Food scale shock!
Replies
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wolfgirl78 wrote: »I'm also curious about why I should be weighing everything in grams instead of ounces (I'm now weighing in grams)
It's a whole lot more accurate, most scales will be to 1g, but only 0.1 of an oz (which is about 2.8g). That's pretty important for those tiny serving sizes.
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amyrebeccah wrote: »
I've owned three different food scales over the last five years and every single one weighed out to .05 oz. I weigh in whatever unit the best entry uses.
Ah must just be mine then! But I do live in the UK where we use grams anyway so that might be why the oz setting isn't as accurate.3 -
frannyupnorth wrote: »
For liquids (based on mass of water), 1ml = 1gram or 1litre = 1kg, they joys of the metric system :-)
For water, yes. But that's it. Other liquids will be heavier.
It's pretty good starting point though, most liquids in foods are either oil or water. Cooking oils are 0.91-0.93 the density of water at ambient temperature. So a 100ml of oil will typically weigh 91-93g OR 100g oil will have a volume of 107-110ml.1 -
For me, realizing how pitiful some servings are (with the exception of peanut butter), made them all the less temping and I don't even bother trying to fit them in.3
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Jicama is the scales best friend. 100g fills the tummy and costs under 50 calories.1
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My vote goes to egg whites. It's just recently been available here in the UK (I can't be bothered separating them myself). It's absolutely remarkable for cals/100g, a total revelation!1
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twistedwoman wrote: »I used food scales tonight for my dinner for the first time. I was horrified by how much I have been underestimating food!
I have now weighed out my cereal to take to work and my lunch and it looks pitiful!!! At least I know it's accurate!!
Cereal was a disappointment to me. One serving is 45 grams. 45 grams of cereal is a dusting on the bottom of the bowl. MY servings used to be a good 4 or 5 of those 45 gram servings. Probably a good thing I didn't eat cereal that often.
a serving for cereal where i live is 30grams. consider yourself lucky that your serving is 45
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I agree with the cereal. I love raisin nut bran and I swear when I measured it I got 5 flakes 2 raisins and 1 yogurt ball. It was terrible.4
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I have to agree with those who have been pleasantly surprised. I found I was drastically overestimating protein calorie counts = which equals a yay for me because I CAN HAVE a larger steak now. I feel way better weighing it out and feeling confident that I'm getting every tidbit I deserve.1
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booksandchocolate12 wrote: »Weigh a serving of peanut butter. You will weep.
No kidding! It makes me so sad how little peanut butter I get for the serving size I weigh out.
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What will really blow your mind is how much off items you buy are in the package. For instance, buy a protein bar, take it out of the wrapper and weigh it. It'll either be over or under the estimates on the label. There's always a tolerance the manufacturers accept and the FDA doesn't really care within those tolerances so you can be going over your calories and not even know it.2
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Spliner1969 wrote: »What will really blow your mind is how much off items you buy are in the package. For instance, buy a protein bar, take it out of the wrapper and weigh it. It'll either be over or under the estimates on the label. There's always a tolerance the manufacturers accept and the FDA doesn't really care within those tolerances so you can be going over your calories and not even know it.
And then there's the zero calorie foods. I've never seen a zero calorie food, but I sure have seen labels that claim to be.1 -
booksandchocolate12 wrote: »Weigh a serving of peanut butter. You will weep.
A serving of my peanut butter is 32g (Great Value Creamy PB). I was shocked at how much it was. I would never put that much peanut butter on anything if I weren't trying to get the full serving. I can barely taste my blackberry jam--it's all just globs of peanut butter. I do eat a serving every day anyway because I don't get enough fat in my day without it, but I was just shocked in the opposite way with peanut butter.
I can see you're not a peanut butter addict!
Peanut butter and International Delight Chocolate Caramel coffee creamer are why I'm here. 4 -
MissusMoon wrote: »MultipleHigh5s wrote: »I have seen very little difference between weighing and measuring. I even spent a couple days doing both so I could check.
But everyone else does. I can't even find a slice of bread that matches the nutrition information. I'd love to know what you've been weighing.
Not EVERYONE else. When I got a food scale, I found I had been estimating pretty much right on.
And I don't eat bread anymore, but I've heard that before... so back when I ate bread, I tried it for 2 loaves of bread. The only pieces that didn't match perfectly were the heels (and sometimes pieces next to heels that were basically the heels when cut so there was just a very tiny thin 2-inch diameter circle of a heel).0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Jicama is the scales best friend. 100g fills the tummy and costs under 50 calories.
do you have stock in jicama Jerome? you are also promoting it. not everyone will like it either and wont be available in all areas either. my local walmart just started selling it.0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »MissusMoon wrote: »MultipleHigh5s wrote: »I have seen very little difference between weighing and measuring. I even spent a couple days doing both so I could check.
