Do you take your scale with you?

BellaNor
BellaNor Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am invited to dinner at a friend's house next week. It's a sit down affair and I am embarrassed to take my scale with me. Do you all take your scale with you when you go out to dinner or at restaurants? I've only been logging my food intake for the past 2 weeks and it's been going great.
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Replies

  • jandsstevenson887
    jandsstevenson887 Posts: 296 Member
    I would not. I would just eat what you already know are reasonable portions and estimate a little on the higher side when you log. I haven't used a scale because I don't have access to one where I am and I believe you can still make it work especially for a special dinner.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    I would not take it with me to a restaurant or a friend's formal dinner, no. I am packing it with me for use at the hotel or at the in-laws house when I go on vacation next month though.

  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    I would not take it with me to a restaurant or a friend's formal dinner, no. I am packing it with me for use at the hotel or at the in-laws house when I go on vacation next month though.

    +1
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    No, that's a bit over the top.
  • maidengirl_
    maidengirl_ Posts: 283 Member
    i dont use a scale when i go out but i do use it at home. you eye the correct portions. dont eat seconds and dont stuff yourself or feel like you have to eat everything you put on the plate. i wouldn't take the scale. you can always look up the calories on calorieking.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Nope. If you're accurately logging most of the time, those few instances where you can't it won't be an issue. Enjoy your dinner.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Nope. This is a lifetime change. I will occasionally be in situations where I won't have my tools so I do the best I can. Or I indulge. One day isn't going to do me in.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    No. If I go out to eat at a friends, family, or restaurant I guestimate. If I know in advance, I might make my deficit 50-100 calories bigger a day or two before hand to help. I mostly try not to stress it. As long as it doesn't happen multiple times a week, I'm usually good.
  • kpeterson539
    kpeterson539 Posts: 220 Member
    I don't at a restaurant. I guesstimate to the best of my ability.

    When I visit my family, which is generally a week long visit, I do take my scale with me.
  • tag624
    tag624 Posts: 166 Member
    no...I just kind of guess
  • Acacia_Evers
    Acacia_Evers Posts: 263 Member
    Haha, I thought about doing this too! I was even looking for a mini one to stick in my purse. ;P I can make a guess, sure. A big guess. C'mon, I've been eating like crud for 20 years! I eat what my eye hungers for! ...butnocurrentlyidont
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    That's too over the top.

    I don't even use the scale at my home when there are guests over. Just give yourself a break and eat sensibly.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Yes, I have no shame. And yes, I've been told doing so means I have disordered eating.

    You don't have to. If you're comfortable whipping it out at the dinner table, do it, otherwise don't. For me, a food scale is a priority tool that helped me lose my weight.
  • BellaNor
    BellaNor Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks everyone! My scale has really helped in the last 2 weeks and I have lost a couple of pounds per week, thanks to very precise measurements on the scale. I will have to eyeball my portions at dinner and ask the hostess what the dishes are called so I can use MFP to find out the calorie content afterwards. Thanks for your input, all!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited April 2016
    Heck no.

    Start paying attention to how big (as in physical size) your servings of food are after you weigh them. You should be able to learn approximately how big your typical serving size of various foods are, whether they are 100 g or 3 oz. or some other weight. Weighing food is great, awesome, A1. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to visually estimate portions.

    Also, google "serving size chart" and look at the image results for various visual cues.
  • radiosilents
    radiosilents Posts: 223 Member
    If it's a friend, why not just ask in advance what is being served so that you can plan ahead? You can even explain why you're asking, and I am sure a true friend would want to be helpful and understanding. I would definitely NOT bring the scale with you. Good gravy.
  • Sindakhelekwen
    Sindakhelekwen Posts: 19 Member
    I use mine at home but I don't take it with me restaurants or when I go to my families houses for special occasions.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    edited April 2016
    The title made me think the scale I weigh myself with, I chuckled, then read the rest. If I were going to away from home for a few days I might.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,171 Member
    No. If I am eating at a restaurant I will use the nutrition info from their website if it is available. If not I will use info from a similar chain restaurant and guess to the best of my ability. If I am going to someone's house to eat I just guess to the best of my ability. I only use the food scale at home. One or two dinners out every now and then is not going to derail you especially if you are conscious about eating a moderate portion.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    If someone turned up at my house for dinner and started weighing out the food I had spent hours preparing for them, they would not be invited back again.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    BruinsGal_91 wrote: »
    If someone turned up at my house for dinner and started weighing out the food I had spent hours preparing for them, they would not be invited back again.

