Holy Cr*p!

sunn_lighter
sunn_lighter Posts: 7,891 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I have read here "measure everything" enough times to know better, but I usually measure about half on the food scale and then go by serving size on packages for the other half.

Today I decided to measure every little thing to see if it made a difference. Just this morning my protien powder scoop measured 30 grams (serving size is 23 grams). The serving size of my wheat crackers is "4 cracker or 28 grams" but 4 crackers weighed 35 grams.

Based on breakfast I am eating 20% more calories than I thought! Even though I was being vigilant about using the packages "serving size" recommendations.

I know this is not news to most people on here, but I was still pretty taken aback. I'm interested to see what happens to my weight loss in the next couple weeks with food being measured accurately :)

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    I have read here "measure everything" enough times to know better, but I usually measure about half on the food scale and then go by serving size on packages for the other half.

    Today I decided to measure every little thing to see if it made a difference. Just this morning my protien powder scoop measured 30 grams (serving size is 23 grams). The serving size of my wheat crackers is "4 cracker or 28 grams" but 4 crackers weighed 35 grams.

    Based on breakfast I am eating 20% more calories than I thought! Even though I was being vigilant about using the packages "serving size" recommendations.

    I know this is not news to most people on here, but I was still pretty taken aback. I'm interested to see what happens to my weight loss in the next couple weeks with food being measured accurately :)


    Key words.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    I have read here "measure everything" enough times to know better, but I usually measure about half on the food scale and then go by serving size on packages for the other half.

    Today I decided to measure every little thing to see if it made a difference. Just this morning my protien powder scoop measured 30 grams (serving size is 23 grams). The serving size of my wheat crackers is "4 cracker or 28 grams" but 4 crackers weighed 35 grams.

    Based on breakfast I am eating 20% more calories than I thought! Even though I was being vigilant about using the packages "serving size" recommendations.

    I know this is not news to most people on here, but I was still pretty taken aback. I'm interested to see what happens to my weight loss in the next couple weeks with food being measured accurately :)

    Thank you for not posting a plateau thread! :)
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
    I hear the same thing over and over yet haven't bought a food scale. I think I should invest in one for science!
  • tesha_chandler
    tesha_chandler Posts: 378 Member
    Oh my goodness.. I have only measured meats. I never even thought about measuring crackers and things like that. I just went by the food labels. Thank you for posting this! I learned something new. :)
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
    This was the eye opener I needed to see. I got a food scale that day then.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
    JayRuby84 wrote: »
    I hear the same thing over and over yet haven't bought a food scale. I think I should invest in one for science!

    I finally bought one off of Amazon and have fallen head over heals in love with it. My chicken measures "One breast to 4oz". The day I measured my chicken breasts I discovered the majority of them were a good 6-8oz in size.

    Life changing. Lol
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,255 Member
    The revelation for me was to weigh rather than use measuring spoons/cups, except for liquids. And try to use grams instead of ounces!
  • Cladf
    Cladf Posts: 60 Member
    Wow - I always actually used to pride myself on weighing everything really well. Salads etc I'll add to my plate as it sits on the scale, that kind of thing. But as for bread / crackers etc - if it says 1 cracker = 19cals then I usually just take that as read.

    Going to make sure I'm MUCH more careful and weigh absolutely EVERYTHING in future...
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I wouldn't be where I'm at today without my food scale. <3 my scale.
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
    Okay. My mission tonight is to pop in at Wally World before or after my gym session. I'm gonna be in my kitchen looking like a mad scientist pulling things out of the cabinet and weighing. Haha. Lord help me.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    Interesting. I do weigh a lot of stuff, but not every little thing. If my weight loss slows, you can bet I will be then.
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
    JayRuby84 wrote: »
    I hear the same thing over and over yet haven't bought a food scale. I think I should invest in one for science!

    Me too. Personally I find it obsessive, but the more I read the more I think I need to try it.

  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I don't think it's any more obsessive than using MFP to log your food...or using measuring spoons and cups when baking a cake...it's just a tool to make sure you're being accurate.

    This is the scale I use. I got it because it has a bigger platform so I can use larger dishes (when making a salad or large recipe) or just measure stuff directly on to my dinner plate - I can still see the display. It's my favorite kitchen tool.

    http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Elite-Digital-Kitchen/dp/B009EUPMFK/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432218777&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=eat+right+kitchen+scale
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Yep, it makes a huge difference.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    I bought some heavy cream a while ago. The package said "servings per container: about 2"

    That's what you have to watch out for. It was 1 cup serving size but there was 3 cups in the package. It was like an extra 500 calories or something ridiculous.
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    whmscll wrote: »
    The revelation for me was to weigh rather than use measuring spoons/cups, except for liquids. And try to use grams instead of ounces!

