Food scale shock!

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.

Francl27 wrote: »

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.

Jicama is the scales best friend. 100g fills the tummy and costs under 50 calories.

Machka9 wrote: »

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

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.

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.

amyk0202 wrote: »

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.

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.

Francl27 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.

midwesterner85 wrote: »

Francl27 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.).