How to use food scales

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susie3g
susie3g Posts: 267
in Food and Nutrition
I would like to know more about how people weigh their food. I don't have a scale yet, but when/if I get one, I will need to know how to properly use it. I know about how the tare button works and how to read digital numbers. That's about all I know about it, though. Do you weigh foods before you cook or after? Do you weigh foods that go into recipes or use measuring cups and spoons? If you don't use measuring spoons using a recipe, how do you weigh out 2 teaspoons? Do you weigh everything or only solids? Any other relevant questions you feel might arise, feel free to answer those here, too. Thanks in advance.
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Replies

  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    Anyone?
  • dhouse6167
    dhouse6167 Posts: 14
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    you can usually google it, but it does piss me off when nutritional info says 4 oz is 90 calories...how do u measure that? lol
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    I use measuring cups for liquids, like milk, juice, etc.

    Otherwise I weigh everything else, peanut butter you could measure your bread first than tare and than add the pb , you can do the same for mayo, butter, ketchup, etc.

    Meats, pasta, potatoes weigh before you cook.

    I mostly weigh everything in grams and ounces.

    ETA: I also weigh single serving foods also, like protein bars, yogurt, etc. they can be off also, I just weigh them in the package they come in. Make sure you weigh your fresh fruits, especially like bananas and I weigh them without the peel.
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
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    you can usually google it, but it does piss me off when nutritional info says 4 oz is 90 calories...how do u measure that? lol

    Scales normally have oz and grams also 4oz x 28 = 112g
  • GBPackerFan14
    GBPackerFan14 Posts: 55 Member
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    Most every food has weight in grams on it. Instead of measuring out 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, measure out 32 grams of peanut butter, or w/e the serving size on the package is. You can put your dish on the scale, zero it out, and then add the peanut butter (or w/e food, like jelly, butter. mayo all have measurements in grams).
  • psmd
    psmd Posts: 764 Member
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    I love my food scale! I even bought one to keep at work!

    Key info:

    1oz = 28gr

    Also liquids measure similarly to solids. So if you want to measure out a cup of milk, you can measure out 8 oz. and that's accurate. I got an app for my phone that converts different units, and that was really helpful!

    Now go get your scale!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    just get a scale that does both grams and ounces and then weigh out whatever it is that you're eating...then look it up in the database and log the weight of whatever that was.
  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
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    Get familiar with the gram. Google search for conversion calculators if you need them. When you weigh meats, do it raw for portion control. It is your choice to measure whatever you want. I mainly use it for calorie dense foods so I don't overshoot. I also use it to separate servings out of my snacks like sunflower seeds.

    Also do not confuse fluid ounces (8 in 1 cup) to ounces used for weight.
  • arcticqueen
    arcticqueen Posts: 15 Member
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    I absolutely rely on my scale. I weigh most things I eat. I measured a cup of Silk and weighed it to know how many grams a cup was, so I use that weight every time (give or take a couple of grams) instead of a measuring cup. Most packages are in grams, so I use that the most. I buy big packages of meat and weigh out single-size portions to freeze. When serving dinner, tare the plate then add one thing to the right weight, tare, and repeat. I rarely use measuring spoons any more, even when cooking recipes. I'd rather weigh out my flour, baking soda, etc. If making a big batch of anything, it's nice to add everything as a recipe that serves one, add up all the weights (including water) so when you serve yourself, you can weigh it and know how much it really is. (With a family of four, sometimes what I make can serve six, I only want 1/6, not 1/4 of it.)
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    I use measuring cups for liquids, like milk, juice, etc.

    Otherwise I weigh everything else, peanut butter you could measure your bread first than tare and than add the pb , you can do the same for mayo, butter, ketchup, etc.

    Meats, pasta, potatoes weigh before you cook.

    I mostly weigh everything in grams and ounces.

    ETA: I also weigh single serving foods also, like protein bars, yogurt, etc. they can be off also, I just weigh them in the package they come in. Make sure you weigh your fresh fruits, especially like bananas and I weigh them without the peel.

    this is what I do too. I have found that measuring spoons aren't as accurate as weighing the food in grams. Most food labels give you two serving ammounts in teaspoons or ounces and then in grams. I stick with grams. Seems more accurate to me. I weight just about everything.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    I use measuring cups for liquids, like milk, juice, etc.

    Otherwise I weigh everything else, peanut butter you could measure your bread first than tare and than add the pb , you can do the same for mayo, butter, ketchup, etc.

    Meats, pasta, potatoes weigh before you cook.

    I mostly weigh everything in grams and ounces.

    ETA: I also weigh single serving foods also, like protein bars, yogurt, etc. they can be off also, I just weigh them in the package they come in. Make sure you weigh your fresh fruits, especially like bananas and I weigh them without the peel.

    Ok. Let's back up to measuring the bread and then the PB. You put the bread on the scale, measure it. Let's say it is 92 grams, but the serving size in MFP is 100 grams. Then what do I need to do here? And will this be a common issue? Say you eat corn on the cob. MFP says your corn on the cob is 85 grams for 1/2 ear, but it actually weighs 78 grams. How do you convert these types of things?
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
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    just get a scale that does both grams and ounces and then weigh out whatever it is that you're eating...then look it up in the database and log the weight of whatever that was.

    but what if the database serving size is different from the actual weight of the food?
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Options
    Get familiar with the gram. Google search for conversion calculators if you need them. When you weigh meats, do it raw for portion control. It is your choice to measure whatever you want. I mainly use it for calorie dense foods so I don't overshoot. I also use it to separate servings out of my snacks like sunflower seeds.

