How to Use a Food Scale Properly
Need to Know
A digital scale will provide the most accurate measurements for nutritional information during meal prep.
Frozen food may weigh slightly more than food at room temperature, but the difference is minimal.
You can weigh food raw or cooked, but be sure that you are consistent in your practice and make sure that the nutritional information provided on the package matches your method.
To weigh food accurately, you should use a digital scale placed on a level surface (such as a kitchen counter) and weigh food raw. If you weigh frozen food, it may weigh a few grams more, but the difference won’t be substantial. Always ensure that the nutritional information provided on the package matches the method you use for weighing.
How to Use a Food Scale Correctly for Meal Prep
Studies show that measuring food can help you lose weight more effectively and reach other health and fitness goals.(1) In Macro Diet for Dummies, you’ll learn basic skills like weighing food, cooking tips, and other meal prep skills.
You’ll need a high-quality digital scale to start weighing your food. There are hundreds of scales on the market, and I’ve included buying tips below, but you should be able to find a good product for under $20. You might also want to use a lightweight dish, plate, or even a paper towel so the food you’re weighing doesn’t touch the scale.
Use these four steps to weigh food:
Choose your desired units. Turn on the scale. Choose the unit of measurement you prefer. Most people choose grams or ounces. If you choose ounces, be sure that the selection is toggled to ounces (oz) and not fluid ounces (fl oz). Fluid ounces is a measurement of volume, not weight.
Zero out the scale to prepare for food measurement. Place a bowl, plate, or paper towel on the scale platform. You’ll see a weight measurement appear. Use the “tare” or “zero” button to bring that number down to 0. This way, your measurement will only include the food placed in or on the dish and will not include the weight of the dish.
Place raw food on the scale. Put your food onto the plate or dish that you provided. Give the scale a moment to stabilize, then record the weight displayed in your food diary or nutrition journal. If you are using the scale for portion control, make adjustments to your food and reweigh if necessary.
Wipe down the apparatus. Depending on the manufacturer’s instructions, either wipe down the scale with soap or use a sanitizing spray and paper towel to remove any food residue from the scale and scale platform.
If your food package provides nutritional information, you’ll also want to be sure that your measuring method matches the data provided. For example, some nutrition labels use terms like “as prepared,” “cooked,” or “raw.” This can make a big difference for certain foods that expand substantially during cooking, like oatmeal, or for foods that require you to add ingredients (like macaroni and cheese).
Does Food Weigh More Frozen?
Food can weigh more frozen, depending on a few factors. But the difference shouldn’t make a big difference for home food prep.
For example, a study conducted on beef and pork showed that air-cooling the meat resulted in the meat losing more weight than pipe-cooling. But most freezers for use in the home use a combination of pipe cooling and air cooling, so the difference cited in the study may not matter to the home user. What does matter is that food can “gain weight” when frozen.(2)
Why does this happen? First condensation can occur if food is not frozen in an air-tight container. Ice crystals or frost that forms can add a few grams to your food. Additionally, some food manufacturers spray their products with a glaze to protect them from freezer burn. This ice glaze can also add a few grams. But the difference that both of these factors contribute is minimal.
But still, food might look heavier when it is frozen because it increases in size. That is, the frozen food expands in volume, making it look like it weighs more because it is bigger. This could potentially make frozen food weigh “less” if you don’t use a scale to measure it. For example, a cup of frozen corn could include less corn than a cup of corn at room temperature.
This is one of the reasons that using a digital scale is helpful. But you don’t need to worry too much about whether your food is frozen or not.
Should You Weigh Food Cooked or Raw?
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to weighing foods raw or cooked. What matters most is that the nutritional information you use for tracking purposes (cooked vs uncooked) matches the state of the food you measured (cooked vs uncooked). In most cases, people find it easier to weigh raw foods so they don’t cook more than they need. Also, any oil or other ingredients used for cooking won’t influence your measurement.
Either way, if you weigh food raw, make sure that the nutrition facts gathered for the food specify that it is for the raw variation of that food. If you weigh food cooked, make sure the nutritional information you gather indicates that the food data provided is for cooked food.
Nutritional information varies for cooked and uncooked foods.
