Food scale

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I finally bought a food scale, as per a few people telling me to on my other posts.. it's supposed to arrive today. So just wondering do I weigh everything, liquids and solids?? Like would I weigh salad dressings?
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  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
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    I weigh everything on mine, liquids included. I just swap to ounces when I do liquids.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Hmmm, Quik, learned something new.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    edited February 2019
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    I weigh everything, and it hasn't affected my weight loss. I weigh salad dressings.

    "They" say to use measuring cups/spoons for liquids. But I don't want to wash them! I can just put my bowl of salad on the scale and add my salad dressing. Yay for less dishes!

    Same here. Milk for my coffee and cereal, salad dressing for my salad, the olive oil I put in the pan for cooking, I do it all by weight.
    I weigh everything on mine, liquids included. I just swap to ounces when I do liquids.

    There are two measurements called "ounces". Liquid volume measurement, which is fluid ounces, and weight measurement, which is ounces (16 ounces per pound). They are somewhat close for many liquids which are predominately water (8 fluid oz of water weighs 8.35 ounces), but can be quite off for other liquids. A scale can only measure weight.


    Ok, so another question, can I put my plate on the scale, tare it, and add one thing at the time weighing and tearing before adding a new food?
    Hope that made sense... lol

    Exactly...

    1kfacr3j2anl.jpg

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    I weigh anything that lists a gram weight on the nutrition info on the package. I've found some dressings and condiments do and some don't. Table/teaspoons aren't as accurate, but despite me being super detail oriented, I find it annoying to have to figure out/keep track of conversions to weight on liquids so I measure them if that's all that's on the package. :blush:
  • wandering44
    wandering44 Posts: 27 Member
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    You can also weigh a bucket of something and as you take items off the scale will measure the difference. Our scale also measures in grams which is a much more delicate measurement for light items. Glad you bought one. We use ours numerous times a day and it takes the guesswork out of keeping track. Besides being vigilant about the MFP website postings, I think it is the most useful item for losing weight. When I cook in bulk (i.e. a roast, etc.,) I weigh out the meals before I vacuum seal and put them in the freezer and mark the bags with weights. That way I know what I have in the freezer to defrost for meals. We purchased a very high end scale but were fortunate to purchase it from friends for about 1/6 the retail cost.
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
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    I use grams for solids and mls for liquids on my scale.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.
  • briittanyxxoo
    briittanyxxoo Posts: 40 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
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    I am with @kimny72 on keeping this simple. I am super careful to weigh calorie-dense nut butters, and as she says, the easiest is to measure by putting it into the destination dish and noting the change.

    There are a lot of low density, easy-to-clean-up-after items like vinegar that I still use measuring spoons for.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.
  • briittanyxxoo
    briittanyxxoo Posts: 40 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it

    But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.

    For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.
  • briittanyxxoo
    briittanyxxoo Posts: 40 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it

    But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.

    For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.

    This is so confusing to me lol!

    How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited February 2019
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it

    But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.

    For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.

    This is so confusing to me lol!

    How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?

    I know! That's why I don't understand why scales have mls on them at all. If they don't have grams on the package, I use a standard measuring spoon set. For something generic like olive oil, you can probably find an entry in the database for olive oil in grams and weigh it in grams. If you only use a condiment sparingly, any method you choose is probably fine! Sorry I made it more confusing, I do that to myself all the time...

    I believe I've heard that in Canada ice cream is only marked with cups and mls, that would drive me bananas :lol:
  • briittanyxxoo
    briittanyxxoo Posts: 40 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    I use whatever is on the back of the package. For instance, ketchup is 1tbsp or 15 mls. I used mls to weigh it

    But mls aren't a weight, and your scale doesn't know what liquid you are weighing. Your scale is saying that based on weight, you have 15 mls of water, but 15 mls of ketchup probably doesn't weigh the same as 15 mls of water. If you're interested, test it out. Weigh a tbl of ketchup and see how many mls your scale says.

    For small servings and items you don't use frequently, it's probably not a big deal, but I just think it's important to understand what all these numbers mean.

    This is so confusing to me lol!

    How would I accurately weight things like ketchup, and salad dressings?

    I know! That's why I don't understand why scales have mls on them at all. If they don't have grams on the package, I use a standard measuring spoon set. For something generic like olive oil, you can probably find an entry in the database for olive oil in grams and weigh it in grams. If you only use a condiment sparingly, any method you choose is probably fine! Sorry I made it more confusing, I do that to myself all the time...

    I believe I've heard that in Canada ice cream is only marked with cups and mls, that would drive me bananas :lol:

    Oh my. Lol. I was so proud and excited to get a scale to accurately log my food but now that doesnt seem so simple... I will weigh solids and measure liquids, or semi liquids and hope it works out lol
    Ugh, losing weight shouldn't be this hard, was this hard to gain it all haha 🙄
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,596 Member
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    kami3006 wrote: »
    In the US, most packaging for liquids has grams listed so I weigh everything on my scale. But, outside the US, it's not as common and seeing you're in NS, I'm guessing you're more likely to have mls listed on your labels.

    Yes, but my scale has mls, oz, fl oz, grams.

    milliliters and fluid ounces will only be accurate on your scale for water and liquids of the same density as water. I use it for my coffee creamer (after testing the weight of a tbsp), but I wouldn't use it for salad dressing or Nutella, for instance.

    Uh oh, I just started eating salads again and weigh the dressing since it has grams. The dressings I use aren't calorific but...now I have to get a tablespoon dirty!