84 Member
    I'm convinced! I bought some digital scales this morning, can't wait for them to arrive so I can weight everything. Yay!!
  • angelalf1979
    angelalf1979 Posts: 244 Member
    Bump

    I love my food scale. Don't use measuring cups anymore!
  • Pamela_June
    Pamela_June Posts: 342 Member
    This has been one of the BEST threads!! I have learned so much - and like so many others... I usually measure...well things are gong to change!!! Especially - since I have a very good scale that shows grams/oz ..all the stuff that has been talked about on this thread!!

    Thanks... many thanks to whoever started this and for all the very helpful into!!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Bump

    I love my food scale. Don't use measuring cups anymore!

    Same here, but mostly because I'm just too lazy to keep washing them! Way easier to set a bowl on the scale and tare it between each ingredient instead of digging out a bunch of different measuring cups and spoons.

    I was super food scale resistant through the majority of my loss, but once I finally got one I found it was easier than measuring cups. The extra accuracy is just a perk as far as I'm concerned.
  • wozkaa
    wozkaa Posts: 224 Member
    I regularly underestimate portion sizes, so a scale is great.

    The biggest shock to me was how much cooked lean roast beef is in a 150g serving. I was really hungry, logged dinner before I ate, needed to have a bit more protein and went 'hells yeah, gimme some of that!'

    Weighed it.... and crept off to rejig my logging. I've never been a big meat eater so the big pile was a shock to me. LOL
  • fpelletier
    fpelletier Posts: 365 Member
    I've been weighing food since Day 1, best decision ever! I didn't start out weighing everything (like chips for example) I would count out how many ever, but one day I decided to weigh and I got more chips! lol So from then on, I'd weigh just about everything I could. It just makes sense, a lot of times you will get more of something and other times, less, but important thing is you are logging accurately which will give you success!
  • witts157
    witts157 Posts: 37 Member
    I finally bought a digital scale this week. Love it. Realized was measuring pasta wrong :( whole time. But all worked out. Good luck on your health journey.


    Where can I get a scale to measure my food out?
  • fpelletier
    fpelletier Posts: 365 Member
    I finally bought a digital scale this week. Love it. Realized was measuring pasta wrong :( whole time. But all worked out. Good luck on your health journey.


    Where can I get a scale to measure my food out?

    Walmart, Amazon etc. Get a digital one that has a tare option and measures in oz, kg, g and lbs :)
  • witts157
    witts157 Posts: 37 Member
    I finally bought a digital scale this week. Love it. Realized was measuring pasta wrong :( whole time. But all worked out. Good luck on your health journey.


    Where can I get a scale to measure my food out?

    Walmart, Amazon etc. Get a digital one that has a tare option and measures in oz, kg, g and lbs :)


    Are they expensive or ideally priced?
    I don't want to spend too much money granted from what I've been reading... it seems as though it is a good thing to have around!
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    I bought a digital scale at Walmart. Like $20-ish?

    I don't know the brand (just looked at the scale) I want to say it's whatever their Walmart brand is (not Great Value, as in foods) but their 'home' type stuff.

    It's flat, you can set a bowl/plate on it, weigh your stuff, it has the tare function. Mine weighs in grams, ounces, kg, maybe pounds. But I just use ounces and grams.
  • fpelletier
    fpelletier Posts: 365 Member
    I finally bought a digital scale this week. Love it. Realized was measuring pasta wrong :( whole time. But all worked out. Good luck on your health journey.


    Where can I get a scale to measure my food out?

    Walmart, Amazon etc. Get a digital one that has a tare option and measures in oz, kg, g and lbs :)


    Are they expensive or ideally priced?
    I don't want to spend too much money granted from what I've been reading... it seems as though it is a good thing to have around!

    Nope not really, maybe $20 or so, I bought mine so long ago I can't remember. I'd price check in online and amazon for some and see where you can get the best price :)
  • jen_fitnhappy
    jen_fitnhappy Posts: 102 Member
    Thanks for your post! I'm afraid this has been my problem all along.
  • soldierofgod713
    soldierofgod713 Posts: 12 Member
    I am confused, I am still learning about all this measuring vs. weighing. How come the difference between measuring a serving size and weighing a serving size can be such a big difference?

    Thanks for all the helo :)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I am confused, I am still learning about all this measuring vs. weighing. How come the difference between measuring a serving size and weighing a serving size can be such a big difference?

    Thanks for all the helo :)

    It depends on the food, really. If it's something you can pack into a cup, then you can pack the cup more or less than the company did when measuring their serving size. You might level it off a little differently, higher or lower than the company did.

    If you're cutting fruits or veggies to pack into a cup, you'll get more into a cup if you cut them into smaller chunks because there's less space between the pieces, which means you're getting more calories into one cup. Same with things like shredded cheese vs cubed cheese. And how do you level off a cup of broccoli, anyway?

    Take almonds for example. One serving of almonds is 1 oz or 1/4 cup. I've seen that represented by anywhere from 23-30 almonds, which can be a 30-50 calorie difference.

    Additionally, not all measuring devices are equal. Upthread someone mentioned buying some fancy measuring spoons that were twice the size of their regular ones.

    Some serving sizes say 1 heaping tsp. How heaping was the original test spoon?

    It may be small differences on each measurement, but they can really add up throughout the day depending on what you're eating. Overestimating broccoli, for instance, is different than overestimating your peanut butter.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I am confused, I am still learning about all this measuring vs. weighing. How come the difference between measuring a serving size and weighing a serving size can be such a big difference?

    Thanks for all the helo :)

    Because the government only requires so much accuracy, and I'm betting serving sizes using volume are purely for consumer ease of use, not even a requirement.

    While they could start with volume and get a weight that matched, as Dianne mentioned, too much variability possible and probably fall outside the requirements of accuracy demanded.

    Since package is weighed anyway, to meet those requirements, serving size is too.
  • Amestris
    Amestris Posts: 152 Member
    This just made my life so much easier. Why didn't I think of this? Thank you
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