Do you use a kitchen scale?

2

Replies

  • SadKitty27
    SadKitty27 Posts: 416 Member
    A kitchen scale is an absolute must. I use a digital scale, because I feel it's more accurate, and I measure out EVERYTHING. You'd really be surprised in terms of what a serving really is - also, sometimes pre-packaged food doesn't weigh as much (or in some cases more,) than the label indicates.
  • bethanylaugh
    bethanylaugh Posts: 237
    it's an absolute must if you bake from scratch too... Alton Brown says "never measure what you can weigh!"
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    I use one every day, it is an incredible tool for staying accurate
  • Yellerie
    Yellerie Posts: 221 Member
    I love mine & use it all the time. I went with a little more expensive one but I like that I can look up a food code type it in & the exact NI for that food come right up you can google it: Perfect Portions Food Scale + Nutrition Facts it was about $50 although alot of the stores that carry it like bed bath & beyond have coupons avail to bring down the cost
  • freddykid
    freddykid Posts: 265 Member
    I use it to get ball park ideas of what my portion sizes are, I don't use it everyday but I do use it when I bring new food to my diet so I know what I want to eat is.
  • sandy_gee
    sandy_gee Posts: 372 Member
    Most definitely. I have a food weigh scale and discovered that I was seriously UNDERestimating everything. If I had entered the actual weight I wouldn't have been even coming close to 1200 calories.. Probably more like 900 a day. Bad bad bad.

    I just watched local grocery stores and such, and picked one up at Canadian Tire when it went on sale from 29.99 down to 9.99.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    I have this one and i love it, the description in reviews about not taking up counter space is what sealed the deal. I've had mine 4 months now.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E7AZQA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • VTLois
    VTLois Posts: 49
    I am on Medifast and find that if I don't use a scale, I short myself my protein. Just got one from Amazon prime, under 6 bucks. Be sure to check that whatever one you use has ounces and not just grams if you're mathematically challenged like me.
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
    A food scale is more important than a bodyweight scale.

    GET ONE!
  • luckyjuls
    luckyjuls Posts: 505 Member
    I use mine for everything. I have almost done away with measuring cups, since my digital scale measures everything. A scale is the best weight loss tool you can have in your kitchen.

    How do you measure liquids?

    Put the cup on the scale and rezero. Find out the serving size in grams (or oz). Convert from mL if need be. Or figure that one cup equals 8 oz. Pour liquid into cup until it reaches the amount of serving.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    YES.

    Its one of those appliance you don't think you need until you have it then you use it all the time and cant live without it.

    Edited:

    Go digital because its more accurate and they usually have a function that will offset the weight of your container so you get an accurate read of the food in it
  • Tomhoffman84
    Tomhoffman84 Posts: 99
    I weigh everything...

    like sit the frozen yogurt container on the scale and eat out of it until it says 68g everything

    like dropping two extra pieces of cereal to hit 30g everything

    like mangling a perfectly butchered massive chicken breast by cutting off an extra 1 ounce piece just so I can freeze 8 ounce portions of chicken everything

    like "yes wife I really am putting this on the food scale" everything

    It fits in perfectly with my nightly and morning weigh in addiction.
  • mhcoss
    mhcoss Posts: 220
    if you want to accurately track how much your eating a scale is the only way to go.
  • thegilly6
    thegilly6 Posts: 137 Member
    Had one left over from making Pinewood Derby Cars. It's perfect.
  • girlfromOklahoma
    girlfromOklahoma Posts: 129 Member
    I just bought one last week. Still having trouble incorporating it. For instance, I made a meatloaf the other day. Once all the ingredients were combined I had not idea how many calories were in the meatloaf based on its weight. So I just added each ingredient to my log and divided the amount I put in the recipe by 8 since there were 8 servings. If that makes any sense at all.

    I do think it helps a lot though whenever I prepare something that's a single ingredient like a chicken breast or broccoli.
  • SheShe_13
    SheShe_13 Posts: 30 Member
    My digital kitchen scale is one of the best investments I have made. It takes the guess work out of guessing serving sizes. I would definitely recommend purchasing one!
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    Definitely worth it. I use mine every day.
  • wigglingalltheway
    wigglingalltheway Posts: 55
    yes yes yes yes

    It really knocked me back when I realized how far out some of my guesses had been in the past.

    I wouldn't weigh everything every time but say... measure of weight out a known amount such as a dessert spoon of something, then stick to that portion so you know exactly what you are getting each time.

