Kitchen Scale Necessary?
Baxie23
Posts: 34 Member
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!
Thanks!
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Replies
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If you want to be accurate you'll need a scale. If you have a lot to lose and accuracy isn't that important right now you can do without.9
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Not strictly necessary, but much easier/quicker with less clean up AND more accurate.9
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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.1
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I bake so using a kitchen scale is second nature for me.1
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I've lost weight many times without a scale. I have one now and I love it. If you are going to bother with measuring cups, might as well use a scale - it's more accurate and there's less washing up.7
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I recommend a scale. I mean it really is no more work than the measuring cups and much less dishes. The closer you get to a healthy weight, the more accurate you need to be.6
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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.8 -
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.0 -
For me a scale is integral4
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Ready2Rock206 wrote: »If you want to be accurate you'll need a scale. If you have a lot to lose and accuracy isn't that important right now you can do without.
this is the only answer this thread needs5 -
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 it2
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I like mine but don't think of it as a necessity.0
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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.1
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If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can be less accurate, but personally, there is no way I'd ever so this without a scale.
https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU 5 -
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.4 -
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.1
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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!3 -
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.0 -
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.4
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I think it matters a lot more for people who eat a small number of calories. In otherwords whether that "medium" apple is 100 grams as it states on the MFP listing or the 180g you find it to be when you actually weigh it will make a bigger difference in terms of percent to someone who has a 250 calorie deficit eating 1200 calories a day than it would to someone who has a 500 calorie deficit eating 2400 calories a day.8
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I love my scale! I weigh, tag and bag all my portions after gorcery shopping so I can just grab and go. It also allows me to mix things up proportionately as well.. Do it!4
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I think scales are very important, especially in the first few months of your journey. I wouldn't be without mine.3
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »I think it matters a lot more for people who eat a small number of calories. In otherwords whether that "medium" apple is 100 grams as it states on the MFP listing or the 180g you find it to be when you actually weigh it will make a bigger difference in terms of percent to someone who has a 250 calorie deficit eating 1200 calories a day than it would to someone who has a 500 calorie deficit eating 2400 calories a day.
I think it matters more for people who don't understand it's all an estimate. If you know that then it really doesn't matter what the numbers are since you make adjustments according to your results.2 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »I think it matters a lot more for people who eat a small number of calories. In otherwords whether that "medium" apple is 100 grams as it states on the MFP listing or the 180g you find it to be when you actually weigh it will make a bigger difference in terms of percent to someone who has a 250 calorie deficit eating 1200 calories a day than it would to someone who has a 500 calorie deficit eating 2400 calories a day.
I think it matters more for people who don't understand it's all an estimate. If you know that then it really doesn't matter what the numbers are since you make adjustments according to your results.
It matters more for those of us who like to be accurate with our "estimates". If trying to accurately judge calories didn't matter, this whole food database would be useless.5 -
AlabasterVerve wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »I think it matters a lot more for people who eat a small number of calories. In otherwords whether that "medium" apple is 100 grams as it states on the MFP listing or the 180g you find it to be when you actually weigh it will make a bigger difference in terms of percent to someone who has a 250 calorie deficit eating 1200 calories a day than it would to someone who has a 500 calorie deficit eating 2400 calories a day.
I think it matters more for people who don't understand it's all an estimate. If you know that then it really doesn't matter what the numbers are since you make adjustments according to your results.
It matters more for those of us who like to be accurate with our "estimates". If trying to accurately judge calories didn't matter, this whole food database would be useless.
Not useless at all. But not necessary either - which is good to know since circumstances change and what works today might not be feasible later. It's good to have options!1 -
Necessary? How necessary is weight management to you? I consider a scale a 'tool of the trade'.1
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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!
It isn't necessary but can be very helpful to have a food scale. They are inexpensive and easy to use tools.
If you stop losing at the rate you want I would definitely consider investing in one. Accuracy can become more important as you have less to lose.
But no it is not necessary to weigh food. Logging food isn't strictly speaking necessary either. Both good tools for some of us though.0 -
I've found it very useful to have a scale - I discovered I was actually overestimating some things and cheating myself out of calories (and my goal is only 1200!). For example, according to the packaging, a serve of the mozzarella cheese I buy is 35g. So I assumed that the amount I sprinkle on my pasta was 35g... when I got my scale, I discovered that my usual amount was actually more like 20-25g.
To be fair, there were other things I was underestimating (e.g. the amount of milk I put in my coffee), but overall I felt I was allowed to eat MORE when my accuracy improved. So I recommend a scale.4 -
Love my scale.0
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