Anyone else use a kitchen scale?

Ours came today just as well i have been eating more than i should be it'll now be used daily did not think i'd ever use one until i found MFP...

i weigh everything. EVERYTHING!!

i no longer bake using measuring cups. i convert everything to the metric system. instead of measuring out 2 cups of flour, i weigh 250g of flour. just pour in a bowl and weigh. it is more precise and much easier.

i also measure out liquids in milliliters and deciliters. again...much more exact.

it also makes everything much easier because here in europe, nutritional information is based on 100g per serving. everything is divisible by 100. i can't stand how in the US everything is labeled in ounces. so i have to count out 28 potato chips if i want 1 serving. well, what if 1 potato chip is smaller than another? how exact can this really be?

I live with my measuring spoon, cups and scales. the kids know when it comes to dish up time as I shout for a pen and paper to log it all down.

I weigh and measure everything!!!


:drinker: :drinker:

i weigh everything. EVERYTHING!!

i no longer bake using measuring cups. i convert everything to the metric system. instead of measuring out 2 cups of flour, i weigh 250g of flour. just pour in a bowl and weigh. it is more precise and much easier.

i also measure out liquids in milliliters and deciliters. again...much more exact.

it also makes everything much easier because here in europe, nutritional information is based on 100g per serving. everything is divisible by 100. i can't stand how in the US everything is labeled in ounces. so i have to count out 28 potato chips if i want 1 serving. well, what if 1 potato chip is smaller than another? how exact can this really be?

Back in the 70's, we were told in school that the U.S. was going to move to the metric system. I don't know what derailed that plan, but I have a feeling it was lobbying by people who make tools and measuring instruments. They get to sell two systems instead of one. Seems to me it would have been very logical to lose the imperial system and move to metric. Nearly every other nation on earth uses the metric system. Makes no sense to keep imperial.

I use my scale to weigh my meats. This way I actually know how much I'm eating, no guessing!

Back in the 70's, we were told in school that the U.S. was going to move to the metric system. I don't know what derailed that plan, but I have a feeling it was lobbying by people who make tools and measuring instruments. They get to sell two systems instead of one. Seems to me it would have been very logical to lose the imperial system and move to metric. Nearly every other nation on earth uses the metric system. Makes no sense to keep imperial.

Pure stubbornness. A lot of America, much like bits of the UK, are very picky about the perception of "their" systems being replaced with outside ones, even if they're clearly better. Same reason that in the UK we've only converted to metric what the EU has insisted on (food weights being one of them). We now have a ridiculous hybrid system where food and drink comes in grams and millilitres, but road signs are in miles. Petrol is sold in litres but consumption rates are given in MPG, so it's impossible to work out the consumption cost rate without using a calculator.

I personally always use metric (unless I'm in a car), and measure my own weight in kg and height in cm, but even that's confusing for others as 99.9% of Brits can only tell you their weight in stones and lbs (as far as I'm aware we're the only country in the known universe to use a stone (14lb) as a measurement for anything), so if they ask my weight and I say 79kg they have no idea what that means.

Before mine broke last week, I used it all the time.

Payday is tomorrow and I'll be getting a new one then.

Pure stubbornness. A lot of America, much like bits of the UK, are very picky about the perception of "their" systems being replaced with outside ones, even if they're clearly better. Same reason that in the UK we've only converted to metric what the EU has insisted on (food weights being one of them). We now have a ridiculous hybrid system where food and drink comes in grams and millilitres, but road signs are in miles. Petrol is sold in litres but consumption rates are given in MPG, so it's impossible to work out the consumption cost rate without using a calculator.

I personally always use metric (unless I'm in a car), and measure my own weight in kg and height in cm, but even that's confusing for others as 99.9% of Brits can only tell you their weight in stones and lbs (as far as I'm aware we're the only country in the known universe to use a stone (14lb) as a measurement for anything), so if they ask my weight and I say 79kg they have no idea what that means.

Wow. The UK is more messed up than the US. We supposedly have adopted metric as the standard for weights and measures, however, it is purely voluntary. We use it in science, medical, and the armed forces. It's really silly to have a mix going. Everyone hates change, but the best way to achieve change is to go all in, not just dabble. I work in IT, and experience this every day. People want to stick to what they know and don't want to change even if the change is for the better.

yup! I use it for everything! I even weigh my milk for my protein shake!!! Best purchase I ever made!

I just bought one on groupon yesterday. Hope to get it soon.

Yes, I do - I weigh all my food; everything!

I would not eat if I didn't have one of these! I love mine!

One question for the Americans here on imperial that I've never got; I've noticed when searching through the food DB on MFP that whilst things have measurements in grams or ounces depending on who put in the entry, there are measures of rice, pasta and vegetables in 'cups'. What exactly is a cup? As it sounds like a literal "cup", ie a measure of volume, but you can't possibly hope to accurately measure a solid food using a volume measurement. Have I misunderstood it completely or are actual cups used as a not-particularly-good way of measuring foodstuffs?

Yes, a cup is a measurement of volume. A cup is 8 fluid ounces (and is completely different than ounces of weight). Further complicating what shouldn't be complex at all. I get mad when I see cups used to measure solids as well. I enter watermelon and see it measured in cups. It's mind boggling. In some cases, it's easier. For instance, we measure spices in teaspoons and tablespoons. If it were grams, you'd have to use a scale. Instead, we use measuring spoons.

I always thought food scales were sort of silly, but I found one on Amazon for $5. It seemed OK, it had a "zero out" feature. We have a Prime membership, so Amazon said I could have it shipped 2-Day Priority for free. I figured it was worth a $5 gamble, right?

RIGHT.

It's been so helpful! How much chicken are we really eating? Just how much linguine constitutes 2 ounces? I know the bag says that a serving size is 15 potato chips, but is that big ones or small ones? Now I know. I used to be unable to have snacks in the house because I'd eat them all in a flash. With the scale, I'm able to prepackage little 1-oz servings for myself . Just enough to tide me over when I'm feeling nibbly!

Thank you, food scale. You are small and cute and fun and helpful. I love you.