Protein is slightly heavier when it is raw than when it is cooked because protein loses water during the cooking process. In fact, a good rule of thumb is that cooking food will decrease a food’s weight by about 25%, although that number can vary.
Carbohydrates, especially starchy foods, are heavier when they are cooked because they absorb water during the cooking process.
Cooked vs Raw Chicken Breast
A 100-gram serving of uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast provides about 110 calories and about 23 grams of protein.
A 100-gram serving of cooked boneless skinless chicken breast provides about 165 calories and 31 grams of protein.
In the scenario above, each serving of chicken is 100 grams. However, the cooked version is more nutrient-dense because it contains less water (and therefore more meat and more nutrients).
However, cooking starchy carbs has the opposite effect, as you can see from this example of cooked vs. uncooked white rice. Each portion below is 100 grams.
Cooked vs. Uncooked Rice
100 grams of cooked white rice provides about 130 calories, 29 grams of carbs, and 70 grams of water
100 grams of uncooked white rice provides about 354 calories, 77 grams of carbs but just 11 grams of water
Obviously, if you cooked the 100 grams of uncooked rice, it would yield much more than 100 grams of cooked rice. But you can see from the image above that cooked rice is heavier because of the water that has been absorbed. So you get less rice in a 100-gram serving.
The bottom line is that whichever weighing method you use (cooked vs uncooked), you need to be sure that the nutritional information matches.
How to Use a Food Scale Correctly for Weight Loss
If you track macros to lose weight, measuring portion sizes is essential, especially in the early stages of the weight loss process. The most accurate way to measure your portions is to weigh your food. Some people use their hand to estimate portion sizes, but hand sizes vary so a scale is much more accurate.
Even if you don’t weigh food for the duration of your weight loss journey, using a food scale for weight loss initially helps you to understand serving sizes and portion sizes more accurately.
Serving size is a standardized amount of food listed on the Nutrition Facts label.
Portion size is the amount of food that you choose to consume.
If you are using the Nutrition Facts label to gather calorie and macro data for foods, the numbers won’t be accurate unless you actually eat the amount of food listed as a serving size. A scale can help ensure that your portion size matches the serving size.
For example, let’s say that you are going to have a serving of pasta with your dinner. The Nutrition Facts label provides calories and nutrient information for one serving or 57 grams of dry pasta. Most people can’t accurately estimate 57 grams, but a food scale can measure that amount in a snap and make sure that you consume the right amount of food for the nutritional data provided.
Buying a Food Scale for Meal Prep
There are countless kitchen scales on the market. My suggestion is to look for an inexpensive digital model that matches your kitchen decor so you feel comfortable keeping it on your counter. You’ll use your scale more often if you see it and it is convenient to grab.
There are also a few features to look for:
Tare/zero function
Washable/waterproof parts so you can clean up after measuring poultry or meat
Rechargeable (so there is no need to buy batteries)
Large enough platform to weigh common foods (like a large cut of meat)
Consider some of these models on Amazon:*
Taylor Glass Top Food Scale is a super-basic but super-simple scale that I used for years. It’s inexpensive and gets the job done.
Escali Primo Digital Food Scale is simple to use and comes in a wide variety of colors like pink, red, silver, black, or white to match your kitchen’s decor.
Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale comes with a detachable bowl to make measuring foods like flour, berries, or grains simple. This scale also comes in a variety of colors.
KitchenAid Dual Platform Digital Kitchen Scale has two platforms and can weigh up to 11 pounds.
Nutrition Scale by Greater Goods is a little pricier but provides not only weight but also complete nutrition data to make macro tracking and meal prep easier.
Food Measuring Spoon Scale is an option for people who want a special tool for measuring loose goods like coffee beans, baking ingredients, or grains.
Remember, a basic scale will only set you back about $20 or less. It’s one of the best purchases you can make when tracking macros to lose weight or reach other nutritional goals.
*As always, I earn a commission if you follow the link and choose to buy one of these products.
Sources:
Kim JY. Optimal diet strategies for weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome. 2021;30(1):20-31. doi:10.7570/jomes20065
Bustabad OM. Weight loss during freezing and the storage of frozen meat. Journal of Food Engineering. 1999;41(1):1-11. doi:10.1016/S0260-8774(99)00065-5