Weighing vs measuring food

Weighing solids really is far more accurate. How much you cram into a cup vs how much I can cram into one can vary wildly. Take grated cheese, for example - A 1/4 cup could be around 25g but if I really wanted to, I could fit as much as 70g in there.

Really, you should weigh solids and measure liquids. But if what you're doing is working for you, stick with it, but if you start to stall out, you may be a fair bit off the mark in your logging by measuring solids.

I do sometimes weigh stuff that comes in packets, because I've been shocked by the variations in the past, but generally I'll take them at face value.

va_01 wrote: »

I eat foods from Trader Joes that come packaged like frozen brown rice and tofu that already have the caloric content per serving written. How inaccurate are these?

By law, labels must be +/- 20% accurate. So, 100 calorie serving may be 80-120 kcal.

I like my food scale because it's faster, easier, and more accurate than measuring cups/spoons. And there are fewer dishes to wash at the end of the day. Personally, I found mine to be less time consuming and more freeing than the measuring cups, but your mileage will vary.

If you're getting the results you want, then a food scale isn't really necessary. I lost the bulk of my weight without one, so I know that it can be done. It's up to you whether or not to buy or use one, but to answer your question: yes, I found the difference to be significant enough to keep using mine.

4000 calories a day? If you are at danger from the OCD as opposed to just not being bothered or you dont want the benefits of using kitchen scales in terms of accuracy then you are going to have to go by trial and error and monotor your overall results. That is a far less accurate way, but do what suits you and works.

va_01 wrote: »

Hi everyone

I am trying to be as detailed as possible with tracking my macros, without becoming super anal/paranoid about it (as it tends to really irritate my OCD and make me really anxious). However, I have been doing a lot of reading about "weighing" my food with a food scale. Is this really necessary? I measure my liquids, and I measure things like oats and protein powder, olive oil and granola, etc. using measuring cups and table spoons.

I eat foods from Trader Joes that come packaged like frozen brown rice and tofu that already have the caloric content per serving written. How inaccurate are these?

I really don't want to become more consumed about my eating habits than I already am. I am eating, from my calculations, 4000 calories a day. Could be more, could be less I suppose, but I try to make sure i'm as accurate as possible.

Any tips?

Measuring things like oats, rice, etc...things of a pretty standard size isn't a big deal so long as you're not heaping the measurements. Where this tends to be a bigger issue is with something like chicken...what exactly does a cup of chicken look like?

To that end, I see a lot of people log 4 oz chicken breast when in reality, while the packaging may say 1 serving = 4 ounces, a full chicken breast is usually closer to 8 ounces...stuff like that.

Really though, it's just another tool that increases accuracy...it isn't necessary but suffice it to say that there wouldn't be so many "it's not working" threads if more people actually took the time to weigh stuff out properly.

At this point I use my scale primarily for family dishes like casseroles and what not to help determine what my serving is (big) vs everyone elses. Also I use it for things like pasta and spaghetti and other things that I still have difficulty guesstimating...but I don't use it for everything anymore. It was a good tool for learning portions.

I use measuring cups more often than my food scale. I think the only things I've used my scale for recently are potatoes & sunflower seeds. I've lost pretty consistently using measuring cups - you just have to stay aware of yourself when you're using them & don't let yourself get carried away (aka, mounding/packing/overflowing).

Francl27 wrote: »

SuggaD wrote: »

I don't have time for all that. So I never weighed a thing. Lost all the weight I wanted by measuring spoons and cups and guestimmating for other things. It can be done. Just be reasonable.

Ok I don't get this. No time for what? Put your plate on the scale and hit the tare button? But you have time to get a measuring spoon or measuring cup? And rinse/wash them after?

I mean, a lot of people lose weight just fine not weighing or measuring (how I don't know, even after 2 years my eyeballing skills suck), but if you're going to do either, weighing is by far easier and faster.

The dishwasher does the washing so no extra work there. I measure stuff like nut butter, preserves, oats, and since I love to bake, flours and such. But that's it. It really never occurred to me to get a scale. Like if I'm making an omelet, I'd measure the cheese, but otherwise, I just toss stuff in and guess. I refuse to let food have that kind of power over me and don't want to think that hard about everything I eat, especially as I love to eat out. But I understand others aren't as fortunate and need to be more careful.

I think everyone is different some can eyeball and be accurate and some cannot. I use cups for dry things like cereal, oats, flour, scales for meat but I can be pretty accurate with a guess. I have estimated what a cup or ounce looks like then weighed or measured it and I was surprisingly close. What works for you is what is good. Remember we have a range of macro's that we work with in so a little over or under will not be a deal breaker.

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Serah87 wrote: »

SuggaD wrote: »

I don't have time for all that. So I never weighed a thing. Lost all the weight I wanted by measuring spoons and cups and guestimmating for other things. It can be done. Just be reasonable.

So you have no time to weigh food, but you do have time for measuring cups/spoons? *scratching forehead*

Weighing food is faster and no dirty dishes to clean.

Yeah, that makes no sense to me either. My scale sits on the counter and has a tare button, its far faster to weigh then find the right size spoon or cup...

100% agree... And in my house although we have 4 or 5 sets of measuring cups there is only one 1/4 cup - by time I find the darn thing I could have weighed out that amount a dozen times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

The more accurate the better but don't stress over it. If you find one way easier than another than I day do it. The important part is that you're taking.

Using measuring spoons and cups, you want the amount leveled to be accurate, not heaping full. You may need a scale for weighing things like servings of meat. I am pretty good at eyeballing serving sizes after doing this for almost 3 years so I rarely use my scale, but every so often I will put my serving on the scale to see if I am close to serving size. I have containers that I use for servings and I know how much they hold, so I rarely measure anything anymore either. If you are not losing weight, it may be because the servings you are eating are more than you think and weighing and or measuring would be more accurate.