To anyone who doesn't have a food scale. . .

amuhlou

It's not OCD to want to be as accurate as possible when you're counting calories to lose weight.

Not everyone knows what proper portion sizes look like, and getting a food scale is a great way to learn.

AllTehBeers

I have a question.

i have been using a scale, but the problem i have is...say I weigh out some chicken ( 8 oz) , when i type chicken into the food database to look it up...all i get are measurements in cups or grams.....do i just assume that 8 oz is 1 cup and log it in as 1 cup?

sorry... i know its a stupid question..im just getting used to the whole weighing things out before eating. :blushing:

I would use the facts on the package. The next time you buy some fresh chicken breast, pay attention to the labels because you'll notice different brands have different calorie counts for the same amount of chicken depending on how lean the cut is. So if your package says 200 g is 150 caloires, that would be more accurate then just 'raw chicken breast' from MFPs database.

I don't have scales and I'm completly lazy when it comes to cooking or measuring food so almost everything I buy is prepackaged at a single serving. Fresh fruits and veggies, soups, salads, snacks ect. It does cost more but I figure its worth it for convenience rather then swinging through the nearest drive thru.

At this point I'm big enough that just switching from burgers and tacos to chicken breast and fresh veggies will work for me so a 50-100 calorie difference isn't going to hurt me as much.

I have never bought fresh/raw meat, fruit, or veggies with a nutrition label. That's the main reason I got a food scale.

Food scales should include grams as well as ounces so you should be able to find an MFP entry that has at least one or the other.

The fresh chicken in the meat section of the grocery has labels on it. For the fruit and veggies I was talking about the precut and pre washed fruit in the packages.

amuhlou

Mine was $8 at Kroger. It's not digital. What's special about the fancy, expensive, digital ones? I may want to upgrade later if there is a significant difference.

Usually the digital ones have an option for zeroing out the scale, which allows you to measure multiple things into the same container. Like if you were making pancake batter, put the bowl on the scale, weigh ingredient 1, zero out the scale, add ingredient 2, zero out, and so on

They also can switch between metric and imperial units sometimes.

C00lCountry

Okay so I bought me one for all the praises it was getting.
I have to wait and see if it really helps.

Jeyed

Bed Bath & Beyond - 'Biggest Loser' digital scale; very accurate and at $19.99 you can't go wrong.
I use mine almost every day & it's a must when putting recipes together. I also use it to split up bulk foods ie - plain yogurt, pasta portions, etc.

Silver_Star

I have a question.

i have been using a scale, but the problem i have is...say I weigh out some chicken ( 8 oz) , when i type chicken into the food database to look it up...all i get are measurements in cups or grams.....do i just assume that 8 oz is 1 cup and log it in as 1 cup?

sorry... i know its a stupid question..im just getting used to the whole weighing things out before eating. :blushing:

That's what I do if the measurement units are not meshing. Most scales switch between oz and grams. Either way, ignoring the density and temperature variables, I would estimate 8oz at 225g (denser than H2O). Chances are you wont be eating anything lighter than water. Some people will say about 240g.

Thanks!! this cleared things up for me. Knowing 225 grams is 1 cup helps a ton! (pun unintended!)

dhencel

I am obsessed enough with MFP..

mes1119

I think I would obsess too much if I had one.

It would be nice to see the amount of ounces of my meats though. Just once to validate my beliefs and then I can go back to guessing.

Silver_Star

I have a question.

i have been using a scale, but the problem i have is...say I weigh out some chicken ( 8 oz) , when i type chicken into the food database to look it up...all i get are measurements in cups or grams.....do i just assume that 8 oz is 1 cup and log it in as 1 cup?

sorry... i know its a stupid question..im just getting used to the whole weighing things out before eating. :blushing:

Can you change the units on your food scale? Mine does oz, g, and kg just by pushing a button.

I wish i could! i have an old dinosaur of a scale... it does the job but pretty much sits there and looks at me with the oz weight :huh:

acrego

It would not be a for ever thing, scales really help with portion control.

