Digital scale

goneforawhile

Anyone have any better luck by making the next days meal prior and using a digital scale for accurate measurements?

Going to order one later tonight, my work days are hectic so having all my meals in my backpack ready to go throughout the day seem like an easier way to go. Also I feel like I might be under or over on my guessing of my portions.

Any input would be appreciated.

Phrick

I love my scale. Even if you've been faithfully following the serving size guidelines on your food packages (e.g. 1/2 cup of dry oats = 1 serving or 2/3 cup of cut green beans = 1 serving) you'll be SHOCKED when you get your scale and weigh out the portions - 1 serving of Old Fashioned oats the package says is 1/2 cup or 40g uncooked - well 40g uncooked does NOT fill a 1/2 cup measure! Similarly, my package of frozen cut green beans says 2/3 cup or 81g - turns out 81g fills more like a 1 cup + container! So I was eating too much oatmeal on accident and not enough beans before I got my scale. It really is helpful for tons more than that but those are the examples I can think of off hand.

Sarauk2sf

I always use a digital scale when possible. Not using one can lead to a lot of inaccuracies.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Froggy_

I wouldn't be without my kitchen scales!

When I first started losing weight, I weighed everything that passed my lips using grams. My scales weigh to the nearest gram so it's much better when measuring small quantities. Even drinks got weighed (1ml water = 1g). It was a huge help and led to some surprises - good and bad. It enabled me to adjust the proportions of ingredients for recipes and meals to reduce their calorie content, and I now know that I can have a big portion of some foods without weighing them as the calories are small and a weight difference is pretty insignificant as far as calories go. I also know which foods I need to really weigh carefully.

One tip I would offer is to weigh the food raw wherever possible as cooking can either remove or add water and therefore weight depending on how much it is cooked. For example, if you buy dried pasta, weigh it raw. On the assumption you only add water to cook it, if you like it with a "bite", it will weigh less when cooked than it would if you like it soft — 100g of raw pasta could therefore make 200g or 250g of cooked pasta, so you could be over or underestimating the calories quite a lot. Obviously weighing raw food is not always possible (e.g. if you're eating out), but if you're used to weighing raw and then seeing the size of the portion when cooked, you'll be able to visually estimate better.

I used to like a nice healthy bowl of porridge for breakfast, made using semi-skimmed milk and organic oats and sweetened with a spoonful of raspberry jam. I didn't weigh the ingredients and was appalled at how many calories a typical bowl would be when I actually did weigh them. I bought some organic wheat bran and organic oat bran (for other reasons), and played around with the ingredients to make my breakfast. I now have a "porridge spoon" that holds the correct amount of ingredients and have my porridge made with 1 spoon of oats (7g), 1 spoon of wheat bran (4g) and 2 spoons of oat bran (20g). I have a small container to measure the liquid which is now 1 container of skimmed milk (130g) and 1 of water. I still sweeten it all with a small spoonful (10g) of raspberry jam. I now call this my "Bran porridge" and it turns out perfectly every day and I genuinely prefer the taste to the more conventional way I used to make it. Not only that, but I've reduced the calories from about 400-450 calories to 178 calories. Just one example of how they've helped me.

Good luck with yours

goneforawhile

That is crazy, can never trust food packaging. I am glad I have one on order as of tonight. Only crappy part is waiting up to 4-5 weeks for it to get to Korea!

goneforawhile

I wouldn't be without my kitchen scales!

When I first started losing weight, I weighed everything that passed my lips using grams. My scales weigh to the nearest gram so it's much better when measuring small quantities. Even drinks got weighed (1ml water = 1g). It was a huge help and led to some surprises - good and bad. It enabled me to adjust the proportions of ingredients for recipes and meals to reduce their calorie content, and I now know that I can have a big portion of some foods without weighing them as the calories are small and a weight difference is pretty insignificant as far as calories go. I also know which foods I need to really weigh carefully.

One tip I would offer is to weigh the food raw wherever possible as cooking can either remove or add water and therefore weight depending on how much it is cooked. For example, if you buy dried pasta, weigh it raw. On the assumption you only add water to cook it, if you like it with a "bite", it will weigh less when cooked than it would if you like it soft — 100g of raw pasta could therefore make 200g or 250g of cooked pasta, so you could be over or underestimating the calories quite a lot. Obviously weighing raw food is not always possible (e.g. if you're eating out), but if you're used to weighing raw and then seeing the size of the portion when cooked, you'll be able to visually estimate better.

