Best WAY to WEIGH foods

april32many
april32many Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there-

I'm new to the forums (more or less). I'd like to know from those that have been successful with weight loss how you measure your food. I've noticed a lot of items come up in grams and I've never measured that way (always used measuring cups and a scale for ounces). I need to get more disciplined because I'm not losing and I'm super sedentary during school.

THanks!!!!

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Grams are used for a couple reasons...

    1. outside the US, nearly every country uses them instead of ounces
    2. it's more precise to weigh in grams rather than ounces. 1 ounce=28 grams. But you could have something that weighs 3 ounces, and instead of 84 grams the scale could say 87.

    If your scale is newer, it should have a button that switches from ounces to grams.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I use measuring cups for liquids and scale for everything else. My scale has an option for grams and one for ounces. So I use whatever weight is on the package for the item. Fruits and veggies, I weigh in grams. Raw meats I weigh in ounces.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Grams are more precise and easier, IMO. The labels usually have grams listed. People in other countries always use grams. They're like, "What the hell is 8 ounces?" and saying "one cup" doesn't help them. They need liters or "a baby bottle" or something.

    They weigh themselves in kilos, too. Except the Brits, who must have many quarries or something, because they have weigh in stones.

    If only we could all use one damn system, lol. And one language would be lovely.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I use grams because there is usually a 100 gram option when logging and it's a lot easier to log 1.21 if your meat is 121 grams rather than fiddle with converting it to 1.22 of a 3 oz serving when it comes in at 3.67 oz. My scale does grams or ounces.
  • BekaBooluvsu
    BekaBooluvsu Posts: 470 Member
    Digital scale

    Ounces for liquid
    Grams for everything else.

    Cups, tablespoons, teaspoons are NEVER uniform. I have 3 different sets in the house they ALL measure differently.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    I just ordered a scale and will soon be measuring in grams. Right now I use measuring cups for dry foods but that will be changing next week. I want to give myself the best chance and weigh as accurately as possible. This is REALLY important to me for things like cheese, rice and pasta. Mushrooms and spinach etc I really dont care too much.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    With a digital food scale for anything solid and a measuring cup for anything liquid.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I use grams because there is usually a 100 gram option when logging and it's a lot easier to log 1.21 if your meat is 121 grams rather than fiddle with converting it to 1.22 of a 3 oz serving when it comes in at 3.67 oz. My scale does grams or ounces.

    That's pretty much the same for me.
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    Grams grams grams. Unless you're eating pizza. Then if you are me, you weigh it in kilograms.
  • Maleficent0241
    Maleficent0241 Posts: 386 Member
    Digital scale

    Ounces for liquid
    Grams for everything else.

    Cups, tablespoons, teaspoons are NEVER uniform. I have 3 different sets in the house they ALL measure differently.

    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces. Typically when I see nutrition info for liquids, it's for fluid ounces or mL, not a dry weight measurement. Some fluids will be close in fluid ounce to dry ounce, but not many. Unless you're not implying that you weigh your liquids, in which case I misunderstood.
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces.
    So are you saying when the nutrition label on milk says 8 ounces has 130 calories, you shouldn't weigh out eight ounces worth on the scale? Then how should one measure it?
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces.
    So are you saying when the nutrition label on milk says 8 ounces has 1130 calories, you shouldn't weigh iout eight ounces worth on the scale? Then how should one measure it?
    Pour it into a measuring cup.
  • BekaBooluvsu
    BekaBooluvsu Posts: 470 Member
    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces.
    So are you saying when the nutrition label on milk says 8 ounces has 130 calories, you shouldn't weigh out eight ounces worth on the scale? Then how should one measure it?

    Seriously. I weigh my milk, water, every liquid. I've done my research and I have not found anything else to be accurate.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,272 Member
    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces.
    So are you saying when the nutrition label on milk says 8 ounces has 130 calories, you shouldn't weigh out eight ounces worth on the scale? Then how should one measure it?
    No, one is volume and one is mass (weight).
    If a fluid drink says 8 fluid ounces, measure it in a measuring cup, not on the scale.
    Many European recipes will use a weight measurement in grams but not so in N.A. I've found.
    Grams are simply more accurate because the scale is smaller. It's a matter of granularity and error measurement.
    If an ounce(weight) is 28 grams, the error can be greater in 1 ounce versus 1 gram.
    An error of 5% in measuring 1 ounce is (28g x ,05) = 1.4 grams
    An error of 5% In measuring 1 gram is (1g x .05) = 0.05 grams
    So, granularity...
  • Maleficent0241
    Maleficent0241 Posts: 386 Member
    You can't use ounces on a scale to measure fluid ounces.
    So are you saying when the nutrition label on milk says 8 ounces has 130 calories, you shouldn't weigh out eight ounces worth on the scale? Then how should one measure it?

    Seriously. I weigh my milk, water, every liquid. I've done my research and I have not found anything else to be accurate.

    If it works for you, great. I'm just pointing out that fluid ounces and dry ounces are not the same and labels for liquids like milk mean fluid ounces when they give nutrition info for serving size. It's a matter of volume (fl oz) vs. weight (ounces on your scale), so different densities of liquids are going to be off by different amounts. Weighing water will be your closest (8 fluid ounces is very close to 8 ounces on a scale), but things like milk will be a bit off - not terribly so, but enough that it would be more accurate to measure fluid ounces out in an accurate vessel. If your measuring cups aren't accurate, that's unfortunate. It's possible to find ones that are. Or, if someone wants to get really specific about measurements, buy a graduated cylinder :smile:
  • april32many
    april32many Posts: 30
    Thanks so much! These answers were really helpful. I hadn't even thought of the ease in converting 121 grams into 1.2, etc!

    I've been weighing my stuff on a serious dinosaur of a scale. It has the little needle that points to the ounces. Hmmmm, May have a little something to do with it. Looks like I need to be buying a new scale :laugh:

    You all are awesome! THANKS! :bigsmile:

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