Do you weight food even when the serving size is stated?

I can understand weighing vegetables or pasta etc but if the serving size is stated like "4 pieces per serving" do you weigh to get a more accurate calories count?
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Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,816 Member
    Honestly I don't, but it's probably the best way to do it, as pieces are not always sized the same. It really depends on how accurate you find you need your logging to be to see results. I've generally found success being a little looser.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    weight3049 wrote: »
    I can understand weighing vegetables or pasta etc but if the serving size is stated like "4 pieces per serving" do you weigh to get a more accurate calories count?

    I never did...a lot of people do. I only ever weighed meat, and calorie dense items like nuts, nut butters, cereals, pasta, etc.
  • gouin4goals
    gouin4goals Posts: 6 Member
    Nope
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited October 2019
    I weigh if I have a scale. If I'm out and about I just log them at label value.
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    i generally don't. but for kicks, i weighed my 2 slices of bread yesterday and they were about 5 grams over what the package stated. not enough for me to care, but it might matter to some people.
  • Get_Fit_Rach
    Get_Fit_Rach Posts: 8 Member
    I use to. I found a lot of items did not weight what the package said. My yogurt was almost an entire ounce less than what the container said. Depends how OCD I get.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I'll weigh it if it's a new thing, just to check if they're an egregious overfiller (some are, because it's cheaper to overfill than it is to underfill and get caught ripping people off). Once I confirm that, I just go by the package or add a % extra for the average amount it tends to be overfilled by. Normally it's not that much.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,443 Member
    I'll weigh it if it's a new thing, just to check if they're an egregious overfiller (some are, because it's cheaper to overfill than it is to underfill and get caught ripping people off). Once I confirm that, I just go by the package or add a % extra for the average amount it tends to be overfilled by. Normally it's not that much.

    Yep. I find some things are really standardized as to their weight - my tortillas, for example - and some things are really random. If they are pretty standardized, I don't weigh them any more. If they're more random and calorific, I continue to weigh them.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    Yeah, it’s really just a habit to weigh everything at this point and I like to be as accurate as possible.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
    I'll weigh it if it's a new thing, just to check if they're an egregious overfiller (some are, because it's cheaper to overfill than it is to underfill and get caught ripping people off). Once I confirm that, I just go by the package or add a % extra for the average amount it tends to be overfilled by. Normally it's not that much.

    ^^ This. When I buy a new product, I check their suggested serving weight versus actual product weight for the first *n* servings until I'm confident that I know the general margin of variability. Then I just use whatever number that average is.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    As others have said, it varies. If it’s a new product then I’ll weigh it the first 5 or 6 times and figure out what it averages to. Although if it’s something only I’m going to eat the entire pack of I worry (obsess!) less because the net weight of the pack will be close enough over the course of the package.

    Basically I guess it depends on the calorie density of the item how much I bother about it. Having said that, I do weigh the exact grams of an apple, a tomato, a kiwi etc so I guess I’m not very consistent! 😂
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    I don't, but that's only because I don't have to as I'm losing weight at a rate I'm comfortable with. If I did find my progress slowing, stopping or reversing then this is something I'd look at doing.

    I like to take a path of least resistance. To do a minimum amount required in order to get results. If I'm able to get results spending 2 minutes a day eyeballing servings and logging rough guesses then that's all I'll do. If doing that wasn't yielding results then I'd up the diligence and effort enough for results to occur.

    It's the outcomes that matter not the process. Doing just enough to get results is good enough.
  • ConfidentRaven
    ConfidentRaven Posts: 1,428 Member
    Fries, chips, or really anything more than 2 -3 per serving then absolutely. If it’s two sausage links or something similar then I don’t bother. It’s really all about preference and how strict you want to be.
  • misclaire81
    misclaire81 Posts: 33 Member
    The only think I really weight is my meat, and my chocolate. everything else I base on cup size / hand size portions.
  • sfinsc
    sfinsc Posts: 169 Member
    I weigh veggies, but not anything else, really, especially not if it says something like "4 pieces." And for reference, I've continued to lose weight (got to my target this month!).
  • Pamela_Sue
    Pamela_Sue Posts: 563 Member
    Danp wrote: »
    I don't, but that's only because I don't have to as I'm losing weight at a rate I'm comfortable with. If I did find my progress slowing, stopping or reversing then this is something I'd look at doing.

    I like to take a path of least resistance. To do a minimum amount required in order to get results. If I'm able to get results spending 2 minutes a day eyeballing servings and logging rough guesses then that's all I'll do. If doing that wasn't yielding results then I'd up the diligence and effort enough for results to occur.

    It's the outcomes that matter not the process. Doing just enough to get results is good enough.

    This is me as well. I have lost 37 pounds by following package data and MFP food data. I am averaging 1.35 pounds per week, which I am happy with. However, I still have another 35-50 pounds to lose and am fully aware that my weight loss may slow down, or even stall, as I get closer to goal. I have no intention of lowering my calories, so I am mentally prepared to switch to weighing all my food if and when this time comes.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I weigh new things once to get an idea of what the correct portion size should look like, then estimate based on that. Sometimes if something is very irregular I check it off and on to be sure my estimates haven’t crept.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    It depends. For something that I haven't weighed before or know if frequently way off from the package claim, I will. For instance, I buy Sprouts whole wheat sandwich bread every week. Almost every slice is at least 10g more than the package claims, so I weigh those every time. I will also weigh things that easily broken, like chips.