Once you have used them for a while you get used to what things approximately weigh.

^^This^^

I only recently started using one. I might use it the first time I use an ingredient, maybe a couple times, but then I get an idea what an ounce looks like, and can guesstimate with more confidence. Like the initial post said, you could be WAY off with your guesses if you never check!

Suziq1023

Going to Aldi's tomorrow and get one. Especially for the meat and things that just don't fit in a measuring cup. Are the MFP calories listed at cooked weight or raw weight? I know 1/4 lb. Patty is smaller when it's cooked but don't know if the weight changes. The whole weight/volume thing baffles me.

81Katz

Another thing I wanted to add. They work great when measuring bulky things such as chopped fruit or veggies. I think lots of people eyeball it and say "oh that looks like 1 cup" or they stuff it into a measuring cup and bulky chopped food will never entirely level off at the 1 cup line. Seriously, weight it in grams or ounces, check the data base and compare against those that simply go by the '1 cup' listing.

Eye opening really. Same with some dry food, most don't level off entirely. How do people go about figuring rice and pasta? How does someone eyeball a serving size when it says ounces?

TheFitHooker

I seriously don't know how I lived without one in the pass, I love my food scale

kaiser90

i am buying one today

AlabasterVerve

I haven't found a scale to be necessary at all. Sure, your measurements can be way off without one but they don't have to be. If you buy an 8 ounce package of cheese or 1.67 pounds of chicken breast I just make sure that by the time I've used all of it I've accounted for the total weight. As long as you keep that in mind when you're measuring you're not going to end up eating way more food than you thought you were.

I've been successful so far measuring my food like that and just eating more if I'm hungry or less if I'm not in general--regardless of how many calories are logged in my diary--so maybe that's accounting for any inaccuracies in my measurements? I'm not sure but it's working for me and I don't want the food scales, heart rate monitors, diet foods, books or any of the other diet paraphernalia that's on the market cluttering up my home.

amuhlou

I can understand estimating things like snacks. If my bag of pretzels says 7 pretzels is a serving, I might weigh it once to see how close it is, but I'm not going to weigh that every time.

It's harder to guesstimate when you share foods with other people. My hubby and I both snack on cheese occasionally, so I can't just log an entire bar of cheese as if I'd eaten it, and I'm not going to hover about trying to see how much he's eating.

Another reason I love my scale is for logging recipes into myfitnesspal. We cook 6 nights a week, 4+ portions at a time (2 dinner, 2 lunch). Just recently I made a soup that had a laundry list of ingredients - estimating on that many ingredients can really start to add up.

ElizabethRoad

I easily lost 16 pounds and reached my goal without a food scale. If I had trouble losing the weight, I would have considered buying one, but it never became necessary.

Ceej17

Yes i got one when i first started my diet at Wal-mart for about 20$! Also if you enjoy cooking there are sheets to tell you how much certain things should weight with baking. So instead of measuring a cup of flour you can weight it which is way more accurate.

tubbytracey

I have one and I am not using it.......going to start NOW!

dorkof82

i use mine everyday... best dollar i ever spent. thats right, a buck. 99 cent store has everything...

mfoster1019

i don't know what i would do without my food scale. i use it for EVERYTHING!!!!

fteale

Thanks, but if I got to the stage I was measuring everything I ate, I would consider myself to have an eating disorder. I have managed to lose all the weight I wanted to without one.

Good for you.

I believe the point of the OP is well taken however, especially in this world of gigantic portion sizes.

I believe this is more of an issue in the US than here in the UK.

VanillaBeanSeed

I just bought one yesterday!! Starfrit digital one for 19.99. I really need it mostly for meat and veggies. And the odd thing that is portioned in grams!

JustJennie1

I love my food scale and use it all the time. After a while I can eyeball something and know how many ounces it is but I always double check to make sure I'm right. You would be surprised at how what you might have thought was a serving size is actually two or three servings.

susannamarie

I use it mostly for meat and cheese.