    Also do not confuse fluid ounces (8 in 1 cup) to ounces used for weight.

    If you weigh meats when they are raw, will that be inaccurate if you cook a lot of the fat out of it?
  • DavidHusky
    DavidHusky Posts: 112 Member
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    typically the pulldown will have a "1g" option and then you can enter the number of whole grams - otherwise if it only has 100g size you can do 0.78 for 78g for example. Sometimes you have to look at a few different entries to find one that has a single gram serving size.

    Meat that is fattier is always a challenge to accurately measure unless you separate/weigh the rendered fat afterwards and subtract it... There are also usually separate entries for the lean vs fat parts of meat.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I use measuring cups for liquids, like milk, juice, etc.

    Otherwise I weigh everything else, peanut butter you could measure your bread first than tare and than add the pb , you can do the same for mayo, butter, ketchup, etc.

    Meats, pasta, potatoes weigh before you cook.

    I mostly weigh everything in grams and ounces.

    ETA: I also weigh single serving foods also, like protein bars, yogurt, etc. they can be off also, I just weigh them in the package they come in. Make sure you weigh your fresh fruits, especially like bananas and I weigh them without the peel.

    Ok. Let's back up to measuring the bread and then the PB. You put the bread on the scale, measure it. Let's say it is 92 grams, but the serving size in MFP is 100 grams. Then what do I need to do here? And will this be a common issue? Say you eat corn on the cob. MFP says your corn on the cob is 85 grams for 1/2 ear, but it actually weighs 78 grams. How do you convert these types of things?

    You enter 0.92 of a serving. Just divide what your amount is by the serving size and enter that number. Your corn will be 78/85, so 0.917 of a serving (I round up to the 3rd digit).

    If you weigh raw meat, just enter that number, even if you cook it. Or just find an entry for the cooked version and use that.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    You can weigh an item either raw or cooked, but make sure that you use the appropriate entry in the database (ie, don't choose an entry for baked chicken if you fried it, etc.).

    The raw weight tends to be a little more accurate because different cooking methods and times can affect the weight of your food. But if you're, for instance, cooking for a family or eating something cooked by another it's okay to weigh and log it however it's most convenient for you.

    The weight and calories listed on the package will be for the raw ingredient, unless it says otherwise.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Options
    typically the pulldown will have a "1g" option and then you can enter the number of whole grams - otherwise if it only has 100g size you can do 0.78 for 78g for example. Sometimes you have to look at a few different entries to find one that has a single gram serving size.

    Meat that is fattier is always a challenge to accurately measure unless you separate/weigh the rendered fat afterwards and subtract it... There are also usually separate entries for the lean vs fat parts of meat.

    Thank you. I can't always afford the leaner cuts of meat, so I'm fearing this might be an issue. Thanks for explaining about the conversions.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Options
    I use measuring cups for liquids, like milk, juice, etc.

    Otherwise I weigh everything else, peanut butter you could measure your bread first than tare and than add the pb , you can do the same for mayo, butter, ketchup, etc.

    Meats, pasta, potatoes weigh before you cook.

    I mostly weigh everything in grams and ounces.

    ETA: I also weigh single serving foods also, like protein bars, yogurt, etc. they can be off also, I just weigh them in the package they come in. Make sure you weigh your fresh fruits, especially like bananas and I weigh them without the peel.

    Ok. Let's back up to measuring the bread and then the PB. You put the bread on the scale, measure it. Let's say it is 92 grams, but the serving size in MFP is 100 grams. Then what do I need to do here? And will this be a common issue? Say you eat corn on the cob. MFP says your corn on the cob is 85 grams for 1/2 ear, but it actually weighs 78 grams. How do you convert these types of things?

    You enter 0.92 of a serving. Just divide what your amount is by the serving size and enter that number. Your corn will be 78/85, so 0.917 of a serving (I round up to the 3rd digit).

    If you weigh raw meat, just enter that number, even if you cook it. Or just find an entry for the cooked version and use that.

    MFP a lot of times won't even let me round up to the second number, such as .75 of a cup, when using measuring cups. This is different when weighing?
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Options
    You can weigh an item either raw or cooked, but make sure that you use the appropriate entry in the database (ie, don't choose an entry for baked chicken if you fried it, etc.).

    The raw weight tends to be a little more accurate because different cooking methods and times can affect the weight of your food. But if you're, for instance, cooking for a family or eating something cooked by another it's okay to weigh and log it however it's most convenient for you.

    The weight and calories listed on the package will be for the raw ingredient, unless it says otherwise.

    Thanks for the feedback.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    MFP a lot of times won't even let me round up to the second number, such as .75 of a cup, when using measuring cups. This is different when weighing?

    Most everything will have a gram equivalent. If you're using 3/4 of a cup of, say, flour. Put a bowl on the scale. Tare/Zero the scale. Pour flour in. Record the gram weight.

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