Are food scales helpful?

bean_jean

I'm thinking of getting a food scale to help me be more accurate with my food logging. I've been looking at them and am not sure how to choose one. What are your experiences and suggestions on what to look for in a food scale.

notnikkisixx

Not just helpful, they're a necessity for calorie tracking!

I'd say don't get anything fancy, I got a $15 digital scale from target and it works wonderfully.

Laurend224

Yes. Get a scale with a tare button. Mine weigh in grams and ounces and has an 11lb max weight limit. $18 at Wal-Mart. I use it multiple times daily

Francl27

Best money I've spent!

randomtai

Yes!! Definitely!

Ready2Rock206

My absolutely most used weight loss tool. Get a digital one with a tare feature that does both grams and ounces and you're good to go. Doesn't have to be expensive or super fancy.

healthygreek

Very helpful. I was at a so-called "plateau" before I joined MFP and purchased a scale. Within 4 months I lost 10 pounds without hunger. Just weighed everything and stuck to my daily goal.

StacyFrisbie

Absolutely

obscuremusicreference

YES get a scale! If you have a lot of weight to lose and/or have a large deficit, they're not necessary. I lost my first 30 pounds without it. BUT keep in mind that you're not as good at eyeballing as you think you are, a tablespoon or a cup is frequently "off" in weight, many foods like eggs and bananas aren't the USDA averaged weight (I've had one egg under 70 calories and 12+ over), and even packaged foods can be off. (Tonight I had olives. The container said 4 olives=15 g. My 3 olives=16 g)

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'd look for one that can take a bit of weight (mine does up to 15 lbs), has a flat surface, has a tare button, and will do either grams or ounces.

britnicole5

Yes!!!!

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

Yes. Ozeri brand on Amazon is great. $15

obscuremusicreference

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne wrote: »

Yes. Ozeri brand on Amazon is great. $15

+1 for Ozeri

marc83155

If it goes in your mouth you need know how many calories it going to cost you.

YorriaRaine

Absolutely necessary for counting calories accurately. I also find them extremely helpful now for having consistent recipes for things. It was pretty surprising how a "cup" of something can very from time to time depending on the ingredient. Its also nice because now I don't always have a million measuring cups and spoons to clean up. ^.^

eranganm8

For me food scale is "EVERYTHING"

Liftng4Lis

Necessity!

MikeLAdams

I also recommend a set of measuring cups and measuring spoons.

Kalikel

Yes. Especially helpful for learning serving sizes, if you don't know what they look like. Weighing the food gives you a much more accurate calorie count, too! When I began weighing, I found that some foods had a few more calories than I expected, but some had less.

Just keeping track allowed me to see patterns - times when I want to eat more or less, etc. Helpful!

Some people plan to weigh for life. I plan to stop (it a pain in the asp), so I really look at amounts, their totals for grams and calories, as well as what I get, nutritionally, from my foods. This time next year, I plan to be a thin, well-nourished person who eats what she needs in reasonable amounts without having to work too hard at it. That's the plan!

I've started writing down what I have, the grams and time and then entering that info once a day. For me, the whole process is less "painful" that way. It also lets me make my decisions without seeing the numbers from earlier. I can get a better idea how I do on my own that way. In a few months, I'm going to switch to weekly entering.

ColoradoBringItOn

You MUST have a food scale if you want to lose weight consistently. 3oz of chicken vs 4oz will screw up your calories and protein to carb ratios for example. I have an old WW scale someone gave me a few years ago that works extremely well. As long as it weighs in ounces and grams you are good to go.

ereck44

Best money ever spent. Can get a cheap one from Target or Walmart.

PeachyCarol

I love my food scale so much. It's an eye opener, and my favorite weight loss tool. Definitely get one. As everyone else said, it doesn't need to be fancy, just make sure it weighs in grams and ounces and has a tare function.

bean_jean

Wow, thanks for the responses! I'll get one with the tare button.

savvyfantastic

I think if you've never used one, they can be really useful for education alone. Eg working out what 100g of meat etc looks like. Just learning a lot through that can best place you to guestimate for future occasions when you don't have one.

MsHarryWinston

obscuremusicreference wrote: »

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne wrote: »

Yes. Ozeri brand on Amazon is great. $15

+1 for Ozeri

+2!

SergeantSausage

Helpful? Hell they're The Bees Knees.

They're the only thing that consistently works.

How do you know how much to eat unless you know what you already ate?

Without scales, it's all a wild arsed guess and virtually guaranteed to be incorrect.

Kalikel

-1 on Ozeri.

It takes too long to tare, IMO. It doesn't just zero, it has to go through a little dance first, which is a pain if you're holding a bunch of frozen items. It also can't decide how much something weighs and keeps flashing different numbers at me. 21, no, 22, no 21, no 20, no 21. I end up guessing. My postage scale was easier and faster. I may switch back to it.

DawnieB1977

Mine's a Salter digital one I got cheaply on Amazon.

We've always had scales as recipes in the UK generally require ingredients in grams and ounces, although it's only been in the past 18 months or so that I've been stricter with weighing everything. When I lost weight after my 2nd baby I didn't weigh everything and now losing weight after my third I do weigh pretty much everything. My weight loss is no faster now.

Sued0nim

Yes ...digital scale that you can put any plate, bowl or pan on and rebalance it to zero

And use it for everything, throw away cups

LazyNightOwl

I just ordered an Ozeri about an hour ago!

ChrissyLowe13

looking into buying my 1st food scales after reading above-thanks for the advice