Do you use a food scale?

micheleb15

I see people talk about food scales on here and I never thought I needed one. I feel like I can figure out serving size of most everything I eat. Eggs, bacon, toast, rice, beans, edamame, potatoes, carrots, etc. I usually just use a measuring cup, if I am unsure. What do you use a food scale to measure? I stepped on the scale this morning for the frist time in weeks and I am still up three pounds from when I started. I thought after 5 weeks, it would creep down, but it hasn't.

Before I lower calories, I thought a food scale would be a good purchase. Has it been a good eye opener for you? Any recommendations?

kr1stadee

I use mine many times a day. I weigh my veggies, meats, pastas, treats like chocolate and crisper thingies... I weigh them all.

You may be underestimating your calories by quite a bit, and over time, that adds up!

Invest in a scale! I use a digital scale now, so much more accurate!!

JustJennie1

I use a food scale for EVERYTHING. You use it to, well, measure your food. For example: 1 oz of cheese, 3 oz. of carrots, 4 oz. of pork etc. etc. You will be surprised at how easy it is to overestimate the serving size of foods. I've gotten good at eyeballing items but I still throw them on the scale to double check.

cricket_77

Yup..I use it for everything. The only things that I don't use it for are prepackaged items...protein bars, etc.

selina884

I use it to weigh rice, pasta and all meats.poultry.

I don't weigh veg.

Hab1978

I agree with the above comments. I actually think that a food scale is MORE important than your body weight scale. You'd be surprised at how easily you can over calculate foods if you aren't weighing them.

MacDHH

I love using a scale because there's no more washing up measuring spoons and cups: I just chuck everything on my plate and zero out the scale in between each item. I find it best to measure the raw weight, as cooking can affect the weight (mostly because of water absorption or water loss). For my personal recipes, I figure out the total calories, weigh the end product, and then figure out the calories per 100 g. That way, it is easy to figure out the calories in my own serving.

socajam

I had a shock when I weighed 2 ounces of tuna. I never realized how much 2 ounces was. Now instead of eating 2 ounces, I have 1 - 1 1/2 ounces, which makes a big difference when you are counting calories.

I weigh everything I put into my mouth, even the mix bag lettuce.

AmyRhubarb

I do for a lot of things. I was surprised to find that I had been over and under estimating a lot of things. It's nice to have the right info on just how much I'm actually eating so I know it's logged correctly.

shivles

Yes I use mine several times a day, I don't weigh everything, if it's easy to determine serving size eg 5 cherry tomatoes I don't bother. I do however weigh all meat, fish, rice, pasta and generally most things, if I weigh it out enough times I don't have to anymore but I was amazed how much I was going over portion sizes, once you weigh out that 30g of cereal in the morning and see how little it is you'll weigh everything! Also 75g of pasta is like 15 pasta twists, it's nothing like the plateful I used to have.

I find knowing the recommended serving size helps me keep on track too, I know I've weighed out all I need so if I'm hungry after I just ignore it instead of eating more. It really did change my perception on food portions.

Scarlett_Belle

Love mine- my idea of portion were not accurate at all and my scales has pretty much saved me from eating a few thousand calories over. I would recommend it personally. I got mine for $6 and it weighs food up to seven pounds.

cajungirltx

I do at home and work.

GODfidence

I had a shock when I weighed 2 ounces of tuna. I never realized how much 2 ounces was. Now instead of eating 2 ounces, I have 1 - 1 1/2 ounces, which makes a big difference when you are counting calories.

I weigh everything I put into my mouth, even the mix bag lettuce.

2 ounces of tuna is only 50 calories......

MercenaryNoetic26

Heck yes! I use it daily for anything from cheetos to avocados. It puts a halt to mindless munching.

XXXMinnieXXX

It'll make a huge difference. For me it's one of the most important weight loss tools! Invaluable!

Zara

saxmaniac

If you've never used a food scale, you have NO CLUE what's going into your mouth. Measurment by volume is very error-prone for a lot of things.

You don't always have to use it forever, but you need to calibrate your eye/mind, at first, and learn to estimate better.

It's more important than a bodyweight scale.

