Food scale? Yes or No?

court182

YES! I have become a food scale additct; I weigh/measure everything!

floshideaway

YES, YES AND YES. Guessing will put you back where you started. No matter how good you think you are, you are not. There are only a very few fortunate, those who have been at it for years who might possibly guesstimate, but you are not one of them, otherwise you would not be asking. You decided to take the healthy route, do it right, it will become second nature. Good luck,MFP is the best site for support, we are all here to help.

LorinaLynn

I've always estimated, but I've always had an uncanny eye for portions and proportions. It's my only superpower.

SixCatFaerie

Adore my food scale!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Kitrics-Digital-Nutrition-Scale-Silver/dp/B000U67EI0/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&qid=1329766951&sr=8-32

Good luck!

Machdude

Absolutely YES! Not having one is most of the reason I'm on this site losing weight. I both measure and weigh everything as I am not always accurate with my "guestimates". I love to cook so I'm used to measuring ingredients accurately and even though I cook regularly I still measure to insure consistent quality in my menu items. I have noticed since I started tracking things some items are very crucial, such as foods with high calories, fat, and sodium. Somtimes being off as little as 1/2 oz can mean 150+ calories.

MoreThanMommie

Yes! Bought mine this weekend at Best Buy. Didn't want to spent $50 on a scale, in love with it or not. But Pres. day weekend it was on sale! Now I've been using it for 2 days and LOVE it!! Don't know how I went this long without it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Perfect+Portions+-+Food+Scale+with+Nutritional+Calculator+-+Silver/9902407.p?id=1218192431054&skuId=9902407&st=food scale&cp=1&lp=1

deniseselah

I used to guess until I got a scale last week - yikes! I was way off. A lot. I LOVE my digital scale - got it for $15 @ Amazon and there are probably cheaper ones too. I use it several times a day.

ETA: I REALLY wanted my food scale at the wedding shower I went to today!

akjstyles

I use my food scale for almost every meal. It is so much more accurate then trying to guess what a certain portion should be.

Narisong

We have 2 :-) We weigh everything !

lmelangley

I do both. But, I usually weigh things in the beginning to get an idea of how much things weigh. Half an ounce of cheese, for example. I was floundering before I got it.

smileybooliz

Definitely!! They aren't very expensive and keep you in check on your portions!! :glasses:

rosebayer

YES!!! I don't know what I ever did without it!

KLEALEE71

I started weighing everything. I am glad I did, my guess(timating) was way off. I also started using my measuring cups for shredded cheese and for portion control on my side dishes. It has been working for me

rosebayer

Okay Dumb Question..... How do you log the calories then by weight?? I use measure cups and spoons but never thought about a scale! I am not losing like I had hoped so maybe i am not doing this right!

If you read the nutritional facts label it'll tell you a serving size, usually a cup measurement with the grams measurement in parentheses. If you measure grams it's more accurate. If you're measuring fruits or veggies or meat that have no nutrition facts you just search for what it is you're eating on mfp and it'll ask you how many grams or ounces whatever it is you're eating weighs and it figures out your calories for you

Best Wishes

wftiger

I use mine everyday for almost everything I eat. I'm not good at eyeballing, probably one of the reasons I am in the shape (round) that I am today.

To me it is much easier to track 100 grams than 1 cup. I have found that I can easily (without squishing too much) get almost 2 servings of shredded cheese in a 1/4 cup measure cup. Most certainly I would not have the success I have had if I did not weigh every item i eat.

Sassy_Girl

I measure at times, but tend to be a little lazy at being consistent. I like prepackages snacks so when they are gone I don't have access to the entire box. This has been a reason I am in the shape I'm in today.

LeanerBeef

I finally bought a digital food scale tonight, got the BL one at one Bed Bath &Beyond for 20 bucks. I will be eating exactly, not about, exactly 4 ounces of chicken breast for lunch tomorrow. :happy:

robot_potato

Yes. I would not be where I am without scale. I was doing really badly guesstimating.

BrienJD

I use a digital postal scale, it's not 10000% accurate, but it gets the job done to a margin of error I am comfortable with. I am a horrible eyeballer. If I continue this and continue to have good results I might just invest in a real food scale.

spookystitches

Yes! I measure everything. I've gotten a few laughs about it, but at least I know exactly what I'm taking in. I couldn't live without it now.

jutymo

I've got a digital one where I can add a container and then weigh just the food. I use it ALWAYS for meat portions and a lot on other stuff that you can't measure in measuring cups. I always portion out my meat before it goes in the freezer. I measure it on the scale and then put one portion into freezer bags and toss in the freezer. So much easier when it's time to make a recipe for dinner. I also have 3 sets of measuring cups just so I can always find one the size I need even if another one is dirty. Portion control is probably my biggest issue and the scale really helps me with that.

momuv3princesses

Yes I have one and I consider it a must have. Agree about it having a "tare" feature and also grams!!

Rockchelle

When I don't use my scale--I cheat! It makes me honest!

Helenatrandom

I use a food scale. It's the old fashion kind, but it'll do.

I find it very helpful when determining how much meat is on my plate. The "deck of cards" rule does not take thickness into consideration. (Either that, or I was too dense to realize how thick a deck of cards is...). I also like to weigh the potato before I bake it. It helps to know how close I am to my potassium goal.

sammi402

I use my food scale faithfully!! I am a horrible judge of portion size!! The same goes for measuring utensils.

^^what she said!

ChrisGoldn

I've got a digital one where I can add a container and then weigh just the food. I use it ALWAYS for meat portions and a lot on other stuff that you can't measure in measuring cups. I always portion out my meat before it goes in the freezer. I measure it on the scale and then put one portion into freezer bags and toss in the freezer. So much easier when it's time to make a recipe for dinner. I also have 3 sets of measuring cups just so I can always find one the size I need even if another one is dirty. Portion control is probably my biggest issue and the scale really helps me with that.

Thought i was the only one... I have 4 sets of measuring cups and spoons, and a scale... I use them Everyday!!!

theflyingartist

YES!
Only because I've learned what servings look like, so I can accurately judge how much to eat at parties, restaurants.. oh wow, without my food scale I would be SO LOST!
Also, serving sizes on packages are either really generous or really scant. A food scale will show you exactly that. For example, pasta serving sizes are SO SMALL in comparison to what we generally eat! Finding this out was all I needed to ditch the noodles and make zucchini pasta.

claresusan

Thought i was the only one... I have 4 sets of measuring cups and spoons, and a scale... I use them Every day

Exactly this!!

Shock_Wave

Yup I have one and it makes things soo much easier if your serious about your diet that is.

luvmybaby333

I was just using measuring cups and such. I was diligent about it, and it seemed to be working well... But it was a pain in the butt. I just got my food scale a few days ago and I LOVE it. It is so easy to make sure I'm getting the right portion. I couldn't live without it now. I highly recommend getting one for yourself. :-)