Food weighing scale miracles.....

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  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    I no longer use measuring spoons for anything that has a grams weight for a serving size....including PB. I put the bread (assuming PB) on the scale, tare it, spread the PB and weigh, add more or take some off if needed. Same thing with sauces and dressings.

    For me, the food scale has become more important the smaller and smaller my deficit has become. If you have a 750 cal deficit, yeah, you may underestimate, but you might still get a loss for a while. I'm eating super close to TDEE right now so every gram counts. Another thing I do for accuracy is to check the entries in the MFP database. So many user entries are just WRONG.
  • DavidSTC
    DavidSTC Posts: 173 Member
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    I finally sucked it up and mine should be delivered today. I just hope I don't get too OCD with it. That's always been my worry, but you guys are so convincing that it's a normal thing to weigh your food and that it's not over the top at all. It's just hard to get it through my thick head that it's ok to weigh and I won't be a weirdo for doing it.

    Well, I don't care if I look like a weirdo. I measure right there in the break room at work. People know that I've lost a lot of weight. They'll ask questions sometimes. Maybe someone else will be encouraged to measure their food, too.
  • GretaGirl8
    GretaGirl8 Posts: 274 Member
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    My scale is on order. My husband thinks I am nuts but I've seen way too many of these posts to not believe how important weighing your food is.

    this is what i am worried about...looking like i am crazy and obsessed with food and calories. I just know I would be criticised heavily if i had a scale.

    But every time i read another post about how much people have been overeating (underestimating) prior to getting a food scale, I get a little panicky. I am at a point now where i just want to add on 25% more "quick add calories" to my day to compensate.

    I, too, suspect I will get a food scale in the near future.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I finally sucked it up and mine should be delivered today. I just hope I don't get too OCD with it. That's always been my worry, but you guys are so convincing that it's a normal thing to weigh your food and that it's not over the top at all. It's just hard to get it through my thick head that it's ok to weigh and I won't be a weirdo for doing it.

    I'm OCD about it and frankly I don't care. I weigh everything when I'm home... it gives me peace of mind.

    My scale actually started misbehaving last week, and I had to use cups to figure out the number of servings of mashed potatoes I had made... It made about 5. Finished the mashed potatoes after a couple days, using measuring cups again, and realized I had only logged 4 servings. So that's 150 unaccounted calories somewhere. Ugh.

    The scale did it again yesterday and I just went to Target to buy a new one before having dinner. Even after a year, I still can't estimate properly, and my deficit is too small to guess.
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
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    I just started using a food scale this weekend. My goodness, that 1 ounce of Gouda cheese is just enough to make you mad. At least now I'll be saving a couple of hundred calories from when I was eyeballing it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I just started using a food scale this weekend. My goodness, that 1 ounce of Gouda cheese is just enough to make you mad. At least now I'll be saving a couple of hundred calories from when I was eyeballing it.

    Cheese is the one food I barely eat anymore, just because 1 ounce is so small it's not even satisfying. And I used to eat a LOT of cheese.
  • GretaGirl8
    GretaGirl8 Posts: 274 Member
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    I just started using a food scale this weekend. My goodness, that 1 ounce of Gouda cheese is just enough to make you mad. At least now I'll be saving a couple of hundred calories from when I was eyeballing it.

    Cheese is the one food I barely eat anymore, just because 1 ounce is so small it's not even satisfying. And I used to eat a LOT of cheese.

    ah yes, perhaps my one saving grace is that i avoid cheese...love it too much to only eat an ounce.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I just started using a food scale this weekend. My goodness, that 1 ounce of Gouda cheese is just enough to make you mad. At least now I'll be saving a couple of hundred calories from when I was eyeballing it.

    Cheese is the one food I barely eat anymore, just because 1 ounce is so small it's not even satisfying. And I used to eat a LOT of cheese.

    ah yes, perhaps my one saving grace is that i avoid cheese...love it too much to only eat an ounce.

    Nuts is on my "rarely eat" list, too....28 grams of nuts...I can't deal with that...might just drop if off completely.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    "May 1, 2014 12:27 PM

    The best part about food scales is that I get to feel like a mad scientist every morning when I'm making breakfast. "

    ROFL! It's true!

    Thank you everyone for the suggestions on how to weigh out tricky stuff!
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Hi everybody,
    After reading so much about food scales on forums here... I decided to try it... Though i was still reluctant to weigh each morsel i put into my mouth but desperate times call for desperate measures... When my weight stalled for more than a month with regular excercise.. I was at my wits end... I ordered a well reviewed food scale from amazon... And god!! Am i surprised!!!! Am stunned into silence about the underestimation of food quantities.... My everyday home made coffee was 125 kcal till now but with the scale i know it is 168kcal... I used to munch on peanuts in between work... And add the calories approximately.. Yesterday i measured each peanut i ate literally:noway: lo behold... It was 300 kcal unaccounted... I was underestimating my food intake by approximately 25% everyday.. So actually i was logging in 1300-1400 everyday.. When actually it was anywhere between 1800-1900... So how can i expect weight loss.... Thank god i didnt gain... It would have broken my heart:laugh: any way so here am proclaiming myself as a food scale convert forever..... When doing everything else scientifically... Why not food intake also... :flowerforyou: good day everybody... Happy measurings to me...

