Food Scale in Restaurant?

cortesd
cortesd Posts: 58 Member
edited November 26 in Food and Nutrition
Ok. Don't laugh at me. I really am curious: Does anyone use a food scale when dining out? I've contemplated getting a small portable scale, but I'm not sure I'm confident enough to shove my plate aside and start weighing my food while everyone else at the table looks on. Maybe I'm just a wuss... B)
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    no
  • tcaley4
    tcaley4 Posts: 416 Member
    My wife would probably take me out and shoot me or something if I did that.
  • PeiDub
    PeiDub Posts: 77 Member
    No way.
  • MindyBruno
    MindyBruno Posts: 535 Member
    tcaley4 wrote: »
    My wife would probably take me out and shoot me or something if I did that.

    Agreed, my husband already thinks I am a little crazy, this would probably put it over the edge. Not that I don't think about it though!
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    Having to measure food at home is already sad enough. Lugging your scale to a restaurant is ridiculous.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I've seen a few on here say they do, but I couldn't. My social anxiety is too great to consider that and have people judge me.
  • juliebowman4
    juliebowman4 Posts: 784 Member
    Just my lil'ol'opinion:
    If I feel I can't relax in a social atmosphere with a friend or family member, and enjoy a meal without needing to weigh it.....then I've crossed some line between truly trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and obsession.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    No. You don't have enough control over everything else: amount of oil or butter or sugar used, kinds of ingredients, etc. Estimate calories and move on.
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
    ask restaurant to weigh food out for you, or at least measure, for extra tip? still kinda crazy.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Jruzer wrote: »
    No. You don't have enough control over everything else: amount of oil or butter or sugar used, kinds of ingredients, etc. Estimate calories and move on.
    This.

    Weighing food only works when you know what you are weighing.
  • april_69xx
    april_69xx Posts: 13 Member
    LOL i have visions of the cops pulling you over and finding a scale on you.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Nope. 80/20 rule. If I'm weighing 80% of my food at home then I don't worry about the other 20. I love my scale but it is a tool that stays at home.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    no, when I go out it is to enjoy a nice meal and not worry about weighing it out. Besides, even if you could weigh it out it would not be accurate as you have no idea what they are putting in the sauce, etc, that is included with the meal.

    Just go out and enjoy a nice dinner from time to time. Part of the new lifestyle is learning that you cannot be 100% accurate all the time.
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
    Practice "guessing" at home and see how close you can get to actual weight/volume. When you're pretty good at it, you'll be better able to estimate what you're eating when you're out.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    Jruzer wrote: »
    No. You don't have enough control over everything else: amount of oil or butter or sugar used, kinds of ingredients, etc. Estimate calories and move on.
    This.

    Weighing food only works when you know what you are weighing.

    Exactly.
  • foreverslim1111
    foreverslim1111 Posts: 2,635 Member
    I know that I have had to be a bit obsessive to have lost 20 lbs. But taking a scale to a restaurant would really be over the top. I look up the cals on line for chain restaurants, pick an entre and sides that total 400 or less cals, log it in advance then go and enjoy the meal with my friends.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    No. You can't know WHAT you are weighing, so you just estimate restaurant food and hope you are right.

    Anyway, unless you never eat at home and you are constantly eating at a restaurant, I wouldn't bother...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Some folks have said they do, but I can't fathom it. I can't imagine how it would be accurate. Or part of a healthy lifestyle.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Since you don't know what is in the food, knowing it's weight cannot be much help. You might be getting 800g, but 800g of what? You need the What to accurately log it. Restaurants don't give out their recipes, generally. Even if they did, the chef might've used a little more of this or that, so it would be impossible to be sure.

    The food comes to you plated. You don't know the weight of the plate, so you'd have to ask for another plate or bring your own and then begin transferring the food from one plate to another.

    Weighing at home is as crazy as I want to get with the weighing. If you want to do it, do it. It's just way more detailed (or obsessive) than I wish to be. I don't eat out much, though. Very rare. :)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    No. I draw the line there.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    Jruzer wrote: »
    No. You don't have enough control over everything else: amount of oil or butter or sugar used, kinds of ingredients, etc. Estimate calories and move on.
    This.

    Weighing food only works when you know what you are weighing.

    QFT.
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
    From experience of working in a restaurant I have to agree with the above. Some cooks use a huge slab of butter to fry your omelette, some only use a little. Your grilled chicken is being cooked on the same stove top they use to grill hamburgers. The calories can be any number!
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,759 Member
    I wouldn't take one to a more upscale restaurant but I totally would to a fast food joint if I still took the time to sit down and eat at one. I was such a regular at Burger King that they would often give me extra helpings of grilled chicken instead of the normal serving.

    Otherwise, I just trust the nutritional information from said restaurants and, if you *really* feel the need to weigh, eat half your meal and take the rest home. Plus, even if you don't know exactly what goes into a recipe, they'll usually tell you any kind of sauces used so that would help.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    If you feel anxiety about just guessing and estimating for the occasional meal out, you have a kind of orthorexia.
  • cortesd
    cortesd Posts: 58 Member
    edited November 2015
    senecarr wrote: »
    If you feel anxiety about just guessing and estimating for the occasional meal out, you have a kind of orthorexia.

    Nothing as serious as that. I was just wondering if anyone has actually done it. I'm fine with guestimating and planning ahead the best I can without losing sleep or adding more gray hairs!
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    I have a very small one (a jeweler's scale, I think) that I keep with me mostly to use at work, but, in VERY specific circumstances, I have busted it out in a restaurant a couple times. I would never do it while dining with anyone didn't know VERY well, and as others have said, it's not worth it for most foods, but despite the fact that I can estimate a chicken breast +/- 3 grams I am downright TERRIBLE at estimating bread, so if I can do it extremely discreetly I might weigh out my portion of the bread basket. But I don't get worked up over it.
  • Muzzoozal
    Muzzoozal Posts: 33 Member
    I automatically ask for a doggie bag and1/2my meal from the start - you can take the other1/2home and weigh it or some restaurants give a calorie count and you can decide beforehand. If you're good at eyeing portions that can help also. You can get a good estimate even if you don't know all the ingredients and taking a walk after dinning can help also.
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    Jruzer wrote: »
    No. You don't have enough control over everything else: amount of oil or butter or sugar used, kinds of ingredients, etc. Estimate calories and move on.

    This!
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    no, when I go out it is to enjoy a nice meal and not worry about weighing it out. Besides, even if you could weigh it out it would not be accurate as you have no idea what they are putting in the sauce, etc, that is included with the meal.

    Just go out and enjoy a nice dinner from time to time. Part of the new lifestyle is learning that you cannot be 100% accurate all the time.

    &

    This!
  • elite_nal
    elite_nal Posts: 127 Member
    Just guesstimate :)
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