Do you weigh your food??

Aubers
Aubers Posts: 39 Member
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
I've noticed that sometimes when I weigh things I seem to get more then I would by measuring or counting out. For example chips, the bag said approx 8 chips(28grams). Well most of the chips were broken, so I weighed them, it seems as though I got a lot more then I expected. I've also noticed this with cereal. What is most accurate? I would guess weight, but I'm really new to all this so I thought I'd see what everyone else does :)

Replies

  • debruhf
    debruhf Posts: 196 Member
    Yep! I weigh and measure everything!
  • CGerman
    CGerman Posts: 539
    I weigh pretty much everything - I think it's more accurate. I agree, with cereal and chips it looks like more if you weigh it. Not sure if that's the case or just my mind playing tricks on me, lol
  • MelHoneyRocks
    MelHoneyRocks Posts: 223
    I weigh and measure everything as well....and I also find that I get to eat more than I would of portioned out visually.
    good luck!
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
    I'd weigh over measure any day! Weight never changes...if 26 g is a serving, then 26 g it is. 15 chips could be soooo different....depending on how big/broken/thickness. Always weigh.
  • WomanofWorth
    WomanofWorth Posts: 395 Member
    I weigh meat servings but not much else. Maybe I should start!
  • carajo
    carajo Posts: 532 Member
    I used too, and i still measure, but i have gotten to where i know pretty well, and say chips, if i eat a serving and some are broke, i still count the full serving, its better to over estimate than under right;)
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Honestly, this whole counting calorie thing is based mostly off of estimates anyway, so if you have a way to ballpark how much your eating, I think it's fine. I don't weigh and measure anything that's not already prepackaged.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Every chance I get to weight my food, yeah, I'll weigh it.

    If I'm ever out of the house and I don't feel like bringing my old gram scale that I used for...nevermind - I'll overestimate the portions I eat so that I won't feel like I'm allowing myself more calories than I really should be. But it's still a semi-realistic eyeballed measurement that I would track.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
    Honestly, this whole counting calorie thing is based mostly off of estimates anyway, so if you have a way to ballpark how much your eating, I think it's fine. I don't weigh and measure anything that's not already prepackaged.

    I agree about exercise being an estimate, and quite frankly, I think MFP estimates of exercise calories burned are way too high. I have started using my cardio equipment readouts, which are lower, and I still think they are high.

    That being said, you can be diligent about what you consume though. I definitely agree that you should weigh with a scale whenever possible. This video is a great illustration why...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY. But that will ony get you so far. Nutritional labels, by law can be off my as much as 20%. And restaurant nutrition information is NOT regulated and is based on a standard recipe: studies have shown that restaurant foods vary widely from posted nutritional info, and almost always for the worse.
  • brazilian27
    brazilian27 Posts: 60
    I can't live without my little kitchen scale :)
  • ThePortugee
    ThePortugee Posts: 5 Member
    the reason it seems like you get more when you weigh things is because of how we measure. Chips for instance don't fit nicely into a measuring cup so if you fill it all the air in the cup is lost chips. I weigh anything that doesn't fit tightly into a cup. And meat as well because of density differences that throw off measuring any other way.
  • MooseWizard
    MooseWizard Posts: 295 Member
    I weight meat, but if something is packaged, I typically go by what the package says.
  • blynnblair
    blynnblair Posts: 274 Member
    I weigh and measure everything! Especially snack foods or cereal I measure out the whole box once I open it. That helps with portion control to keep myself from eating handfuls at a time. I hardly go back for seconds this way too.
  • cathych
    cathych Posts: 19 Member
    I weigh and measure. How else do you track your food?
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
    I weigh many things, but count out chips, and crackers. I'm usually under my calories, and not by just 20 cals, so if the chips ended up being 200 instead of 150, that really isn't putting me over.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I always prefer to weigh rather than measure. I've even joked about buying an extra scale to take with us places. lol
  • mistawalka
    mistawalka Posts: 108 Member
    When I started out I weighed everything as I didn't have a clue of proper portion size. Since then I try to estimate based on what I remember the correct sizes to be, and use simple references as a guide (EG palm size, cups etc)

    I figure being a lifestyle change I don't want to be locked into using measuring scales forever - so getting it right from the start then using what I've learned to apply to new foods and the like with regard to portion sizes will be a sustainable change.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I weigh all of my food. If I don't I end up either cheating myself or overindulging myself. If the calories are figured by gram weight then you can be sure the amount you're eating by knowing the number of grams. I've also learned what the portion sizes look like so if I'm out and don't have a scale I am usually pretty close. But at home I measure because I know me! I'm naughty and will start to fudge the numbers if I don't keep myself accountable.
  • Sirenism
    Sirenism Posts: 100 Member
    I weight everything and even portion out certain things into those snack size bags. :)
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I weight everything and even portion out certain things into those snack size bags. :)

    This!

    Most things will say "approximately" when it comes to how many of this is in a serving, or even how many servings a container has. So I weigh it all out and portion it myself. No guesswork involved there, and now you *know* how many calories you are having.
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    I don't weigh absolutely everything, but I tend to weigh calorie dense foods where it matters more...

    Stuff like pasta, rice, muesli, baked potatos etc I would weigh because a small weight difference can make a big difference in terms of calories.

    But I don't go as far as measuring the circumference of my apples or the length and girth of my bananas. :laugh:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    I weigh most things. It's so much easier to be precise that trying to use cups, measuring spoons, etc. I weighed both the total amount of rice and the total amount of water needed for my rice cooker--just one example. Now it takes almost no time to set it up, fill it up, and get cooking.

    When making sandwiches, I just put the lower half of the Arnold's on the scale, hit "tare", throw on the meat or almond butter, hit tare, throw a piece of turkey to the dog, put on the cheese--presto, exactly 250 calories ready to go. Salad dressings--no guessing, right to the gram.

    Next to my all-clad and my knives, the scale is the most important tool in my kitchen.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member

    But I don't go as far as measuring the circumference of my apples or the length and girth of my bananas. :laugh:

    So many possible responses........so little time...:wink:
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member

    But I don't go as far as measuring the circumference of my apples or the length and girth of my bananas. :laugh:

    So many possible responses........so little time...:wink:

    "Size matters" etc. :wink:
  • 2hdesign
    2hdesign Posts: 153
    Yes, I weigh and/or measure my food right now. It's a PITA, but it's helping me relearn portion sizes. And I'm also starting to learn how to use my hands to measure those same portion sizes so I don't have to measure forever, plus I'll have the tools I need with me wherever I go...
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
    Always!
  • cmw72
    cmw72 Posts: 390 Member
    I weigh just about everything.

    I find weighing to be much more convenient than measuring, as well as more accurate.

    Next to my HRM, my digital kitchen scale was probably the best fitness related purchase I've made so far.
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