Fruit: Portion distortion!

LindsayChick
LindsayChick Posts: 129 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
I have an electronic food scale where you can enter in the food and see exactly the calories in it. I decided to weigh my apple before I ate it and see how many cals... It had 150 cals!! Granted, it was a large apple.... but no larger than the ones I usually buy. It's just interesting because if you enter a large apple in MFP often it gives you 80-100 cals.

I then weighed my banana which was an average sized banana.... came up 180 cals! Again, in MFP an average banana comes up at about 100 cals. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up! ;)

Replies

  • rockylucas
    rockylucas Posts: 343 Member
    See the stress that those contraptions cause you? :P

    "Put the scale away" is great advice, whether it be the one you step on or the one you put your food on
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Exactly! I def encourage people to invest in a scale! Love mine :]
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Did you weigh the parts you didn't eat afterwards and calculate the difference?

    You didn't eat the apple core or the banana peel, they contribute to the weight.
  • LindsayChick
    LindsayChick Posts: 129 Member
    Hey.... that's true about weighing the core and banana peel. I guess it includes that too ;)
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
    Did you weigh the parts you didn't eat afterwards and calculate the difference?

    You didn't eat the apple core or the banana peel, they contribute to the weight.

    That is very true!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Yes, more than likely your food scale is assuming you're only putting the edible parts on it when calculating calories: a cup of apple slices or a peeled banana. Give it another try and see if the two calorie counts aren't a little closer.
  • AlynLeigh
    AlynLeigh Posts: 39 Member
    But do you eat all of that apple? Isnt there some left over including the core. I would suggest cutting up the apple and getting rid of the excess. Also, make sure to zero out the scale after putting on your empty plate before adding the fruit. Try the same thing with the banana. The peel may be a bigger part of that then you think.
  • jennarandhayes
    jennarandhayes Posts: 456 Member
    I weigh only the edible parts. I peel the banana before weighing and I usually cut the apple in half, cut out the core on each side and weigh it. I prefer eating my apple that way anyway. If I am taking it somewhere, I just wrap it in cling film after I've weighed it.
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