LisaH1967

I love my food scale. I use it all the time. You really should invest in one, I think you would be surprised.

MercenaryNoetic26

I had a shock when I weighed 2 ounces of tuna. I never realized how much 2 ounces was. Now instead of eating 2 ounces, I have 1 - 1 1/2 ounces, which makes a big difference when you are counting calories.

I weigh everything I put into my mouth, even the mix bag lettuce.

2 ounces of tuna is only 50 calories......

Lmbo I eat the whole big can in one sitting!

ETA: if theres one thing you dont need to weigh its iceberg lettuce. Measuring cups whenever possible can be simpler.

Healthydiner65

I weigh everything.Even potato chips! I find I underestimate if I don't weigh!

SmartAlec03211988

ALWAYS. You may THINK you're good at eyeballing, but I assure you that you will be SHOCKED just how much a serving of anything actually is. Measuring cups/spoons are NOTORIOUSLY inaccurate. None of my measuring cups are accurate after putting them on the scale and comparing them to a real serving size.

RunWinterGarden

Definitely, they are awesome.

fergie918

That is a very good idea. I am going to get one. No more guessing my portion size.

micheabr

Only just bought one so I use it for everything haha. I've realised how much I underestimated how much I was eating

GODfidence

I had a shock when I weighed 2 ounces of tuna. I never realized how much 2 ounces was. Now instead of eating 2 ounces, I have 1 - 1 1/2 ounces, which makes a big difference when you are counting calories.

I weigh everything I put into my mouth, even the mix bag lettuce.

2 ounces of tuna is only 50 calories......

Lmbo I eat the whole big can in one sitting!

Me too! I hate when people buy tuna and then complain about the smell when I'm eating it.
I'm sorry fish smells like....fish?

JaimeLoves2run

I weigh everything also. The biggest shocker for me was Peanutbutter. I enjoy PB on my toast. 2 Tablespoons is completely different than 32g. I was eating way more pb than I should. Also Just a slice of bread. On the package it says, for example, 80 calories for 1 slice (24g). I actually weighed a slice of bread and most times it weighs closer to 30g. Which means there is not 80 calories in that particular slice but there is instead 100 calories. Now if you have 2 slices of that based on what the package says, you are eating 40 more calories then you are logging. Do that all day long and you could be off by 200 plus calories. So you think your under at the end of the day and actually you could be 200 calories over. By the end of the week, No wonder the scale doesn't move if not possibly even go the wrong way. Trust me, when I started accurately weighing my food, the Body scale started dropping again : )

Daysednconfused

I use mine for everything also. I started out just using it for meat, veggies, etc., then I weighed what I thought was tbsp of something and it was QUITE a few more grams than what the gram serving was for that tbsp. When you are talking about a few grams of peanut butter or butter, you can go over on calories by quite a lot!

I bought a digital scale from Walmart. I'm pretty sure it was $20, but much more accurate than the non digital type. It doesn't have a brand name on the scale for me to tell you, but it has an attached glass weigh surface.

queenbea77

When I buy a bag of grilled chicken for my salads I weigh it out and put it in baggies then toss them in the freezer. I measure everything else (ie 1/2 cup cottage cheese). It all depends on what I am having. If something calls for an actual weight then I weigh, if it calls for a measurement then I measure. Especially my dressing for my salad.

jennieodwyer

Yes I weigh everything in grams now. I used to measure using cups and tablespoons but found the scale to be much more accurate. I agree that just weighing your food to see correct portions will be a real eye opener before you even get to dieting!

PaytraB

I always use a scale or measuring cup. I was surprised at first how much I was overestimating a portion. The scale is really helping me see what a true portion is. It's a bit of a bother to measure and weigh everything but it's very eye-opening.

ashlinmarie

I love my food scale! I was overestimating on things like peanut butter and underestimating on chicken...plus mfp has most "medium" apples as 80 calories....well my "medium" apples are 195-220 grams which is like 30-40 calories. same with bananas. It is just good to know my calorie count is closer to my target now.

toaster6

I use it for everything. I notice a big difference between a serving when I use a measuring cup and a scale-- sometimes it looks like I get more food, sometimes less.