food scales...necessary or obsessive

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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'd say this...if you're eating 1200 calories per day and you're gaining/mainting then a food scale is necessary because you can't estimate for ****...

    **medical condition and short and old disclaimer of course**
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I would also add, as someone who has had some culinary schooling, I used a food scale long before I ever joined MFP or attempted to lose weight. IMHO, it is a basic tool that should be in any kitchen...not having one is kinda like not having some of the more basic tools in your tool box in the garage.

    yeah, we are missing basic tools in the garage too. *shrugs*

    that's horrible...
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    I don’t think food scales are necessarily necessary or make you obsessive, but if you are going to go through the effort to log everything you eat and drink, a scale is essential to increasing your accuracy - unless you eat everything in the exact servings on the package.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'd buy one just for the soup. I keep buying cans that have '2 servings' and can go anywhere from 1.8 to 2.5 servings.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
    It is essential for things I know I can eat a lot of.:blushing:
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I love my scale. I wouldn't call it obsessive to make sure I'm getting the proper amount of food/nutrition I need. Before my scale I was seriously wrong about pretty much everything I was eyeballing. A chicken breast alone was like 2.5 servings to what I would think was at most 1.5. It's no wonder I gained weight through the years. I can't trust my eyes to know how much is right, but I can trust my kitchen scale!
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I think eventually we need to learn to ride our bikes without training wheels. Use it for a while to get a feel for how much stuff weights and then use visual portions like a deck of cards, etc. I can understand how folks would be confused at first but seriously if you eat oatmeal in the same bowl every day, can't you tell how much is in there? :noway:
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    It really depends on how accurate you want to be.
  • amyliz810
    amyliz810 Posts: 6
    I measure my food so I can learn what a serving is. Once I got it, I stop. It would make me too obsessive
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    If that's really all you eat, you don't need one.

    for the most part. i will eat some crackers here and there (which I count). and some Peanut Flour (which I measure--but should probably weigh)....but I try to keep it very loose...not compact when scooping.

    Your daily calories must be low, depending on who much of these you eat that is.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
    A food scale is totally necessary. I weigh everything. EVERYTHING. In grams. Even prepackaged meals because I have found many times the amount is either way more or more often way less! I'm cheating myself out of calories I could be eating by not weighing it. I do not however take it with me out to eat. I’ve been weighing for long enough now to grasp what I’m eating when I happen to be out. I got mine at BBB for like 25 bucks and it converts between grams and ounces.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Necessary for the obsessive.

    This

    Depends on your situation, for me, completely impractical as I eat in hotels 3-4 days a week.
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    If you are getting the results you expect without using a scale, you probably don't *need* one. I guesstimate portions and calories , but I also figured my calorie goal based on the results of that guesstimating, and eat a lot of the same foods, so the consistent inaccuracy works for me, if that makes any sense. If I log to that goal, I lose weight. If I eat more, I gain. Who knows what the actual number is, but the outcome is predictable, and that's all I care about at this point. All of the tools we have (MFP, scales, fitbits, HRM) are there to help us gain enough information to get the results we want. Use what works for you.
  • CharityGC
    CharityGC Posts: 499 Member
    I weigh most everything. I didn't have to purchase a food scale because my husband already had one for brewing beer. I prefer to be as specific as I can when counting calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Also, I'm the cook for my household...I'm cooking for multiple people...I need to make sure I get my appropriate serving (which is most of the food) and everyone else can have the rest...a food scale works pretty good for that.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
    The scale helps me repackage meat it for meal planning. :smile:
  • Lovestoscrapbook
    Lovestoscrapbook Posts: 295 Member
    Necessary for me...don't consider it obsessive at all. For me it helps ensure that my portion sizes are accurate.
  • Flabulousss
    Flabulousss Posts: 106
    I've never had trouble losing weight without one... (I just have trouble keeping it off, solely out of discipline. lol) I mean I already know that you have to leave the scoops a bit empty inside. I just hate seeing photographic illustrations of why we all NEED to use a scale, and they show people doing heaping cupfuls of everything, or giant dollops of peanut butter "guesstimated" to be 1 tablespoon. Some of us aren't that stupid... I find it ridiculously condescending. Anyway, I personally don't find it necessary, but everyone's answer will depend on their own experience. If I stopped losing weight, then I might think about getting one.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I love my digital scale. Here's what I learned?

    1/4 cup/28 grams of almonds--pour that 1/4 cup of almonds onto the scale and it will undoubtedly come out to more than 28 grams.

    Fruit should be weighted because 1 small apple is not the same as 177 grams may be an even smaller apple.

    Necessary for me for accuracy.
  • lisa35120
    lisa35120 Posts: 230 Member
    I've never had trouble losing weight without one... (I just have trouble keeping it off, solely out of discipline. lol) I mean I already know that you have to leave the scoops a bit empty inside. I just hate seeing photographic illustrations of why we all NEED to use a scale, and they show people doing heaping cupfuls of everything, or giant dollops of peanut butter "guesstimated" to be 1 tablespoon. Some of us aren't that stupid... I find it ridiculously condescending. Anyway, I personally don't find it necessary, but everyone's answer will depend on their own experience. If I stopped losing weight, then I might think about getting one.

    I agree with this! I don't think it's necessary. I lost over 20 pounds previously, the first time I was on mfp, without a scale. I know I underestimate some things and overestimate others, but I guess it evens out.
  • ndwildbill
    ndwildbill Posts: 74 Member
    Having a good scale was very necessary for me to learn portion sizes. I continue to weigh nearly everything at home. That has helped me be better at estimating portion size and calories when eating out.
  • sola24
    sola24 Posts: 334 Member
    call me old fashioned.. but I feel its a bit obsessive.. I think we can lose weight with a little tweaking here and there.. besides how did people do it before there were any.. or how about the people who cant afford it? Coming from a third world nation, I always feel its kind of a luxury.. not a necessity.. for general people like us.. now if u are professionally into something which concerns body building and weight loss then its a good idea to get one..
  • Blacklance36
    Blacklance36 Posts: 755 Member
    Both, but a necessary evil.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Neither adjective in the title describes how I feel about the use of food scales.

    I don't feel the need to use one now, but I don't think someone is obsessive because he or she uses one.
  • EMTFreakGirl
    EMTFreakGirl Posts: 597 Member
    Couldn't live without mine. I weigh out almost everything...especially dressings and such. 1 TBSP is WAY DIFFERENT than 15-17 grams. My kitchen scale keeps me honest! Veggies and such are better weighed, too. I can weigh in the form I want, by that I mean, and for example, asparagus. In order to fit it in a measuring cup I have to break it into pieces...takes a bit of joy out of that particular treat. Of course there are somethings that I don't have to weigh, like Happy Heifer wedges. (Laughing Cow) I don't take it "out" with me, but I will pre-weigh items and pack them in ziplocks. Tomorrow I am having Pineapple Teriyaki Pork wraps with bell pepper strips and bean sprouts. I have the pork and the veggies pre-portioned into baggies and will assemble when I'm ready to eat. Makes life easy!

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