Food Scales

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blue696
blue696 Posts: 94 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What are your opinions on food scales?

How much of a difference have they made in your journey?

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  • 115s
    115s Posts: 344 Member
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    Lost a good 45 lbs using one. I recommend one with the tare feature.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Like, totally. More seriously, a relatively cheap digital scale with a "tare" function (the ability to be set back to zero), is not only more accurate but makes measuring food easier with fewer dirty dishes.

    For example, let's say I'm going to have a bowl of cereal with a 1/2 cup of milk. I put a bowl on the scale and set it to zero. I look on the box to see how many grams are in a serving and pour that much in the bowl while watching the scale. Then, because I think of milk in cups and "A pint's a pound the world around" -- at least for a lot of liquids, I "tare" the scare back to zero, change the measuring units to ounces and pour in 4 ounces of milk.

    A well-measured serving of cereal with 1/2 a cup of milk results and no dirty measuring cups, etc.

    Any studies on it shows that we are, on average, pretty bad at measuring food by eye. You won't really know whether your calorie numbers are close until you start measuring.
  • doctorregenerated
    doctorregenerated Posts: 188 Member
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    Big difference!
    I was eating twice what I thought I was.
    Also, in general I tend to weigh my food now, which is like an extra little something to keep me in the game and away from mindless eating.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    Huge difference! It's amazing how much a portion really is, compared to what I thought it was. I used to think I was eating just one serving of things, until I got my scale and saw it was actually triple the servings!
  • akgrl1020
    akgrl1020 Posts: 179
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    I think they are one of the most educational items we can use on our journey! That and the Nutrition Facts on the package. I found I was eating triple what I thought was the serving size of some things, based on the picture on the box.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    They have been essential for me but more importantly have a search to see how many "Why am I not losing weight" threads end with the OP agreeing to get a food scale to try and get things moving again.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    They've shown me the foods I was underlogging, and the foods I was overlogging. Mine has been extremely helpful in being a better eyeballer when I cannot have my scale with me, and to have more accurate calorie logging when I do have access to it. It's the best kitchen gadget for under $30 I've invested in.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    I've been using it this entire time and I'm very glad. But my goals are more than "lose weight," this is something that I will be doing when bulking up as well to ensure I'm eating enough protein and eating at enough of a surplus to promote growth.
  • cecesquats
    cecesquats Posts: 166 Member
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    a food scale is a great investment if you are trying to lose weight. for example, look for a thread where someone is complaining about not losing weight. generally, it will be a person who is working out and "counting" their calories, but not actually measuring their food. you cannot accurately count your calories without measuring your food.
  • myrtille87
    myrtille87 Posts: 122 Member
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    I can't imagine not having one anyway - as a keen cook I've owned food scales of some kind ever since I left home so I can measure ingredients for cakes and stuff.

    But measuring food now is definitely making a difference, particularly with high calorie foods (carbs and fatty stuff). I don't necessarily measure things which are really low in calories - 100g of lettuce is 15 calories, 70g is 10, does it really matter? - but I measure nearly everything. It makes a huge difference with things like pasta and cheese.

    Essentially, it's the only way to know how many calories you're consuming. If you want to lose weight by counting calories (rather than guesswork and generally trying to eat healthily, which might work but could be inconsistent) then you need scales.
  • pmsherlock
    pmsherlock Posts: 56
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    I couldn't of lost the weight I've done without scales and now I'm closer to the finish line a HRM as well.

    I consider scales the most important.

    Food estimated weights are often totally wrong.
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
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    Extremely important. Using measuring cups/spoons for anything but liquids is way too inaccurate.

    Scales are so cheap that there's no reason why you shouldn't buy one. I picked one up for $6 over a year ago. Works great.

    This is the one I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5kg-5000g-1g-Digital-Kitchen-Food-Diet-Electronic-Weight-Balance-Weighing-Scale-/200784940515?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item2ebfb70de3

    Search "5kg scale" on Amazon if you want to read the reviews. But I've used it numerous times daily for a year and it's still working great. Only had to chance the batteries once as well. Can't ask more for $6.

    edit fixed link
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,409 Member
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    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009EUPMFK/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    I have this scale and love it. It weighs up to 15lbs which is nice when I know the weight of my pot and want the finished weight of a one-pot meal, so I know how to gauge serving size.

    It tares, does grams, ounces and kilograms. It is also not plastic, as my old one was (which also only measured to max of 3lbs), see above for why I wanted a metal one. It has a large platform as well.

    To me, it is a very very valuable tool in my weight loss. I love being able to be very precise about the amount of food I am dishing out. It seems to be working.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    Necessity for accurate logging.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    Might have been the best $20 I ever spent. Besides the obvious benefit of accuracy, I'm no longer constantly washing measuring cups and spoons!
  • AcrylicDreams
    AcrylicDreams Posts: 8
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    Huge difference. My scale has taken the guesswork out of logging, and also out of cooking/baking.
  • ThinkInOregon
    ThinkInOregon Posts: 283
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    I have used a scale in my kitchen for years... either for baking or making cold-process soap.

    Weighing my food started when I joined MFP, and since I am at goal I believe I have been successful.

    It also doubles as a postage scale, which is important if I can put correct postage on a large envelope or small package and leave it at the mailbox for pick-up. Since the post office is 23 miles one way, I figure the $10 I save going to town more than paid for itself in the first month!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    scales a must! I got mine on ebay for a buck plus $4 shipping. lol Oz and Kg + zero reset.
  • ttcbelieve
    ttcbelieve Posts: 181 Member
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    Critical for weight loss for me, but also very painful. Takes forever to make a meal from scratch as I have to measure everything. its a necessary evil
  • D_T_H
    D_T_H Posts: 39 Member
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    scary how much I was thinking was a proper portion before I got my scale

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