So I bought a food scale....

sadiebrawl
sadiebrawl Posts: 863 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Because of all you FINE people :O)

I've been using it this week, and learning I was definitely underestimating meat, but a lot of other things seem so odd to me. I weighed my avocado today and it was 1 ounce and 45 calories. I was counting it as 165 or so. There were quite a few foods that I was counting WAY higher. Next up liquids.

But wondering if you know of any threads like "food scales for dummies" or something. I've always shied away from using one based on fear. Not using it correctly, or getting overwhelmed or stressed from adding it to my routine.

Thanks for any help or feedback!
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Some of these are more about choosing entries than using a scale, but hopefully you find some ideas here.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • sadiebrawl
    sadiebrawl Posts: 863 Member
    Thanks much, will check them out. No idea why scales give me such anxiety.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    You learn a lot from using a scale. Something's are more calories than you thought, some are less.

    Pay attention your portions as you go. Get good at putting an amount on a plate and knowing that it's the right amount. :)
  • christieleigh_russo
    christieleigh_russo Posts: 5 Member
    May I ask what food scale you bought? I am interested in buying one, preferably one that is not too expensive! Don't know much about them.
  • maggiemay530
    maggiemay530 Posts: 123 Member
    Thrilled to see this as I plan to purchase one tomorrow... I'm concerned about the ease of use too and a good reliable/useful brand. Thanx for any and all info!
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    Great! Also for a little more accuracy weigh/measure in grams. Good luck!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Wait until you weigh stuff like cereal and peanut butter etc It is quite the depressing experience :cry:
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    I've tried several scales and like the OXO the best. When you first turn it on, it does a quick 3, 2, 1 countdown, but after that it tares quickly. It had a pull-out display so you can see the display with a plate on the scale. It's small. It's not cheap, though.

    The other good one is the postal scale, but you can't see the display with a plate on it and it's best to keep it covered with plastic wrap since it wasn't designed as a food scale, lol.

    The others I tried weren't entirely accurate or took too long to tare or whatever.
  • Xanifur
    Xanifur Posts: 44 Member
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=soXsyUIk8_U
  • katzenfluff
    katzenfluff Posts: 78 Member
    Salter is inexpensive and mine works well.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    strong_curves wrote: »
    Great! Also for a little more accuracy weigh/measure in grams. Good luck!


    I was going to say the same. The only thing I measure in oz is meat, and even then sometimes I'll use grams.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    Awesome job, it's the best tool for weight loss.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    edited July 2015
    arditarose wrote: »
    strong_curves wrote: »
    Great! Also for a little more accuracy weigh/measure in grams. Good luck!


    I was going to say the same. The only thing I measure in oz is meat, and even then sometimes I'll use grams.

    +2 for weighing in grams.
    christinev297 wrote: »
    Wait until you weigh stuff like cereal and peanut butter etc It is quite the depressing experience :cry:

    Yep. I just weigh out 2 servings of cereal know and skip the heartache.
  • misclaire81
    misclaire81 Posts: 33 Member
    I'm allowed 75g of carbs if I swap out a slice of bread - that's about 3 tablespoons, it doesn't look like a lot but you get used to it.
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
    Congrats! Oh my, I weighed out grapes today. The cup measurement said that a cup was 50 or so calories. Nope! Thank goodness for scales!
  • Glampinupdoll
    Glampinupdoll Posts: 234 Member
    Not to high jack but...let's say I weigh something in grams....grams is not always an option for when I'm tracking. I'm eating 12 grams of green beans...but green beans are only listed in cups...how do I make this track able. Most items I scan the bar code fyi
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    Glampinupdoll wrote: »
    Not to high jack but...let's say I weigh something in grams....grams is not always an option for when I'm tracking. I'm eating 12 grams of green beans...but green beans are only listed in cups...how do I make this track able. Most items I scan the bar code fyi

    Go find the USDA food listing, find out what the nutritional values for green beans are per 100g/oz/etc and make your own food entry. It's what I do when I can only find cups and spoons measurements.
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    Congrats! Oh my, I weighed out grapes today. The cup measurement said that a cup was 50 or so calories. Nope! Thank goodness for scales!

    rice was one of my OMG moments, 1/4 cup dry weighed 60grams and the serving size was 45grams dry so I was overeating by 40 extra calories on just that one thing. thankful for my scale to keep me right.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    And when you really cant find it...go to the USDA site..look it up and make your own entree here in the database...at least then you also are 100% sure you have the right entree :)
  • sadiebrawl
    sadiebrawl Posts: 863 Member
    Thank you all for the info! If i actually use tablespoons for my PB is that not 32 grams like the jar says? I didn't think I would need to weigh it...

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