    Good for you! but what kind of coffee do you drink with that many calories? My black home brewed coffee has only 2 calories?
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    I finally sucked it up and mine should be delivered today. I just hope I don't get too OCD with it. That's always been my worry, but you guys are so convincing that it's a normal thing to weigh your food and that it's not over the top at all. It's just hard to get it through my thick head that it's ok to weigh and I won't be a weirdo for doing it.

    I'm OCD about it and frankly I don't care. I weigh everything when I'm home... it gives me peace of mind.

    My scale actually started misbehaving last week, and I had to use cups to figure out the number of servings of mashed potatoes I had made... It made about 5. Finished the mashed potatoes after a couple days, using measuring cups again, and realized I had only logged 4 servings. So that's 150 unaccounted calories somewhere. Ugh.

    The scale did it again yesterday and I just went to Target to buy a new one before having dinner. Even after a year, I still can't estimate properly, and my deficit is too small to guess.
    [/quote

    Your scale probably needed a new battery. They don't last for ever.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I finally sucked it up and mine should be delivered today. I just hope I don't get too OCD with it. That's always been my worry, but you guys are so convincing that it's a normal thing to weigh your food and that it's not over the top at all. It's just hard to get it through my thick head that it's ok to weigh and I won't be a weirdo for doing it.

    I'm OCD about it and frankly I don't care. I weigh everything when I'm home... it gives me peace of mind.

    My scale actually started misbehaving last week, and I had to use cups to figure out the number of servings of mashed potatoes I had made... It made about 5. Finished the mashed potatoes after a couple days, using measuring cups again, and realized I had only logged 4 servings. So that's 150 unaccounted calories somewhere. Ugh.

    The scale did it again yesterday and I just went to Target to buy a new one before having dinner. Even after a year, I still can't estimate properly, and my deficit is too small to guess.

    Your scale probably needed a new battery. They don't last for ever.

    Nah, it wasn't the battery, it gets stuck on 'unstable' and just keeps displaying random numbers, new batteries or not. Very annoying. It's apparently a common issue with that scale (the EatSmart one).
  • firesweetheart
    firesweetheart Posts: 92 Member
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    I actually love using food scales for baking. If you're making bread, "a cup" of flour can vary wildly. 100 g of flour is always 100g.

    I will often buy the British editions of cookbooks simply because they have the recipes in weights instead of amounts.

    Mind bown. I think I may need to go cookbook shopping now because I hate doing the US-to-metric conversion when using my scale.

    Also, I don't struggle with using my scale with recipes or making meals, I struggle with determining proper portion after the food is ready. Like cooked pasta, chili, casseroles. Anyone have good tips on measuring/portioning things like this?

    ETA: I didn't read through all the posts. I since saw the 'weigh the cooking vessel before cooking and mark it down' idea and the 'make your recipe in MFP by weight' idea. I guess I've just been too lazy before. I'll change my method tonight!
  • swissmish
    swissmish Posts: 183 Member
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    My food scale has been a godsend. It really is amazing to see what a real portion is compared to what I was eating before. I still need to remind my husband to weigh everything though when he makes dinner, but he is learning, albeit slowly.
  • Tracey_B_72
    Tracey_B_72 Posts: 1,021 Member
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    Pasta was a huge over estimation for me before I started weighing.

    I also saw some posts about people giving up nuts and cheese, I still have nuts but 50g of natural nuts with dried raisins, I needed more protein and these are a great snack and as for cheese I now get a mature or extra mature and I grate it so it looks like more and sprinkle it over pasta or a salad, so then I get the flavour coming through, I grate 100g and that's plenty for 3 of us to sprinkle.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
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    Well as someone who love baking, I've always been a scale convert as baking requires exactitude.

    It is, however, shocking how a 'guesstimate' portion can vary from an actual portion. I did this with my other half last week. He *loves* these high-end organic mueslis for his breakfast and considers them 'healthy'. He was also moaning about having put on a bit of weight. One morning he poured his muesli and I idly asked him if he thought that was the serving size mentioned on the packet for his 225 calorie breakfast. He thought it was, so I turned the scales and tipped his 'serving' into a bowl - low and behold his 'serving' was actually 3 servings and he was eating nearly 700 calories for his breakfast alone! :noway:

    Needless to say...he's now a scale convert too :bigsmile:

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