Kitchen Scale Necessary?

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Baxie23
Baxie23 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been logging for a little over a month. I've made a lot of progress but I am wondering if I should get a kitchen scale. Right now I rely on measuring cups to portion out food. Is that adequate or will I have better success with a scale?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    It depends on how accurate you want to be and how good you are at estimating portions, etc. I use measuring cups and spoons for plenty of things and my scale for other things.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    I bake so using a kitchen scale is second nature for me.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    I don't use one yet!

    But I'm eating 1250 calories so I have margin for error and still lose weight. In fact I think sometimes I cheat myself out of calories by my estimating. I have one and I know that I may eventually start using it although my ultimate goal is to be able to eyeball calorie portions so one day I can eat intuitively. We'll see.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    For me a scale is integral
  • supermanda28
    supermanda28 Posts: 10 Member
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    Absolutely, I relied on measuring cups for a long time but once I switched to a food scale I couldn't believe how far off measuring cups can be! I was eating extra without realizing it
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
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    I like mine but don't think of it as a necessity.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Kitchen scale will be considerably more accurate and allow you to more reliably track your calories and adjust in more detail to more reliably hit your weight loss goal. Whether that is "necessary" for you is totally subjective and up to you. Its better, its more accurate...is it worth it to you?... only you can answer that one.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    A lot of great answers already in this thread.

    It is so much easier for me to use a scale, and I feel so silly now for being resistant to using one when I first started. I thought it was too much work, was obsessive, I was fine at estimating, blah blah blah.

    I finally hit a "plateau" and got one on Amazon for about $12, and it was such a game-changer for me. I was underestimating pretty much everything I was eating without realizing it, which was causing my weight loss to stall.

    It is now second nature for me. It makes cooking with the recipe builder much quicker, it makes for much less clean up, and measuring things like oil and peanut butter has never been easier or more accurate. And I've gotten much better at baking, too, since my measurements are more precise. No more cakey chocolate chip cookies in this house!

    My food scale is a staple in my kitchen now, and I don't think I could live without it.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Is a scale necessary? Not for some. But for others (myself included) it's a hugely important tool to make sure you're eating the correct portion size. Even now, almost three years later, I can underestimate when I'm not weighing.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    samanthaluangphixay wrote: »
    The scale is good for solid foods - a great tool to have in the kitchen. I can stuff a lot of cheese into a 1/3 cup measure and it may say 100 calories but there's probably more than that in there. But I can put the cheese on the scale and weigh out 30g (or whatever it is) to get the right calorie count.

    The smaller your deficit gets, the more you need to be precise.

    Right, wondering how tightly I was or was not supposed to stuff foods into cups used to be a source of anxiety for me.

    And it turns out the ingredient "packed brown sugar" must be really, really, tightly packed!
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    I didn't get a scale for the longest time just because I didn't want "diet" paraphernalia cluttering up my kitchen. I finally bought a scale on a whim and like I expected it didn't make one bit of difference as far as losing weight goes.

    Still, I love it and use it everyday even when I'm not logging my calories. If the $20ish bucks isn't a big deal I think you should get one. Quick, convenient and everything everyone else has already said - I don't begrudge the counter space at all.
  • adamyovanovich
    adamyovanovich Posts: 163 Member
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    a scale can be eye opening. Ever look at a portion size on chips? (about 12 chips) that could be anywhere from a crumble to a 5 inch chip. The only way to really understand the portion of chips is by weight. Also you could be guessing your meat way off. I was underestimating my meat by 1-2 oz.

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