why do you use a scale to weigh food?

13

Replies

  • Violetta86
    Violetta86 Posts: 150 Member
    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
    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
    to me, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is half of the jar
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
    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
    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: 633 Member
    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
    would many of you on here recommend a digital scale or does it matter really? :)
  • mrsricta
    mrsricta Posts: 88
    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
    to me, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is half of the jar

    Mmmmm peanut butter!!
  • ladybuggprincess99
    ladybuggprincess99 Posts: 142 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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!!!
  • amosmoses88
    amosmoses88 Posts: 163 Member
    I use a scale, because let's be honest with ourselves here. When we look at food, do we really see 26 grams worth? Or do we see "That looks like a sensible amount."? I just bought the biggest loser Taylor food scale. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it so far. I mean, when something says 3oz portion, I have that scale to get it right. I guess if you're good at just looking and can guess the exact amount that's in it, then you don't need one. lol. But for people like me that see 2tsp when it's a cup, WE RELY ON IT. And eventually I too will get off of MFP, but not for some time...AFTER I reach my goal weight and know exactly what my body needs to maintain a healthy weight. :)
  • Controversial
    Controversial Posts: 157 Member
    1) Everything
    2) Accuracy
  • treagal
    treagal Posts: 264 Member
    I don't weigh all the time...but i like to sometimes just to remind me of what different foods actually weigh. I make my lunches on sunday nights for the week, 1 cup rice, 70-80 grams of fish and vegies. Doing this has revolutionized my eating habits. I actually know how much food I am eating, I LOVE it. :o)
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    After nearly a year of measuring like a fiend I can eyeball an ounce of blue cheese like nobody's business. I may be less accurate about the 6oz wine pour though... *shrug*
  • jmc0806
    jmc0806 Posts: 1,444 Member
    Meh, I've never weighed my food
  • amanda_catherine
    amanda_catherine Posts: 101
    why do you weigh yourself on a scale and not just look in the mirror?
  • melbatoast917
    melbatoast917 Posts: 370 Member
    Because I challenge you to correctly guesstimate the weight of your chicken, fish, steak, etc. Also, by weighing your food in grams you sometimes get more than if you were to go by the secondary measurement (cup, half cup, etc.)
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I use it when I cook to accurately measure ingredients from a recipe. I also use it to measure servings of almost everything I eat. It takes very little extra time, and it gives me certainty about my calories.

    Personally, I don't mind counting calories and weighing food for the rest of my life. I mean, I'm not so anal about the scale that I can't enjoy a meal out or eat 'unmeasured' food at a friend's house. But when I'm home, I just think it's an easy and sensible way to keep my weight on track.

    All it takes is 50 extra calories above and beyond your TDEE to gain five pounds in a year. I gained about 3-5 pounds a year every year over 15 years because of slightly overeating. Measuring and counting helped me get back to where want to be, and have helped me maintain since June of 2012. I don't want to go back to my old ways. :smile:
  • mikkimomof3
    mikkimomof3 Posts: 224 Member
    It helps because it's accurate. I weigh everything. I'm pretty good at eyeballing/guessing how much something weighs now, but that only came from lots of experience using a scale.

    This :)
  • jessamynwest
    jessamynwest Posts: 14 Member
    would many of you on here recommend a digital scale or does it matter really? :)

    I got the cheapest one I could from Amazon. It does ounces and grams which I think is helpful and it's got a little tray you can put stuff in it. For me the big thing (after peanut butter) was cheese. Love cheese. Wasn't good at figuring out what an ounce of cheese was. If you're trying to be serious about counting your calories, weighing it is the best way to be able to do that. Plus you learn all sorts of great math multiplying and dividing ("Okay that says 3 oz is this many cals but I ate 2 oz which means I type .66 in the box and ..."). After you do it for a while you get good at estimating. When you start you tend to be bad at estimating.

    edited to add: mine's not digital. I like having a digital one to weigh myself, don't care as much for weighing my food.

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