Food scale

Alyssawinter1221
Alyssawinter1221 Posts: 118
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay soooo... I finally ordered one :) it should be here today.

But, can someone explain how they work? How do I measure meat, or peanut butter, or potato?

It's probably a stupid question! But I hope someone can explain :)

Replies

  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
    Put your bowl, plate, or whatever on the scale, hit the zero/tare button. Then put your meat or whatever your weighing. If you are weighing multiple items in one container hit the zero/tare button after each addition. So for example,

    Bowl-zero
    Tuna-zero
    Mayo

    Also don't weigh foods if they are frozen. Thaw them out first.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    when you get it there will probably be 2 buttons (maybe 3 depending on model) Power, Tare, Mode (grams or ounces)

    Turn it on - put a container/plastic/whatever on it and hit "Tare" - that should zero it out. Pick your mode - grams or ounces - and put the food on it until you have however much you want or makes a serving.

    Somethings I weigh in grams some ounces - depends on what it is and how I found a calorie assignment for it - personally I like grams better, but sometimes you just go with ounces.

    It's not too complicated. and you will probably get a manual with the scale.
  • Kate
    Kate Posts: 35 Member
    Re peanut butter, I would not weigh that but measure it with a measuring spoon.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    it depends on how you're having the peanut butter...if I'm having a sammich I put a slice of bread on the scale and tare it (so it says 0 grams or ounces with the bread on it) and then weigh out how much ever peanut butter I'm going to have. for potatoes, I just put them directly on the scale..for meat and what not you'll want to use a plate and again, tare it to zero and weigh the meat out.

    You then log whatever you ate by weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Re peanut butter, I would not weigh that but measure it with a measuring spoon.

    You'd be surprised at how a 2 Tbsp serving of peanut butter on a label isn't actually 2 Tbsp...weight is far more accurate and when you're dealing with something incredibly calorie dense like peanut butter, it can make a big difference.
  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
    Re peanut butter, I would not weigh that but measure it with a measuring spoon.

    Watch this to understand why you NEED to weigh your peanut butter.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • newfiecandy4
    newfiecandy4 Posts: 12 Member
    One thing is to make sure you pick the same state of your food when logging compared to how you weighed it. For instance, if you weigh out 8 oz of raw steak it will vary in weight when cooked depending on the level of doneness. So if you weigh 8oz raw log 8 oz raw, the difference between 8 oz steak raw and 8 oz of well done steak is up to 400 cal.
  • MichelleMinus100
    MichelleMinus100 Posts: 101
    Congratulations on taking the step to order a scale! I'm excited for you!

    Everyone has given great advice and especially about weighing peanut butter! I weigh mine...in fact, I weigh EVERYTHING. Weighing everything gives me peace of mind and keeps me honest. It is also sooooo much easier to toss a bowl on the scale, one bowl to wash and most often the one I actually ate out of. If I measured, I'd have lots more dishes, cups, tablespoons, and for me, I just like what I like and you will, too, no matter what you choose. At first, it's a little cumbersome, but like anything new, you WILL start to get the hang of it and when you're REALLY good, you won't have to weigh it, because you know what a portion looks like. Sometimes I test myself, and it is amazing to me that I can measure things now to the GRAM...I love my scale!

    You want to decide how you want to do your life...in OUNCES or GRAMS and stick to that. (see *** below)

    I want to encourage you to allow yourself the process of doing something new. Give yourself a few months to master the scale. You're dealing with the new actions of putting the food on the scale, experiencing what your food weighs, adding new foods as you desire, discovering what you need to do for best food prep for weighing. This is a big deal, you're breaking old patterns and establishing new ones...that takes effort and energy, it's a big thing. Watch yourself so you don't under estimate the process and give up because you think it should be easier. This is a huge part of your weight loss process and using a scale has been VITAL for me.

    *** I recommend grams because they are a smaller measurement. You can divide 1/10 ounce because that's about 3 grams...your scale gives you tenths of ounces (probably), but with grams you're dealing with whole numbers. 1 ounce is 28 grams. 1/2 ounce is 14 grams. 1/4 ounce=.25oz=7grams, .1oz is .28 grams...but if you are dealing in grams...you can measure 1 gram or 2 grams or 3 grams, but you can't actually measure that if your scale only measures to tenths of ounces. And you MIGHT NOT CARE to measure to the gram (!) so ounces are good for you! It doesn't matter what you choose, but pick one and stick to it. This is so helpful with the database, too, especially if you choose grams, it's so easy to work with an entry if it's "100g"...so easy...you want 10grams? Just put .1 in the serving spot and it calculates for you.
  • beckytcy
    beckytcy Posts: 135 Member
    Funny you mention peanut butter. That is actually the food that made me realize I need to be more vigilant about weighing food. I thought I was measuring out 1 tbsp but when I put that amount in a bowl (pressing tare and all that) it turned out to be the weight in grams of 2 tbsp, a 100 calorie difference! It's especially necessary to weigh dense foods like pb or cheese, etc.
  • kevin572
    kevin572 Posts: 6 Member
    omg ive had a food scale for like a month and thought tare meant mode in another language. so i always measured everything seperate lol

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