Finally bought a food scale!

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whiteoutpen
whiteoutpen Posts: 212 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone! So, I've finally gone out and bought an actual digital food scale. I've been on MFP for awhile now, probably since 2012/2013, and I've lost over 50 pounds now. I had gotten down to 70 pounds lost, but did an internship with Disney and that happened to make me shoot back up 40, and now I'm back on the horse :)

So, I'm basically looking for some tips on how/when to use the scale. I'm currently only using it at home, but try to weigh out what I bring, time permitting. I'm a little confused with the whole weighing aspect, though. This is what I've established so far (feel free to correct me on any of my thoughts):
-weigh meats when they're raw/thawed
-weigh the container before/after to determine how much of a condiment/pb/etc I've used
-use grams when possible since it's more exact

Last night, however, I was trying to weigh out my portion of black beans. The can said 100g or something per serving, and that there was 3.5 servings in the can. However, when I weighed out the black beans, it was basically half the can. I had drained/rinsed the beans beforehand, so was that my mistake?

I'm basically looking for a little crash course in using a digital scale. I know there's a ton of topics, and I've read through a fair few, but I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!!

Replies

  • whiteoutpen
    whiteoutpen Posts: 212 Member
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    Oh, and one more question! Say I'm eating the whole container of something, like a single serve bag of crackers or something. Do I need to weigh it out, or am I okay just going with the whole thing?
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Congrats! It sounds like you have the basics down so keep it up.

    The serving weight is what you want to go off of, as that is what the company used to calculate the nutritional info. If it has a size (i.e. 1tbsp) that is just an estimate volume for the weight listed. The weight is accurate, use it. Servings per container is also an estimate, and you'll notice it will be off quite a bit on some things like your beans. Not your fault. Keep it up!

    Edit to add: you can't go wrong with measuring single serving containers. I usually measure one and if it's pretty spot on, I assume from then on that it will be for that particular thing. A lot of people weigh it everytime though, and you can't go wrong with that approach.
  • whiteoutpen
    whiteoutpen Posts: 212 Member
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    skydiveD30571 wrote: »
    Congrats! It sounds like you have the basics down so keep it up.

    The serving weight is what you want to go off of, as that is what the company used to calculate the nutritional info. If it has a size (i.e. 1tbsp) that is just an estimate volume for the weight listed. The weight is accurate, use it. Servings per container is also an estimate, and you'll notice it will be off quite a bit on some things like your beans. Not your fault. Keep it up!

    Edit to add: you can't go wrong with measuring single serving containers. I usually measure one and if it's pretty spot on, I assume from then on that it will be for that particular thing. A lot of people weigh it everytime though, and you can't go wrong with that approach.

    So, it's okay that I drained/rinsed the beans before eating them? Like that didn't throw off the weight a bunch? I had tare'd the scale with my plate on it, and started pouring beans on, then it just didn't stop. I was like omg this is like half the can, haha.

    I'll go ahead and start weighing out the single serve packets just to get an idea of what's accurate and what's not.

    Also- another question; When I eat an apple or strawberries or something where you don't eat the core/end piece/whatever, should I reweigh the uneaten part and take it off my serving size?
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    edited February 2015
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    whiteoutpen wrote: »
    So, it's okay that I drained/rinsed the beans before eating them? Like that didn't throw off the weight a bunch? I had tare'd the scale with my plate on it, and started pouring beans on, then it just didn't stop. I was like omg this is like half the can, haha.

    What I do when I use canned beans (and I'm not using the whole can) is use generic MFP entries. So instead of scanning or using the brand, I search for "black beans cooked with salt" and then use that weight measurement. I never know if the can expects that I'm weighing the liquid or not, so this way seems to be the most accurate for me.
    Also- another question; When I eat an apple or strawberries or something where you don't eat the core/end piece/whatever, should I reweigh the uneaten part and take it off my serving size?

    What I do is prep my fruit, then weigh the edible portion. So I'll remove the stems from my strawberries and cut my pear into slices, weigh it, and use that.

    if I am bringing a whole apple with me, I eyeball it instead. Medium apple? Sounds good to me. At most it will be a 10-15 calories off.

    Your first post that you "weigh the container before/after to determine how much of a condiment/pb/etc I've used" - I'm not sure if this is what you're actually doing, but there is an easier way: set the container on the scale. Tare it out. Then remove the condiment portion you want, and the scale will now say -28, for example. Log 28g of it. And lick the knife, because that's part of your logged portion ;)


  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    I've found the same thing happening- servings per container being off. It happens with my cottage cheese, breakfast sausage, and some other things I can't recall at the moment... I always just go by the weight.

    About the apple question- to me, it wouldn't be worth the time to be that exact. Maybe you could core it/slice it up and then weigh it out? I'm a lot more lax with fruits and non-starchy veggies than I am with apples.
  • whiteoutpen
    whiteoutpen Posts: 212 Member
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    ShannonMpls wrote: »
    whiteoutpen wrote: »
    So, it's okay that I drained/rinsed the beans before eating them? Like that didn't throw off the weight a bunch? I had tare'd the scale with my plate on it, and started pouring beans on, then it just didn't stop. I was like omg this is like half the can, haha.

    What I do when I use canned beans (and I'm not using the whole can) is use generic MFP entries. So instead of scanning or using the brand, I search for "black beans cooked with salt" and then use that weight measurement. I never know if the can expects that I'm weighing the liquid or not, so this way seems to be the most accurate for me.
    Also- another question; When I eat an apple or strawberries or something where you don't eat the core/end piece/whatever, should I reweigh the uneaten part and take it off my serving size?

    What I do is prep my fruit, then weigh the edible portion. So I'll remove the stems from my strawberries and cut my pear into slices, weigh it, and use that.

    if I am bringing a whole apple with me, I eyeball it instead. Medium apple? Sounds good to me. At most it will be a 10-15 calories off.

    Your first post that you "weigh the container before/after to determine how much of a condiment/pb/etc I've used" - I'm not sure if this is what you're actually doing, but there is an easier way: set the container on the scale. Tare it out. Then remove the condiment portion you want, and the scale will now say -28, for example. Log 28g of it. And lick the knife, because that's part of your logged portion ;)


    I'm probably just too dumb to figure out how to do the whole container thing appropriately- when I tried to do that so the negative grams would display, it just kept tare-ing to zero. It's likely just I haven't figured it out yet :#

    So, last night in specific- I just opened the can of beans, drained/rinsed, then portioned it out and microwaved them. (I chose to dip them in horseradish mustard instead of seasoning them). So would I just look for an MFP-approved entry of cooked black beans and I would be good?

    That's a good idea with the fruit prep- I've just been short on time in the mornings, so throwing a bunch in a bag and weighing it has been the extent of my weighing. I just figured the extra calories I logged would simply work in favor of my weight loss ;)
  • whiteoutpen
    whiteoutpen Posts: 212 Member
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    Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »
    I've found the same thing happening- servings per container being off. It happens with my cottage cheese, breakfast sausage, and some other things I can't recall at the moment... I always just go by the weight.

    About the apple question- to me, it wouldn't be worth the time to be that exact. Maybe you could core it/slice it up and then weigh it out? I'm a lot more lax with fruits and non-starchy veggies than I am with apples.

    Okay, sweet. I thought I was doing something totally wrong as to the numbers of servings. So it's totally normal for it to actually have a significant difference (whether more or less) in terms of serving size.

    I haven't really been weighing very long at all (just a weekish), and it definitely hasn't been everything. I think I just need to work on my prep a bit more so I can actually be exact, at least for now.

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