Have your food scales impacted your weight loss?

beccapotvin

I've heard that it's a lot more accurate than cup measurements. I just ordered a one off of amazon because it was half price. I understand the reasoning behind it, but I'm still a little hesitant to make the switch!
Since switching to a digital scale, have you found that your calories have been more accurately recorded? And if so, has it been a significant change in recording?
Also, do you find it to be more of a hassle?
I guess I'm trying to ask what the benefits are and what the drawbacks are! Thanks!

Wynterbourne

There are zero drawbacks. The benefit is you have an accurate caloric count and can eat the right amount of calories. Miscounting calories can add up very quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU

brrrycicle

For me, it's been just like trying to introduce any new beneficial habit into my life- annoying and a hassle at first, but second-nature after a while, and super helpful in the long run.

It was sobering seeing a real peanut butter serving size, and downright sad seeing an actual serving of cereal. It's helped me cut hundreds, if not thousands of excess calories that I had just been eyeballing. It's given me control of how much I put in my mouth, and I've gained power and lost weight because of it.

Congrats on your purchase, and excited for you to make it a part of your daily logging!

beccapotvin

@Wynterbourne Thanks for the video, that was crazy! Really puts a face to just how easy it is to overeat. Pretty shocking- really convicting! Lol
@brrrycicle Thanks for the support! Didn't think I'd get so excited over a scale haha

maasha81

Yes ...I was shocked how off I was in tracking cals. It was only when I started weighing foods, I got a true idea of portion sizes and accurately logging.

LBuehrle8

It was a huge eye opener to real portion sizes of food, I was in complete denial before. I love my scale I don't think it's a hassle at all! I've never had to lose weight before and I don't have much to lose so the scale keeps me on track and makes it so much easier!

RoxieDawn

Yes it has. Was a game changer to someone who was completely stubborn at the need to weigh food. I wasted about 5 months not using the scale.

cnbbnc

brrrycicle wrote: »

For me, it's been just like trying to introduce any new beneficial habit into my life- annoying and a hassle at first, but second-nature after a while, and super helpful in the long run.

It was sobering seeing a real peanut butter serving size, and downright sad seeing an actual serving of cereal. It's helped me cut hundreds, if not thousands of excess calories that I had just been eyeballing. It's given me control of how much I put in my mouth, and I've gained power and lost weight because of it.

Congrats on your purchase, and excited for you to make it a part of your daily logging!

This. It's weird to weigh food in the beginning, but you'll quickly get the hang of it and it will take no time at all. It's what got me losing weight. I'm pretty much trying to maintain my weight now and I still use it. It's that easy that I'm ok with continuing.

LivingtheLeanDream

Heck yes! it was eye opening to weigh/measure out a portion of rice/pasta/potatoes - I was easily consuming twice the calories I thought. There's no doubt about it that food scales are instrumental in aiding weight loss as we learn about proper/adequate portion sizes.

AmazonMayan

It's such a habit now for me that I barely notice anymore. I keep the scale in front of me as I prepare food and a lot of the time have my bowl or plate on it as I add things and tare and add and tare.

It helped me learn true servings and only a couple things were really disappointing - like cereal and pasta lol. Most things I was happy to find I could actually eat more than I thought.

The biggest thing right now is knowing I really only need 1 sometimes up to 2 servings of a bottled sauce (like general tso or satay, etc) to flavor my dish. I've always been a dump cook (even baking) so it was horrifying to realize how many unnecessary calories I was taking in for no difference in flavor. It's really helping me with avoiding high calorie take-out but still getting to enjoy something just as good but healthier at home.

I love my food scales

chandanista

I was eating less than I thought. Getting a scale and being able to eat more has been wonderful.

wahmx3

Best thing to do when you want to lose weight and truly be accurate, second thing is to actually read labels and know serving sizes. How much food most people eat is crazy, serving sizes are much smaller than we realize. You will quickly get the hang of it. I will often set a measuring cup or a light bowl on my scale before turning it on soI don't have to subtract the weight of it from what the actual food.

majigurl

life changing for how I see foods. I realized how WRONG the serving sizes I was having.
I would measure out a cup and then measure it out on the scale ( you will also!! lol we need this validation ) and I did notice the difference. If you do it with all your food, over a course of the week, that adds up to a big difference in calories you are eating/not eating.
10-30 cals difference doesn't seem like it would matter, till you add it up.

emdeesea

The only drawback is searching for the CORRECT entry in MFP, but this is only at first. I had to go to the USDA web site to verify a lot of foods at first, and it's somewhat time consuming. But the good thing is once they are in your own diary (and if you're like me in that you eat many of the same things) they're there. So the time consumption is only at first. Once you get used to it, it's second nature and takes no time at all. And YES, it DEFINITELY makes a difference.

