Do you use a food scale?

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Replies

  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
    Yep, definitely use a food scale every single day. It's especially useful for when you're baking or cooking. It's a shock when you start weighing your food vs using what the packaging labels say. I have an Eatsmart digital red scale that I love. Got it on Amazon last year.
  • Patovader
    Patovader Posts: 439 Member
    The short answer is yes.

    Also, don't blindly follow the calories / nutrition information on this site as there are many errors. I have spent a large amount of time correcting the errors as I come across them. Many food companies put calories etc in large writing on packaging and then in tiny print put per serving...
  • elisabeisme
    elisabeisme Posts: 308 Member
    I was using measuring cups/spoons for a year and got a scale about a month ago.

    I found that I was overestimating tablespoons - when I measure out a tablespoon of honey/peanut butter/olive oil, I'm really only getting about 2/3 to 3/4 because I was being overly careful not to overfill and also because of the amount left on the spoon after I put it into my dish. I was overestimating protein because I was using the grocery store raw meat/chicken sold weight, but then entering it as cooked food/not eating bits left in the pan. I was underestimating carbs. Cereal has broken down in the package and 3/4 of a cup frequently is the weight of one cup according to the package. Also, when a package says serving size "12 crackers" or "5 cookies", it's almost always fewer pieces than it says on the package.

    So, the scale has helped me realize that I need to eat more protein & fat and much less carbs.
  • nicoleknapp754
    nicoleknapp754 Posts: 53
    I have a digital scale that I use that can be set grams or ounces. It comes with a book that gives you codes for different foods and will give you not only the weight but calories, carbs, fiber, protein, etc. I use my scale for meats, nuts, vegetables . When I buy meats I divide up the meat into meal size servings - 8 oz as I am freezing the portions in zip lock bags. Once you enter an item on myfitness pal you can adjust the serving size up or down . Just remember to indicate the ounces of your serving size you entered.
  • mrsburghart
    mrsburghart Posts: 166 Member
    I just bought this scale not too long ago and I love it!
    http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365088992&sr=8-1&keywords=food+scale

    You should definitely consider getting one. Eyeballing and using measuring spoons/cups just didn't cut it for me! This works SO MUCH better. I love knowing close to exact the number of calories I'm eating per day.
  • Thyme4change
    Thyme4change Posts: 46 Member
    Use it everyday, every leaves the counter...I agree...food scale over the wt scale.

    Tip...
    When wanting to weight a serving and it is in a bag or jar..like mayo.
    .. I just put the jar on the scale BEFORE turning it on!
    ..it says zero.
    ..then I remove what I guess to be a TBL of mayo. Remove the mayo and spoon from jar while it is still on the scale.
    ..then once the mayo and spoon is removed it should read .5 oz or 14g if I guessed right. it will show as a minus for obvious reasons.

    I find this is more convenient when I I just want to grab a few nuts, or following/making up a recipe. .Plus when when I put a big dinner plate on my tiny scale I cant read the numbers.

    It is also how I have learned to be a pretty good judge of my food servings when I am out and can wt anything...

    Good Luck which ever you decide...
  • petercruzs
    petercruzs Posts: 8
    RELIGIOUSLY! I got mine for about $16 on Amazon. My family thinks I'm going a little overboard by measuring everything, but it's soooo worth it.

    I have one question though: Do you guys measure things raw or cooked?
  • anupama1234
    anupama1234 Posts: 10
    even i am gonna buy d scale....do u get it easily
  • mrsfrosty61
    mrsfrosty61 Posts: 4 Member
    I use a food scale daily...for everything! I really like the XXOO brand that I got from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's very accurate and easy to use.
  • fabry12
    fabry12 Posts: 32 Member
    I use it on daily basis for pasta, rice, flour, any snack food, nuts, oil. It is hard ti guess on the exact portion size. I do not use for veggie since they are very low in calories anyway.
  • mumtoonegirl
    mumtoonegirl Posts: 586 Member
    I do for meat mainly. I can figure out veggies and fruit with a measuring cup but example I am having a small steak tonight with my dinner so I weighted it to assure it was the size I was estimating.
  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
    I use a digital scale that I can zero out so that I can put a plate on it, zero out the weight of the plate and figure out exactly how many ounces of meat I have, etc.

    I like the precision of using a food scale, and it was like $25 on Amazon.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I weigh everything cups of some items can vary in weight due to the volume they take up being variable.So to be accurate weighing is the only way to be accurate
  • angelique_redhead
    angelique_redhead Posts: 782 Member
    I use mine almost constantly. I have a bad tendency to under or over estimate meat depending on how much bone is in it. If I weigh the meat then weigh the bone after I'm done I get the accurate amount of meat once the bone is subtracted from the meat and bone total. Other things I tend to be more accurate about but it's taken years of practice. I got mine at Harbor Freight and it weighs up to 1000 grams. It also weighs in pounds and ounces. It was under $20.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    I use a digital scale for basically everything with the exception of snacks that are boxed in individual serving sizes or have the amount you should have per serving on the box.
  • SlimSumday
    SlimSumday Posts: 379 Member
    I have one from when I joined Weight Watchers back in the 80's. I use it all the time!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I use a food scale to measure nearly everything. Salad items (the low calorie things like lettuce, cucumber) I tend to eyeball and log approximate portion or volume.

    To be honest, I used a food scale for following recipes, especially for baking, long before I was counting calories, so it feels natural to me.

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