food scales...necessary or obsessive

WendyTerry420

I would also add, as someone who has had some culinary schooling, I used a food scale long before I ever joined MFP or attempted to lose weight. IMHO, it is a basic tool that should be in any kitchen...not having one is kinda like not having some of the more basic tools in your tool box in the garage.

yeah, we are missing basic tools in the garage too. *shrugs*


The other day, my husband needed a wrench, and we never found it. But sometimes if you can't find the right tool, you have to substitute.

WendyTerry420

I am trying to picture my grandma using a food scale. She didn't even use measuring cups. Baking cookies was "a fist of butter" and such. Her food always tasted awesome, so yeah, some people are *awesome* at estimating. Others, not so much.

ladylaume

Its necessary for me!

laserturkey

A food scale is critically important for accurate calorie counting.

belle_of_the_bar

I love love love my food scale. Particularly with things like chips and cheese and meat. When a serving is 12 pieces, what about half pieces? Small pieces vs. big pieces? It also helps to be able to get serving sizes of homemade dishes or soups. Weigh pot. Weigh pot with food in it. Divide accordingly.

saffron981

Using a food scale was very enlightening for me when I first started dieting. I recommend it big time. Over time, you get real good at eyeing your serving sizes, which comes in handy when you are at a restaurant and can't whip out the food scale.

JoRocka

Weighing your food in your kitchen - smart

taking your food scale with you in your purse on a date - obsessive

why are you assuming only women use scales and only women take them with them?

The only people thus far I've ever met who bring scales with them are men.


because of this

Not necessary until you get to a certain point.

there is a point in body re-comp where you NEED to know EXACTLY what you are putting in your body.

If you are serious about competing- I'd say 95% of those people are what would be consider 'obsessive' to most of the people here. But that is because the goals- are completely different.

To you it's obsessive- to them it's a necessary function of achieving a goal. I would have no qualms about bringing mine with me to the all you can eat Brazilian meat place. I keep forgetting mine- because I keep it in a drawer- I'm absolutely bringing it with me next time. why?
Because I want to know how much meat I can sit there and consume in 2 hours. seriously how could you NOT want to know- purely for the chits and giggles of it!!!

1971spud

I would not have made it to my goal without it. At least you need to use one until you get a good idea of how realistic your portion sizes are. I used a digital postage scale. Make sure you get one that you can "tare", (set the scale to zero including whatever you have sitting on it. Then you can zero out with your bowl on it and then the scale only shows what you add). It is also good to find out that 10 M&Ms is one portion size, then you can just count after that. I was a bit obsessive, but I never took my scale out in public. It paid off though... I hit my 24.8 pound loss goal in 75 days.

Kevalicious99

I pretty much weigh everything ... well not liquids cause my scale will not do liquids. I think it is essential .. cause well other things like measuring cups are not that great at doing accurate measurements.

They are cheap so go out and buy one.

mrsmarit

I personally don't have one...yet. I read all the time that it is nearly essential in getting an accurate calorie count. The food I eat, typically, is as follows: almond milk (cup measure); soup (I just eat the entire can); frozen plain vegetables (I eat the pre-packaged container); popcorn (100 calorie bag); tomatoes (I count them); sashimi and vegetable sushi rolls (restaurant items I can't weigh). Eggs (70 calories per egg).

I guess if I purchased a scale, how would i use it? do you weigh the items listed above? I also fear I would seem too food obsessed by my pizza, cheese loving husband. on the other hand, i want accuracy. does anyone get any grief from family about their food scale?

Look at those food labels, the weight per serving, and the weight actually in the package, and how many servings there really are.
"about 2" can be from 1.67 to 2.6 I've seen personally. And despite being 2 servings, I'm eating the whole thing.

Even soup, unless the label says the whole can is a serving, is usually 2.2 or more servings in the can. That can add up.
Your package of vegetables, same thing.

You can correct a lot without a scale.

But, they also usually pack a tad more weight in the package, combine the 2 inaccuracies together, getting bad now.

Fruit can vary so much in size, and being loaded with sugar and calories can make a big difference.

You spend 2 weeks at least measuring everything you eat, seeing how incorrect you were, and learn what items you can trust and what you can't.
Then you might be able to back off a decent amount.

What they said 100%. I weigh everything from fruits to nuts, sandwich meats and cheese.

I know alot of people feel weighing out prepackaged foods is obsessive but when the package says the whole thing is 2.5 servings and it's really less than 2 by weight that can be the difference between going over my calories or not.

cwolfman13

I'd say this...if you're eating 1200 calories per day and you're gaining/mainting then a food scale is necessary because you can't estimate for ****...

**medical condition and short and old disclaimer of course**

cwolfman13

I would also add, as someone who has had some culinary schooling, I used a food scale long before I ever joined MFP or attempted to lose weight. IMHO, it is a basic tool that should be in any kitchen...not having one is kinda like not having some of the more basic tools in your tool box in the garage.

yeah, we are missing basic tools in the garage too. *shrugs*

that's horrible...

Bry_Fitness70

I don’t think food scales are necessarily necessary or make you obsessive, but if you are going to go through the effort to log everything you eat and drink, a scale is essential to increasing your accuracy - unless you eat everything in the exact servings on the package.

Francl27

I'd buy one just for the soup. I keep buying cans that have '2 servings' and can go anywhere from 1.8 to 2.5 servings.

4daluvof_candice

It is essential for things I know I can eat a lot of.:blushing:

Ninkyou

I love my scale. I wouldn't call it obsessive to make sure I'm getting the proper amount of food/nutrition I need. Before my scale I was seriously wrong about pretty much everything I was eyeballing. A chicken breast alone was like 2.5 servings to what I would think was at most 1.5. It's no wonder I gained weight through the years. I can't trust my eyes to know how much is right, but I can trust my kitchen scale!

kelly_e_montana

I think eventually we need to learn to ride our bikes without training wheels. Use it for a while to get a feel for how much stuff weights and then use visual portions like a deck of cards, etc. I can understand how folks would be confused at first but seriously if you eat oatmeal in the same bowl every day, can't you tell how much is in there? :noway:

magerum

It really depends on how accurate you want to be.

amyliz810

I measure my food so I can learn what a serving is. Once I got it, I stop. It would make me too obsessive

debrag12

If that's really all you eat, you don't need one.

for the most part. i will eat some crackers here and there (which I count). and some Peanut Flour (which I measure--but should probably weigh)....but I try to keep it very loose...not compact when scooping.

Your daily calories must be low, depending on who much of these you eat that is.