    Before getting really controlled on my weights I could sometimes be as much as 300-400 calories out because of bad guesses. Mostly because manufacturers massively underestimate a "portion" on packets (in the uk where nurtion is listed on packets per portion) and often what I would eat would be nearly double.

    scales are a must at least to build up a feel of what your portions are like.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    I use mine every day. It's a great way to keep yourself in check. I don't measure every single thing I eat but I do check things that I'm not absolutely sure of.
  • NavyWife8396
    NavyWife8396 Posts: 9 Member
    Love my kitchen scale! It's great for accurate measuring, especially while cooking. Before I was underestimating how much a chicken breast weighed. Now there's no question. Use it for measuring dry pasta and cheese too. Excellent kitchen tool!
  • jessicawrites
    jessicawrites Posts: 235 Member
    Aside from the accuracy benefits, mine helps me dirty fewer dishes! It's a much more streamlined process for me to put the mixing bowl on the scale and measure ingredients in one by one, zeroing out in between. I use my measuring cups/spoons sometimes, but many recipes offer weight alongside cup/tbsp measures.
  • cherryd69
    cherryd69 Posts: 340
    Mine is used on a meal basis...

    Iv had mine for ages though cause i bake alot... or i did till iv started this
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    if i make something totally different and want to figure out calories, or i look at what i think is a "serving" and it looks off,i will use mine, but not every day for everything,
    i already had one from making soap , but , it was like 25.00 for a digital it does oz and grams lbs and kg.
    BBB- and had a coupon for it too :D
    target and walmart carry them as well.
  • katinachaos
    katinachaos Posts: 90 Member
    It's especially helpful when measuring stuff like dressing, where 2 tablespoons is really hard to gauge. 2 T of dressing goes just as far as when I eyeball it, and I'm not only not overeating, I'm not wasting all that soggy goo in the bottom of the salad bowl.

    I also use mine to pre-portion out snacks like baked chips so I'm less tempted to just eat out of the bag until I'm stuffed. Again, it saves me money by not having to buy pre-portioned goodies and I eat less, which means a bag of chips or snacks lasts longer, too. Like most of the people said, I don't usually bother measuring greens or even stuff like mushrooms or cucumbers because the number is so small and I always overestimate on stuff I can't readily find values for so I think it evens out in the end.
  • bgardiner49
    bgardiner49 Posts: 86 Member
    I always use it for high calorie foods (pasta, butter etc) where a bad guess makes a big difference
  • luckyjuls
    luckyjuls Posts: 505 Member
    I just bought one last week. Still having trouble incorporating it. For instance, I made a meatloaf the other day. Once all the ingredients were combined I had not idea how many calories were in the meatloaf based on its weight. So I just added each ingredient to my log and divided the amount I put in the recipe by 8 since there were 8 servings. If that makes any sense at all.

    I do think it helps a lot though whenever I prepare something that's a single ingredient like a chicken breast or broccoli.

    That's the correct way to do it. If you want to be even more accurate, to get the proper serving you would divide the weight of the meatloaf by the amount of servings and make sure that each piece is clocking in at about that weight. Ex. 200 oz meatloaf with 20 servings, equals 10 oz a serving.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    I just bought one last week. Still having trouble incorporating it. For instance, I made a meatloaf the other day. Once all the ingredients were combined I had not idea how many calories were in the meatloaf based on its weight. So I just added each ingredient to my log and divided the amount I put in the recipe by 8 since there were 8 servings. If that makes any sense at all.

    I do think it helps a lot though whenever I prepare something that's a single ingredient like a chicken breast or broccoli.

    You have to weigh the ingredient before you cook them, when they are still separate :)
  • tonyrocks922
    tonyrocks922 Posts: 172 Member
    I use mine for everything. I have almost done away with measuring cups, since my digital scale measures everything. A scale is the best weight loss tool you can have in your kitchen.

    How do you measure liquids?

    Put the cup on the scale and rezero. Find out the serving size in grams (or oz). Convert from mL if need be. Or figure that one cup equals 8 oz. Pour liquid into cup until it reaches the amount of serving.

    uh no, different liquids have different densities + you're confusing ounces with fluid ounces.
    1 cup of water and 1 cup of oil will weigh different amounts.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    I measure pretty much all of my food with the exception of certain snacks. Sometimes I have a hard time accurately measuring stuff like peanut butter & ice cream, but I try to get them as close as possible to the stated serving size.
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
    I weigh ALL my food that can't be measured with a measuring cup or spoon. Every kitchen should have one!!!! :wink:

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