But everyone else does. I can't even find a slice of bread that matches the nutrition information. I'd love to know what you've been weighing.
Not EVERYONE else. When I got a food scale, I found I had been estimating pretty much right on.
And I don't eat bread anymore, but I've heard that before... so back when I ate bread, I tried it for 2 loaves of bread. The only pieces that didn't match perfectly were the heels (and sometimes pieces next to heels that were basically the heels when cut so there was just a very tiny thin 2-inch diameter circle of a heel).
Well packaged bread is not all bread..2 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »MissusMoon wrote: »MultipleHigh5s wrote: »I have seen very little difference between weighing and measuring. I even spent a couple days doing both so I could check.
But everyone else does. I can't even find a slice of bread that matches the nutrition information. I'd love to know what you've been weighing.
Not EVERYONE else. When I got a food scale, I found I had been estimating pretty much right on.
And I don't eat bread anymore, but I've heard that before... so back when I ate bread, I tried it for 2 loaves of bread. The only pieces that didn't match perfectly were the heels (and sometimes pieces next to heels that were basically the heels when cut so there was just a very tiny thin 2-inch diameter circle of a heel).
Well packaged bread is not all bread..
Right - when I make my own bread, there is nothing on the label (there is no label on my homemade bread), but I have a recipe built for it. For that, I cut various size and shapes of pieces and I do weight each piece.
For packaged foods, I've done similar comparisons with other foods (started with bread because that is what was originally suggested as being wrong). The most variance I've ever seen was less than 3%... that was the most extreme, but most foods are spot on. A few are slightly off, and the 3% really seemed like a fluke. I'm really confused what others are buying where they are getting variances like 5% or greater on a regular basis.1 -
twistedwoman wrote: »I used food scales tonight for my dinner for the first time. I was horrified by how much I have been underestimating food!
I have now weighed out my cereal to take to work and my lunch and it looks pitiful!!! At least I know it's accurate!!
Yeahhhh weighing my cinnamon toast crunch, or peanut butter for the first time was pretty depressing hahaha1 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »MissusMoon wrote: »MultipleHigh5s wrote: »I have seen very little difference between weighing and measuring. I even spent a couple days doing both so I could check.
But everyone else does. I can't even find a slice of bread that matches the nutrition information. I'd love to know what you've been weighing.
Not EVERYONE else. When I got a food scale, I found I had been estimating pretty much right on.
And I don't eat bread anymore, but I've heard that before... so back when I ate bread, I tried it for 2 loaves of bread. The only pieces that didn't match perfectly were the heels (and sometimes pieces next to heels that were basically the heels when cut so there was just a very tiny thin 2-inch diameter circle of a heel).
Well packaged bread is not all bread..
Right - when I make my own bread, there is nothing on the label (there is no label on my homemade bread), but I have a recipe built for it. For that, I cut various size and shapes of pieces and I do weight each piece.
For packaged foods, I've done similar comparisons with other foods (started with bread because that is what was originally suggested as being wrong). The most variance I've ever seen was less than 3%... that was the most extreme, but most foods are spot on. A few are slightly off, and the 3% really seemed like a fluke. I'm really confused what others are buying where they are getting variances like 5% or greater on a regular basis.
The stuff that can be 5% or more heavier in my experience - granola/nut bars, English muffins (not Thomas, but another brand I forgot the name of), some frozen waffles (Waffle waffle - 60 calories off), Graze snacks being the worst (hello 70 extra calories flapjacks. Sigh.).0 -
I got a food scale myself just started using it a week ago wow what a huge difference it makes for me as I was over eating with certain foods.2
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midwesterner85 wrote: »midwesterner85 wrote: »MissusMoon wrote: »MultipleHigh5s wrote: »I have seen very little difference between weighing and measuring. I even spent a couple days doing both so I could check.
But everyone else does. I can't even find a slice of bread that matches the nutrition information. I'd love to know what you've been weighing.
Not EVERYONE else. When I got a food scale, I found I had been estimating pretty much right on.
And I don't eat bread anymore, but I've heard that before... so back when I ate bread, I tried it for 2 loaves of bread. The only pieces that didn't match perfectly were the heels (and sometimes pieces next to heels that were basically the heels when cut so there was just a very tiny thin 2-inch diameter circle of a heel).
Well packaged bread is not all bread..
Right - when I make my own bread, there is nothing on the label (there is no label on my homemade bread), but I have a recipe built for it. For that, I cut various size and shapes of pieces and I do weight each piece.
