Weighing food?

HaleCry
HaleCry Posts: 387 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Silly question.. What does this mean?

I get that you weigh your food using a food scale, but then do you enter the correct weight into MFP and let that work out the rest, or do you measure out the 'serving size' on the packet and then use those calories it says they are?
Not sure if that makes sense, but I'm a little confused.

Replies

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Weigh all your food in grams, then look up that food in the database. It should have gram measurements. For example, if a food lists 1g in the drop down menu and you are 30g of that food, just change the serving size to 30. MFP will work out the rest, but make sure the nutrition information matches the foods packaging info. Also, with the serving sizes, yes you do weigh these as well. Always choose the weight serving sizes over 'cups/spoons'. Also weigh foods that have been pre-weighed as they can be slightly off. To weigh foods like peanut butter, place the jar on the scale, 0 it, then take out the serving size (eg 30g on the scale would be -30). I also weigh bread and build sandwiches on the scale.
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 403 Member
    Take oatmeal. I believe the standard 1/2 cup is 40 grams. Place a bowl on the scale, tare it to 0, place 40 grams of oatmeal into the bowl. Enter the food as 1/2 cup, or 40 grams if it has the option. For things like fruit, you would weigh the fruit and enter the serving in grams, opposed to something like 1 medium apple. Weigh meat raw, weigh all solids. You should even weigh things like bread slices since those aren't always accurate.

    If you are trying to eat 1 oz, or 28 grams of cheese and you cut a piece and it is 32 grams, then take 32/28 and enter that number as a serving of 1 oz, if no option for grams. So for the cheese if the only option is 1 oz, then do the math above and enter it as 1.14 servings of 1 oz.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I go by the serving recommendation for packaged things and the weight of fruit/veggies/meat.

    Example:

    Peanut butter - 1 serving is 32 grams. I weigh that out then log it.

    Apples - I cut up the apple and weigh what I'm going to eat, then log the weight to figure out the calories.
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    Always be sure to use COOKED and RAW entries appropriately.

    If you weigh your chicken breast after cooking, use COOKED. Same with rice, oats, etc.
  • no_day_but_2day
    no_day_but_2day Posts: 222 Member
    nixxthirteen wrote: »
    Always be sure to use COOKED and RAW entries appropriately.

    If you weigh your chicken breast after cooking, use COOKED. Same with rice, oats, etc.

    ^^^^^This is a big one too!!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You weigh and log the number of grams you eat. You can adjust the amount to better suit your needs (if you need fewer calories, take a little less; if you need more, help yourself to a larger portion). Serving sizes is just 1) a suggestion of what amount a person should eat at one sitting, 2) a value that the manufacturer has to put on the package, for some reference reason I've never quite fully grasped, it's supposed to make camparison between similar products easier, but the serving sizes aren't always the same; where I live, values are stated for 100 grams of an item.
  • KnitSewSpin
    KnitSewSpin Posts: 147 Member
    How do you all measure out recipes when you know your ingredients?
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    edited May 2016
    KnitSewSpin wrote: »
    How do you all measure out recipes when you know your ingredients?

    Weigh the finished recipe and divide by the number of servings to find the weight of a single serving? When I choose that route, I include the weight of a serving in the name of the recipe. Or you can enter the number of grams of food as the number of servings in that recipe.

    *Edited to remove unwarranted snark.*
  • ridge4mfp
    ridge4mfp Posts: 301 Member
    Use the MFP recipe builder. Weigh the container you plan to use for cooking. Note it. As you prepare, weigh each ingedient and enter the info into the recipe builder. Weigh the container again, with the food contents. The weight now minus the the weight of the container noted before is the weight of the complete recipe. I find it easiest to create 100 gram servings. So if the final food weight is something like 1275 grams, I round up and create it as 13 100 gram servings. Weigh out the cooked portion you wish to eat. Let's say that is 225 grams. Enter it into the log as 2.25 servings.
  • HaleCry
    HaleCry Posts: 387 Member
    Thank you everyone! :)
  • Karen_can_do_this
    Karen_can_do_this Posts: 1,150 Member
    Omfg!!!! This post has to be one of the most informative and helpful ones I've seen in ages!!!!!!
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I cannot encourage anyone enough to use their food scale. I cut a steak in half and almost blew my daily calories because one cannot accurately eyeball a halfway cut. There was a significant difference between the two "halves".
  • tugsandpulls760
    tugsandpulls760 Posts: 206 Member
    I measure my food and being a chef have a good idea portion sizes I'm loosing weight so I guess I'm doing good
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