Do you use a food scale?

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2

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  • whiteheaddg
    whiteheaddg Posts: 325 Member
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    Have used one daily going on two years. There was a lot of pushback from the wife for a while after I reached my weight goal (about a year in), but now it is just accepted. EVERYTHING gets weighed or measured unless I'm consuming the entirety of what is on a packaging label (protein bar, lauging cow cheese wedge, 1/2 gallon of ice cream, etc.)

    The hard part is really making it part of your routine. Like anything, it will become a habit after a period - a healthy one.

    I bought my digitial scale for ~$20 at a bed, bath, & beyond. Not fancy at all, but does imperial/metric and has a zeroize button. All you need.

    Also, if you're a baker, weighing your ingredients is much faster/cleaner than measuring.
  • GlitterrMagpie
    GlitterrMagpie Posts: 302 Member
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    Yes definitely. I had been giving myself far too big portion sizes for things like potatoes, pasta & rice. It was quite an eye opener seeing what a serving size actually was!!
  • laursoar
    laursoar Posts: 131 Member
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    Yes! I have no doubt that it makes a difference as I wouldn't be able to measure nearly as accurately or quickly without it. I tend to prepare the majority of my meals and snacks at home too and that preparation relies on the food scale.

    I bought one of the $20 digital food scales from Target. It's been working like a gem for me since September.
  • missjones513
    missjones513 Posts: 345 Member
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    Yes, they are very useful. I like the Cuisinart one I got from Bed, Bath and Beyond
  • cactuswax
    cactuswax Posts: 77 Member
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    you guys are great... thank you! I'll have to pick one up this week and give it a try :)
  • Maggie_Pie1
    Maggie_Pie1 Posts: 322 Member
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    I think they are important for calorie dense foods, where eye-balling it can mean a difference of 100 calories or more. Like Cheese, for example. Or nuts. But for things like vegetables, where if I'm off an ounce or two, it's not a big deal, I don't bother.
  • janatarnhem
    janatarnhem Posts: 669 Member
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    Yes! My eyes over estimate! Salter do great electronic scales for around £20!
  • AngieZumba
    AngieZumba Posts: 4 Member
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    ABSOLUTELY, it's a MUST in my opinion; at least for cereals, grains, and meats. you'd be surprised at the results! It absolutely helped me diet and stay on track.
    I have the BIGGEST LOSER scale.
  • GradatimFerociter
    GradatimFerociter Posts: 296 Member
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    No, but I would use one if I had one.

    It's on the (long) list.
  • FaylinaMeir
    FaylinaMeir Posts: 661 Member
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    I do use a scale but its not helpful on this website from what I've found? maybe I'm doing something wrong but 90% of the time the foods I go to enter (even like fruit and veg) don't have grams as a choice of measurement.
  • christinemadden0223
    christinemadden0223 Posts: 175 Member
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    YES!!!! and measuring spoons and measuring cups! It's important to know how much a serving size looks like. This also trains you to be able to eyeball a portion at a restaurant. I forget what brand mine is, but any digital scale will be easy to work with and mine does both pounds/oz and grams. I never measure salad or veggies, but meat=always, pasta= 90% of the time and other high cal foods that can be deceiving like nuts i put in oatmeal or avocado.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    No, I don't currently. I would not rule out using one in the future, though.

    I have anxiety (like, diagnosed, serious anxiety) and when I eat at someone else's home or in a restaurant I feel quite nervous about not knowing PRECISELY how things are cooked, ingredients, etc. So for me this is a way that I can feel a little more relaxed about those occasions. I am a creature of habit and I know if I start weighing my food I'll weigh EVERY bit and feel much more nervous about dining away from home. I don't want that.

    I have lost 106 lb so far (including pre-MFP loss) and I'm about 21 lb from my original goal - I feel confident that I'll reach it w/o any issues and anything beyond that will just be the icing on the cake. But if I decide I really want to go lower and find myself with losses stalling I may consider getting a scale.

    FWIW I think I'm very good at "eyeballing it". I have been baking since early childhood and regularly test myself and I'm almost always dead-on with my educated guesses. Once in awhile I'm a little bit off but always under (which I know is not good, either...but I prefer it to being over).
  • evanblove
    evanblove Posts: 82 Member
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    Here is a video showing how measuring versus measuring calorie dense foods could sabotage your daily goals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
    I have a digital scale that measures in grams and ounces and has a zero button.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
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    Essential!! I got mine at Target for $30 I think. I bought it a year and a half ago and still use it daily. Before using it, I had no idea how much I was really eating.
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
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    I have a scale and I think that it was essential for my weightloss.
    Serving sizes, measuring cups... they are not nearly as accurate as a scale. It's the best investment I could have made. It's very important when measuring high calorie foods.

    I have a no-name scale bought from an appliance store. I just verify it from time to time with a friends calibration weights to make sure it works properly.
    I have it for 2 years and works like a charm.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    Yes, but not for everything. I mainly use it for meats, but I'm looking into getting a digital one.
  • jess135177
    jess135177 Posts: 186 Member
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    I use one and I weigh/measure everything. It has taken the guess work out of portion sizes!
  • rachel4304
    rachel4304 Posts: 115 Member
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    I didn't for the majority of my weight loss but invested in one when I stalled out. As you get closer to goal weight, you need the extra precision of a scale to make sure you are accurate. I agree about the grams/ounces/tare function. I got mine at Walmart for less than $20 -- no complaints.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
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    Absolutely essential if you want/need to be accurate. And, if you're really obsessive, measure in grams :)
  • tinakowalik
    tinakowalik Posts: 73 Member
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    Been weighing food for about a cpl weeks now, and for example, I used to measure oatmeal, after it's been cooked, 1cup, which was from 1/2c dry. I read a comment about oatmeal, to weigh it dry, and that's your calories because the water doesn't add anything. So instead of measuring I weighed, and to get 1/2 dry, it's 125ml or 114g I believe, well it was a heaping 1 cup! So is that accurate, am I doing it wrong? Or is some stuff strictly measured?

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