For packaged foods, I've done similar comparisons with other foods (started with bread because that is what was originally suggested as being wrong). The most variance I've ever seen was less than 3%... that was the most extreme, but most foods are spot on. A few are slightly off, and the 3% really seemed like a fluke. I'm really confused what others are buying where they are getting variances like 5% or greater on a regular basis.
The stuff that can be 5% or more heavier in my experience - granola/nut bars, English muffins (not Thomas, but another brand I forgot the name of), some frozen waffles (Waffle waffle - 60 calories off), Graze snacks being the worst (hello 70 extra calories flapjacks. Sigh.).
I get Oroweat brand English muffins and bread, the double fiber ones, and they are notoriously inaccurate. And almost always over the serving weight.1 -
I decided to slow my rate of loss from a pound to half a pound and spent most of those extra calories on peanuts.
It's still shocking to see how much an ounce is.2 -
Hi, I haven't purchased a food scale yet, but was wondering how it works exactly. So if one cup equals 8 ounces, but we're talking about cereal how would I know if it's equal to one serving or not? Would the scale read 8 ounces, or something else?0
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Hi, I haven't purchased a food scale yet, but was wondering how it works exactly. So if one cup equals 8 ounces, but we're talking about cereal how would I know if it's equal to one serving or not? Would the scale read 8 ounces, or something else?
When you look at the nutrition facts for your cereal, there is a 1 cup (x grams). You want to use the food scale to calculate the grams and then log that many cups. For example, if the label serving size is 1 cup (59g) and the scale shows 87g, then you log 1.475 (rounded, of course) cups: 87 / 59 = 1.475 rounded to 3 digits2 -
Hi, I haven't purchased a food scale yet, but was wondering how it works exactly. So if one cup equals 8 ounces, but we're talking about cereal how would I know if it's equal to one serving or not? Would the scale read 8 ounces, or something else?
Keep in mind there is a difference between ounces and fluid ounces. One is mass and the other is volume. 8 fl ounces is about 1 cup (that may depend on where you are). But that does not mean it weighs 8 ounces.
One things like cereal there is usually both listed (here anyway). So one serving of multigrain Cheerioes is 1 cup or 29 grams. 29 grams is just over an ounce.2 -
CharliWhitman wrote: »wolfgirl78 wrote: »I'm also curious about why I should be weighing everything in grams instead of ounces (I'm now weighing in grams)
It's a whole lot more accurate, most scales will be to 1g, but only 0.1 of an oz (which is about 2.8g). That's pretty important for those tiny serving sizes.
It also makes the math easier. If you weigh in grams, you then look for the "per 100 grams" entries on verified or USDA entries in the food database.3 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »Hi, I haven't purchased a food scale yet, but was wondering how it works exactly. So if one cup equals 8 ounces, but we're talking about cereal how would I know if it's equal to one serving or not? Would the scale read 8 ounces, or something else?
Keep in mind there is a difference between ounces and fluid ounces. One is mass and the other is volume. 8 fl ounces is about 1 cup (that may depend on where you are). But that does not mean it weighs 8 ounces.
One things like cereal there is usually both listed (here anyway). So one serving of multigrain Cheerioes is 1 cup or 29 grams. 29 grams is just over an ounce.
If something's mostly water, fluid ounces and liquid ounces are pretty much the same. They *are* the same for plain water.0 -
I think I'm the only person in the world surprised by cheese in the opposite direction. I'd been using "1 ounce" for the cheese on my bean burritos, but when I finally weighed it, it was less than a half-ounce. An ounce of shredded cheese is a LOT in a small tortilla.1
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3dogsrunning wrote: »Hi, I haven't purchased a food scale yet, but was wondering how it works exactly. So if one cup equals 8 ounces, but we're talking about cereal how would I know if it's equal to one serving or not? Would the scale read 8 ounces, or something else?
Keep in mind there is a difference between ounces and fluid ounces. One is mass and the other is volume. 8 fl ounces is about 1 cup (that may depend on where you are). But that does not mean it weighs 8 ounces.
One things like cereal there is usually both listed (here anyway). So one serving of multigrain Cheerioes is 1 cup or 29 grams. 29 grams is just over an ounce.
If something's mostly water, fluid ounces and liquid ounces are pretty much the same. They *are* the same for plain water.
But the poster was talking about cereal.0 -
CharliWhitman wrote: »wolfgirl78 wrote: »I'm also curious about why I should be weighing everything in grams instead of ounces (I'm now weighing in grams)
It's a whole lot more accurate, most scales will be to 1g, but only 0.1 of an oz (which is about 2.8g). That's pretty important for those tiny serving sizes.
I just weigh in grams because every single box has grams outlined and the usda specifies by 100 grams. Ounces would be fine as long as it's the same sale. it wouldn't make a significant difference as long as the scale is accurate. It just seems more likely that grams will be in the database and not ounces.1
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