I used to like a nice healthy bowl of porridge for breakfast, made using semi-skimmed milk and organic oats and sweetened with a spoonful of raspberry jam. I didn't weigh the ingredients and was appalled at how many calories a typical bowl would be when I actually did weigh them. I bought some organic wheat bran and organic oat bran (for other reasons), and played around with the ingredients to make my breakfast. I now have a "porridge spoon" that holds the correct amount of ingredients and have my porridge made with 1 spoon of oats (7g), 1 spoon of wheat bran (4g) and 2 spoons of oat bran (20g). I have a small container to measure the liquid which is now 1 container of skimmed milk (130g) and 1 of water. I still sweeten it all with a small spoonful (10g) of raspberry jam. I now call this my "Bran porridge" and it turns out perfectly every day and I genuinely prefer the taste to the more conventional way I used to make it. Not only that, but I've reduced the calories from about 400-450 calories to 178 calories. Just one example of how they've helped me.

Good luck with yours

Every bit helps! I will for sure weigh it all raw. I cant see adding jam myself, maybe I am torturing myself but I am trying to have ALMOST no sugar so I know what you mean. Healthy doesn't taste that good. Of coarse I am trying to explore new recipes and things that area healthy and yummy. Only down fall is not getting certain vegetables at my current location.

_SABOTEUR_

A digital scale is probably the best fitness related purchase I've made.

Even if it's to confirm that something prepackaged does, in fact, weigh what it says on the packet to give you piece of mind.

Plus anything calorie dense like nut butters are so easy to underestimate by large amounts.

Alatariel75

My scale is the best kitchen implement I ever bought, for weight loss and for general cooking. You need this.

geebusuk

Healthy doesn't taste that good.

For most people, healthy doesn't have to be cutting anything out entirely - my general stats (resting heart rate, running speeds, weight lifting and so on) suggest that I'm reasonably healthy - thus the food I eat must also be 'healthy' for me - and includes plenty of sugar and so on.

But yes; get digital scales. After breaking my digital ones I've got some mostly-broken analogue ones and it's quite frustrating.

Froggy_

quote:
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I cant see adding jam myself, maybe I am torturing myself but I am trying to have ALMOST no sugar so I know what you mean. Healthy doesn't taste that good. Of coarse I am trying to explore new recipes and things that area healthy and yummy. Only down fall is not getting certain vegetables at my current location.
[/quote]

I know what you mean re sugar, but my teaspoon of raspberry jam is over 50% fruit, and it makes all the difference to me. I don't have much sugar the rest of the time as I eat mostly fresh, not processed, foods, and drink mainly water. (I do sneak the odd biscuit or piece of cake, though :blushing: )

(going off topic . . . . )

Porridge (oatmeal) is such a simple food (basically squashed oats cooked in liquid), and yet it amazes me how many ways there are to prepare it. The traditional Scottish way is to make it with water and salt, and (I think!) Americans normally eat it with Maple Syrup or cinnamon, and others sweeten it with honey, syrup, molasses, or just plain old sugar. Adding some cream is also popular. My daughter is one of the many that cooks it with milk (skimmed in her case), then just adds chopped fresh fruit (or frozen berries if she's out of fresh fruit), but I'm one of the awkward ones that prefer to enjoy the fruit separately, just on its own, and stick with my little bit of raspberry jam in my porridge — even though fresh fruit is a healthier option. I think some folks even put savoury flavourings in it, although I can't think of any examples at the moment. I was amazed at the responses to an "Oatmeal" thread on a forum a few months ago - people were getting very heated at whether their oats were steel-cut, rolled or prepared in other ways. I hadn't realised there was such a huge variety in the shops - or maybe that's just in the US? Personally, I just like them to be organic wherever possible - I don't mind how much or little they're squashed/cut/rolled just as long as they haven't had anything added to them before I get them! We're all so different in our tastes, aren't we?

geebusuk

We're all so different in our tastes, aren't we?

Or so the companies selling us pretentious oats would have us believe.

GingerLolita

My weight loss had stalled and then risen for months until I bought a scale and started to more accurately measure my food. I'm finally losing weight again! I guess cup measures are pretty inconsistent because my 1/2 cup of old fashioned rolled oats weighs the right amount.

Also, healthy food can taste great! You just need to learn how to prepare it. I recommend getting some healthy cookbooks. Also, many people lose weight successfully without even cutting down on sugar. If you'd like to limit it, I suggest using fresh fruit instead of jam and choosing packaged goods that are lower in sugar. When I first started, I'd surpass the sugar goal daily. Now, my sweet tooth has calmed down and I prepare more food at home, so I'm able to cut down on the sugar, but I can't imagine eliminating it!