Adphillips9

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Food scale keeps me honest, on track and is much more accurate than my eyeballs. I'd been guessing on salmon filets and was inadvertently eating 2.5 more ounces than I thought I was :-/

blancoms

The drawback for me is I'm actually eating more calories so my weightloss has slowed haha.
I was overestimating prior to buying my scale, so I was actually eating less than 1200 if I recorded 1200. Now I'm really eating 1200 so less of a deficit.

babygooshzarn

I got mine a few weeks ago, and love it! I just like being as precise as possible. I weigh everything at home, down to my popcorn kernels lol. It also makes recipe logging much easier. I made chili last night, and weighed how much the entire pot of chili was (minus the pot of course),and it made figuring out my portion size so simple! And there are a few things that I was under estimating which was a nice surprise, such as shredded cheese to go in my chili! Also, I know some people find weighing things annoying, but for some reason I find it kind of fun. Lol, I guess I'm easily entertained.

wizzybeth

I love my scale. It helps both ways: sometimes I would underestimate how much food I could have - so it wasn't always a problem of "over eating" but now it's like "YAY, I can have more than I thought!"

xbowhunter

I am going to buy one. I think I might be under estimating...

jdhcm2006

It really is necessary. Nut butters and nuts are really calorie dense, and eating more then you think you are can really slow down your weight loss. It's not annoying to me. It's no more difficult than having to pull out measuring cups and spoons. I actually find it easier b/c this way I can just sit my tupperware on the scale and place things right into it which means less dirty dishes.

It's also helps me eyeball things when I'm out at restaurants where using a scale isn't feasible. You will greatly appreciate the scale.

DearestWinter

I think it's fantastic. There's definitely a period where you have to work on integrating it into your routine but it gets a lot easier. And it is eye opening. Pasta and cheese were two areas where I always went overboard without realizing it.

ctoavs76

I don't post or comment very often, but I do read here a lot. My weight loss had stalled a bit, and the one thing I wasn't doing was using a food scale. I got one and realized that I was eating more than I thought. One example is some crackers that I like. The box said 9 crackers was a serving, but when I actually weighed them out for the recommended grams, 9 crackers was several grams over the serving size. It was more like 7 crackers. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. Since I've started using a food scale, the weight has started coming off again.

Asher_Ethan

Love using the scale. It's made a huge difference in my weight loss.

Ready2Rock206

My food scale was one of my best purchases! Way easier to use than measuring cups and spoons and so many less dishes to wash! So much more accurate too! I can totally tell on my bathroom scale when I have been slacking on using my food scale! There's just no way to be accurate without one.

iecreamheadaches

All of the yes.

I feel like I've been consistently losing since I started weighing my food, where as before it was a struggle and Id be up and down up and down which is super discouraging.

arditarose

When I first started losing weight, I had a good 30-40 pounds to lose and I lost without one. Pretty soon I had to get one because my calories in were just not accurate enough to be losing consistently. I found the switch to be very easy as I was dirtying less measuring cups. If I want to cook my dinner in a skillet, I literally put the pan on the scale and start adding ingredients, using the tare option to set it back to zero in between. Very easy.

Machka9

My food scale has definitely been eye-opening and very helpful.

CollieFit

A very rude awakening when I got a food scale. My guesstimates of what I thought was a portion, in particular for things like cereals, rice or pasta was often quadruple of what it should have been. LOL

lindathom209

I just finally got one because I wanted to see what a serving of spaghetti was. I've been successfully losing weight without it and it turns out I've been pretty accurate with logging so I don't feel like I really need it. But it's not a hassle and I don't really see any drawbacks to having one.

MelissaLimeKiwi

I just bought one last night at Walmart. $15. I have lost weight without one, but this time around I was just curious. Like yesterday I logged half an avocado as 150 cals, but I'm dying to know what it really is. I'll weigh the other half today.

Rebekkadorn

I've religiously used my scale and seen the benefits. However I am from the UK so we don't really use cups