scales

kd6984

I've been thinking of getting a food scale do I really need one? What exactly do I wiegh everything or chicken and fish? Any suggestions on what kind to get?

Mycophilia

Yes you should get one. Yes you should weigh everything, measuring cups are only ok for liquids. Get a digital one with a tare function.

diannethegeek

I have one. I love it. I lost a lot of weight before getting one, though, so I won't go so far as to say they're absolutely necessary.

I weigh everything on mine. Meats, veggies, yogurt, fruit, lunch meat, condiments, sauces, etc. But mostly because it's way easier than digging out, using, and washing my measuring cups and spoons.

At the very least, look for a digital scale with a tare feature (resets the scale to zero so that you can weigh multiple ingredients in the same bowl) and be ability to easily change between grams and ounces.

Also, I really like theese two threads on how to use one:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

barbecuesauce

I got one when my weight loss slowed down. I weigh everything including packaged food like bread.

I use the cheap Ozeri one from Amazon.

Camomilejane

I weigh everything, it is a real eye opener, especially with breakfast cereal!

Kalikel

You don't need one to lose weight, but it will help you get a more accurate estimate on your calories.

I've tried four different ones and OXO was far and away the best one. It also cost the most, though. One of the best things about it is that the digital readout can be seen without bending or doing any manner of acrobatics. Some of them take too long to come up with a weight or to tare. Some are hard to read. OXO did a nice job figuring out what works on a scale. Better than the others, anyway.

kd6984

Thanks for the insight everyone I'm going to invest in one soon

TeaBea

I got a Taylor food scale at Wal-Mart (it said Biggest Loser on the package) - very simple to use.

kd6984

TeaBea wrote: »

I got a Taylor food scale at Wal-Mart (it said Biggest Loser on the package) - very simple to use.

Cool how much was it?

Hipnotika

I ordered mine from walmart for $8.51 its arriving today, can't wait to start using it.

kd6984

Wow that's cheap!

mumblemagic

Mine cost about £5 when I got it - digital scale with choice of grams or ounces. Couldn't have lost this much weight without one - what I thought was a portion of Shreddies was actually 4 portions. Crazy.

I weigh almost everything. If you weigh do it in grams as you get more precision. Measuring cups are only accurate for liquids, as another poster has mentioned. Even then, try to measure in millimeters rather than fluid ounces as again, this tends to be more precise.

One thing I have found though is that when my microwave is on, my digital scales won't work on the same work surface. Perhaps shouldn't have got a cheap microwave......

ETA:

My mum has had this one for about 15 years, still going strong:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salter-Arc-Electronic-Scale-White/dp/B0024OB072/ref=zg_bs_3538314031_5

brandyosu

I haven't purchased one yet because I'm still overweight enough that my eyeballing/logging methodology is working just fine. BUT when/if my weight loss comes to a screeching halt, I'll be purchasing one before creating a "help me" thread.