    I'd have to agree. Unless there was a medical necessity this would really bug me.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    No, I wouldnt use it - if I were the hostess, I think I would be a little offended. The ONLY way I could see this working is if you spoke to the hostess ahead of time to explain your situation (tell her you are dealing with a medical issue) and were then able to build your own plate before it was served to everyone else. But it would be really not cool to just whip out the scale at the table and start dissecting your serving.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    No. I use my food scale at home.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited April 2016
    It depends on the social context.

    By myself or with close friends or family and depending on how strict I feel like being I will often whip out the portable scale and jot down numbers while eating.

    More often than not I now just take pictures and guestimate afterwards based on the pictures.

    The reality is that one, two, even three "reasonable/I am not going hog wild" dinners out a month will not do more than momentarily delay you reaching your goal.

    In a year from now, when you look back at your trending weight graphs, you will not be able to tell which day you went for dinner out and which day you didn't.

    Short answer: if more formal: take pictures, have a single, reasonable plate (if you want to eat lower calorie make sure to target things like steamed veggies and sauce-less protein) and guesstimate.

    If less formal and close friends and slightly shameless, whip out the scale and the calculator and go MFPwild!

    in any case: find an accommodation that you can live with long term

    As you can see above some people WOULD be offended/alienated and other people may perceive your attention to your health as an implied criticism as to how they behave (even though it has nothing to do with them)

    There were times when I decided the alienation was worth it for the extra focus I was able to place on my own health.

    As the health necessity has diminished, I have discovered that discrete picture taking is both sufficient and more socially acceptable when in a group.

    When by myself... I couldn't care less what anyone at the restaurant thinks ;-)
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited April 2016
    To the people who would be offended: touch cookies: my health comes first and if you're not able to accommodate it too bad so sad :-)

    (See OP: THAT's why the answer depends on the social context and whether you are willing to alienate/write off the people who might be offended).
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited April 2016
    I wouldn't. If possible, I would look up the calorie information for whatever restaurant you are going to beforehand and pick out the best thing from the menu that will help keep you on track. Eat slow, socialize a lot and take home leftovers. :)
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    Villae81 wrote: »
    I guesstimate even at home lol. Can't see myself using a food scale forever so I won't start now

    Guessing is not good. If a serving size of something is 1/2 to 1 cup then it's not much at all and most people overeat when they don't weigh/measure their foods. I've weighed and measured my foods for over 9 years at home and when out of town on vacation, just not in restaurants. :) I realize that I can't possibly guesstimate or else I would never lose any weight.
  • RWClary
    RWClary Posts: 192 Member
    Villae81 wrote: »
    Why would you guys get offended? It's not like they're critiquing your food they're just watching how much they eat but it would be weird when someone breaks out a scale
    Yep, weighing food out to dinner is absurd to me, but whatever a person needs to do in order to achieve her goals is OK.
    I usually eat before I go and eat very light while I am there. Nobody cares.
  • fitdaisygrrl
    fitdaisygrrl Posts: 139 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Heck no.

    Start paying attention to how big (as in physical size) your servings of food are after you weigh them. You should be able to learn approximately how big your typical serving size of various foods are, whether they are 100 g or 3 oz. or some other weight. Weighing food is great, awesome, A1. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to visually estimate portions.

    Also, google "serving size chart" and look at the image results for various visual cues.

    This! I use the scale all the time but find that it is most useful when you start paying attention to things and using it as a learning tool for, well, life. You can't carry a scale with you all the time but you can learn what 3 oz of chicken looks like or what a "medium sized potato" weighs and would look like on a restaurant plate.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I take my scale with me to small family events. I had it for Thanksgiving but ended up not using it because I was doing the cooking and there was just too much going on.

    I didn't take it to family potlucks last summer. I didn't want to be bothered answering a million questions and for this few meals it's ok to guess.

    I don't take it to restaurants. I do eat just half my entree and then weigh the other half before I eat it later. (I only eat half the entree because American portions are too big, not just so I can weigh it.)

    If I were a hostess and someone whipped out a scale, I would not be offended.

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