    ^^This right here.
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
    A food scale was the best thing I ever bought! I measure everything in grams or milliliters. If you haven't bought one yet, do it - they are not that expensive and you can find coupons for places like bed bath and beyond. It starts kind of tedious but it gets easier over time because you start memorizing the serving sizes from your favorite foods - in a couple weeks you'll feel weird not measuring everything.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    Two things you absolutely must have in a good food scale: easy access to set it to grams (and hopefully stays where you set it), and tare (zero) button.

    I had to buy a new scale after I moved last year, and found out the button to switch between ounces and grams was on the bottom, and it always reset to ounces after it turned off. Major PITA!
  • esaucier17
    esaucier17 Posts: 694 Member
    Tubbs216 wrote: »
    Interesting. I do weigh a lot of stuff, but not every little thing. If my weight loss slows, you can bet I will be then.

    Same for me!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    I know this is not news to most people on here, but I was still pretty taken aback.

    You can never have too many reminders. Thanks for posting your experience! :drinker:

  • nickycat73
    nickycat73 Posts: 61 Member
    JayRuby84 wrote: »
    Okay. My mission tonight is to pop in at Wally World before or after my gym session. I'm gonna be in my kitchen looking like a mad scientist pulling things out of the cabinet and weighing. Haha. Lord help me.

    This. My family looks at me all crazy and laughs.
  • aubyshortcake
    aubyshortcake Posts: 796 Member
    Oddly enough I had my fastest weight loss before I started weighing my food, because I was so afraid to under estimate calories that I didn't realize how badly I was over estimating and actually under eating. Go figure.

    That's not a good thing either, it's just the opposite of what usually seems to happen!
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    tesha_chandler wrote: »
    Oh my goodness.. I have only measured meats. I never even thought about measuring crackers and things like that. I just went by the food labels. Thank you for posting this! I learned something new. :)

    I've recently started measuring out pretzels, chips etc because I've found the serving size recommendations aren't that accurate for some reason. I just had a serving of pretzels and the serving size is 10 pretzels/28g. However, most of the pretzels in the bag were broke (grrr), so I measured out the grams and it was half of a cereal bowl full of pretzel pieces! I stopped counting at 20 pieces, but yeah-no way I could have correctly eyeballed a correct serving size without my food scale.
  • juliebowman4
    juliebowman4 Posts: 784 Member
    edited May 2015
    Hmmmm. Food for thought. Thank you.

    So far, I've only been weighing my meat/fish, And cheese (on the rare occasion I have that delicious stuff!) and some fruit and veg. Like you, I assumed that the nutritional/calorie count on the food label is correct.
    At this point, I'm on track....losing 1-2lbs a week, but it's still early (week 4). If I hit some type of plateau I suppose I'll have to weight everything too.....uggg.....the rebel in me rails against such rigorous conformity! Lol
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,747 Member
    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    Two things you absolutely must have in a good food scale: easy access to set it to grams (and hopefully stays where you set it), and tare (zero) button.

    I had to buy a new scale after I moved last year, and found out the button to switch between ounces and grams was on the bottom, and it always reset to ounces after it turned off. Major PITA!

    I have an oxo one I got from Target, and it zeros out and measures in grams. I was flipping back and forth between grams and ounces and realized that ounces aren't all that accurate either (my protein powder read the correct number of ounces but is was +/- 5 grams).

    --

    I don't know if I will always weigh everything, but I will for at least a few weeks. I eat a lot of the same foods so I imagine once I learn the difference between an actual measured serving and what I have been eating I'll be able to tell more easily which is correct.

    But it is crazy I could have been eating up to 20% more calories. That explains the slow weight loss anyway lol

    Now if only every single thread that says "stuck", or "plateaued" or 'I can't lose weight!" would read your OP everyone could actually learn something! Hope more people read what you've posted here. Very true.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
    This is why I can't stand some prepackaged snacks! I've even noticed bread does this a lot - be careful when logging each slice, not many people would think about that one, but you'd be surprised how off some of them can be!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    hgycta wrote: »
    This is why I can't stand some prepackaged snacks! I've even noticed bread does this a lot - be careful when logging each slice, not many people would think about that one, but you'd be surprised how off some of them can be!

    Eggs too. Mine are usually 5 to 10 grams more than a serving.
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