why do you use a scale to weigh food?

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  • Violetta86
    Violetta86 Posts: 150 Member
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    It's accurate and it allows you to visualize what a proper portion looks like. Once you have it memorized, it's easier to log properly when eating out etc...I love my food scale.
  • AmberleyAngel
    AmberleyAngel Posts: 160 Member
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    I weigh almost everything. I am determined to be the person I want to be (physically) and if weighing my food is somerthing I need to do, I do it gladly. I'm a litle fanatical when it comes to weighing and recording everything that goes into my mouth.

    Like others have commented, judging the size of a serving by estimate is often way off. There are so many variables - length, width, height, density, frozen vs fresh....... It's also a way of training your brain to a new way of eating - appropriate portion sizes of all sorts of foods. Do it long enough and you will be able to make an estimate fairly closely without scales.

    I like how the scales keep me accountable for what I'm eating.
  • buda12345
    buda12345 Posts: 142 Member
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    to me, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is half of the jar
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
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    I do it now because I was soooo surprised at how much more I was giving myself vs how much was actually a serving. Like tonight for example, I am treating myself to Papa Johns (yay! 50% off coupon!). I even weighed my slices because each serving slice on the website was 130g. I wanted to make sure my slices were on or around that and put it into my diary correctly. That way I can get a more accurate counting of my calories.

    Sometimes it can be the difference of having a treat later, or being over your calories.
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
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    The scale is giving me the tools I need to not need to use the scale. I'm learning what 4 oz of meat or chicken or fish looks like, and it's a lot smaller than what I hoped it was. When I was eyeballing food I wasn't even close. Now it's a game - what will the weight be of what i'm putting on the scale?
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 646 Member
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    I weigh some things but not everything. Most people have no idea what a proper serving size really is! it can make a huge difference with calories at the end of the day.
  • balancedbrunette
    balancedbrunette Posts: 530 Member
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    would many of you on here recommend a digital scale or does it matter really? :)
  • mrsricta
    mrsricta Posts: 88
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    I measure my food for the most part and count out my pretzel sticks etc. I use my food scale to weigh things such as meat where the serving size is listed in ounces or grams that way I know I am logging what I am eating accurately! I don't weigh EVERYTHING but I do at least measure. After a couple of months of doing this I can pretty closely eyeball my serving sizes.
  • mrsricta
    mrsricta Posts: 88
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    to me, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is half of the jar

    Mmmmm peanut butter!!
  • ladybuggprincess99
    ladybuggprincess99 Posts: 142 Member
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    I'm still learning what actual portions are. Besides, I'd rather know specifically what I'm eating in stead of guessing and being wrong, under or over. It doesn't take up much time and my little ol' scale is just another thing on the table. :)
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
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    When I first started I thought only really nutty people about losing weight would weigh their food. Guess I am nuts!! I find it so much more accurate than shoving food in cups and counting chips ect. I feel better knowing that my numbers are accurate now and I am not just saying that looks like 4 oz ect. I even use my food scale to measure meat before I freeze it. I use it to help weigh portions so when I do a recipe I know that my homemade soup made 8 10 oz bowls. I have even measured my short shorts compared to my slightly longer shorts to see what the weight difference is for weigh ins lol it was only 6 oz so I don't sweat it anymore.
  • ladybuggprincess99
    ladybuggprincess99 Posts: 142 Member
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    I like my digital scale. It was $20 from Walmart, but it goes from oz to grams, which makes life easier. :)
  • 3ddierocksteady
    3ddierocksteady Posts: 18
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    I track my macros to a tee so that is why I use a food scale because "Eyeballing" won't cut it.
  • teaspoon43
    teaspoon43 Posts: 238 Member
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    I use mine when nutrition facts only give oz, gram, etc... I also use measuring cups and spoons. I've only recently started MFP and getting used to visualizing the proper amounts. I hope in a few months I will be able to be not completely reliant but it really doesn't bother me. It also helps with my budget because you actually get the correct number of servings :)
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Because sometimes you have that one weird food that's going to leave gaps and you're trying to decide...is that really 1/4 of a cup? I've discovered that the grams usually works better in those situations.
  • SmallMimi
    SmallMimi Posts: 541 Member
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    All about accuracy. Started weighing when I failed to lose weight. Eyeballing/estimating and hoping I wasn't packing too much in cups just wasn't cutting it. Once I started weighing my food, the pounds started dropping on the other scale I stand on.
  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
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    I have a digital scale and I use it every day.

    It's fine to think that you know what measurements look like - but using a scale shows you what they really look like. The YouTube link above is a great example. I still remember the first time I weighed museli - I was having 3-4 times the correct serving size!

    I use my scale so I know what calories are going in my body. A great easy way of measuring is to put the container of say yoghurt (for example) on the scale, bring it to zero and then scoop out a 100g serving. I can still lick the spoon and know that only 100g came out of the bulk yoghurt container.

    By measuring things at home, I am able to eyeball foods when I am eating out, and have a good idea of what they are going to weigh and therefore cost me in calories. It's one more tool that I have to help me win the war against fat and get to my goal. I'd hate to waste 6 months and then realise I should have been weighing my food all along. Why not start now, learn, progress.

    And I look forward to being a little old lady one day, weighing my food if and when I feel I need to do so.

    Good luck!
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
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    i am a numbers girl. I've been taking the whole "calories in vs. calories out" mantra literally and it's been working for me. Thinking of weight loss in math just works for me.
    I don't weigh everything, but I measure most things. I use my measuring cups and tbsp's the most. I weigh out pasta dry, then after its cooked I weigh all of it on the scale, and then use the scale to portion it out for my family members and myself. Just a few strards of linguini add up to an ounce real quick. I weigh my apple after I cut it so I don't count the weight of the core. Hey! Lets me have a hershey's kiss!
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
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    I use a scale. It's nice to know, for sure, how much I am eating. After a while, I can eyeball it, and sometimes I do, but it doesn't hurt to weigh. It takes like two seconds. I just don't understand why people think that weighing is such a hardship. If you are counting calories, you should be weighing because nothing else is more accurate.

    Eventually I am going to stop counting calories and I will probably more or less stop using the scale, but that will only happen after I feel very confident in how much a true portion size is and that can only come from using a scale as often as I possibly can.
  • amosmoses88
    amosmoses88 Posts: 163 Member
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    because I don't "see" a normal portion size. I need something to help me know what's really a portion.

    AMEN AMEN AMEN! AND ANOTHER AMEN!!!

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