Weighing food

I think the main idea is just so you can visualize what you should be eating. Like anything else, the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it. Eventually you can set aside the scale with your common meals because you will have a better understanding of proper portion sizes.

It helps with accuracy in reporting for those of us who want it, and also portion control for those of us who need it.
After weighing Almonds for a while I can now tell if I've got an ounce or not without getting out the scale and I have found this to be very helpful for both accuracy in reporting and portion control.

It takes a little while to realise that a 'portion' is not an actual portion as per the nutritional info on the back of the packet. For me cereal particularly is ridiculous because the recommended portion size as actually only about 3 mouthfuls. Once I got the hang of it I stopped weighing and now only weigh my portions now and again to make sure they're not getting distorted. I used to easily eat over 1000cal in one bowl of cereal and think that was a normal portion.

Edit: typo

What brand of scale do you recommend, folks?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12/179-3827196-6140240?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=digital food scale&sprefix=digital+food,aps,200&rh=i:aps,k:digital food scale

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12/179-3827196-6140240?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=digital food scale&sprefix=digital+food,aps,200&rh=i:aps,k:digital food scale

What brand of scale do you recommend, folks?

wouldn't worry so much about the brand. It should be digital...you should be able to tare it...it should have options for either grams or ounces and a decent capacity. it doesn't have to be anything fancy.

Well I would argue you get what you pay for actually. And I know this from buying a cheap digital scale from Amazon, and later finding out it was weighing incorrectly (significant enough to be a problem especially for things like butter) and it was a nightmare to deal with....was also one piece so a pain in *kitten* to clean. It also had a pathetic capacity so I couldnt use a bowl that was too heavy. Also the buttons were non-tactile, and it was hard to push them right, or sometimes you would hit tare and the kg would change to lb or turn off. It also ate through expensive batteries and ended up dying an early death :frown:

Went with an OXO 11lb capacity with pull out display - and wish I had originally bought that one. It is $49 (the original one I bought was $20) for something I have used everyday for a year. It weighs more accurately (tested this). Holds a ton (I can weigh an entire crock pot for example). The top comes off and is stainless steel, so easy to clean. The pull out display is surprisingly handy actually! I don't have to look for a smaller bowl or plate because the large one is covering the display. Lastly, it has tactile buttons - this might not seem like a big deal but when you use your scale as much as I do - it is HUGE.

weighing is a ton easier than measuring. and you clean less measuring things. <<i really don't know why this isn't in marketing campaigns!!

i'm not sure how you can track what you eat unless you measure, and a scale is just another way of doing that.

it does help in retraining your brain. i eat a lot of good fat (very calorie dense), so not weighing/measuring is a baaaaaad idea. for things that don't fit in a measuring cup (like meat, broccoli, etc), you really are guessing. i thought i would wait until later to buy one, but in reality i wish i would have bought one much much earlier!!

if you are looking to buy one - be sure to get one that is digital, tares (resets to zero so you can use the same/bowl dish), and has different measurements you can switch between (g, oz, etc).

did i mention you have to clean less stuff?

I didn't start losing weight until I started weighing my food. I really had no idea about portions, it was insane to realise that I had been eating WAY more than thought. It does not feel obsessive to me at all - I have my scales out on the counter at all times, so I put my bowl/plate on it and add my food like normal. The only difference is that I now know how much I'm eating!

At the moment, I am trying hard to lose weight. There will come a point in my life where I don't need to watch what I eat so closely and I hope by then I'll be able to make good guesses at the amounts.

I bought a $40 digital one from Superstore (President's Choice brand) and I've been using it for 2 or 3 years as of this summer (either 2011 or 2012) and it's still doing great. It's one of the most useful things I've ever bought.

Digital scales are absolutely KEY in losing weight, especially when you are first starting (obviously this is JMO). My old portion sizes were ridiculous. Now they are actually reasonable and I have been steadily losing weight.

I use MIRA Glass Digital Kitchen Scale / Food Scale - Blue that I bought on Amazon.com for $25. It is a little pricier than other scales sold on Amazon, but I bought it because it was highly rated. I love it because it is easy to clean, easy to tare, pretty accurate and has 4 different measurements (oz., fluid oz, ml, gram). It is also lightweight. I love it. :happy:

I hate to tell you this but I am 60+ years old and I am weighing and measuring everything except when I eat out. When I don't, I start to gradually put on the same 10 or 15 lbs that I have had to lose maybe 6 times in my life. Sorry, but if your body likes to put on weight like mine does, you might be weighing your food at 60+ too!