What? You Do NOT have a food scale?
mandycat223
Posts: 502 Member
This topic has no doubt been covered before but I couldn't find anything that seemed relevant. I hazily assume that everyone concerned with weight/health would own one of these magic gadgets. But in chatting with a woman just starting LC (am I the only one who regularly strikes up conversations with people in public places like grocery checkout lines? My husband thinks so) I found out that this is not the case. If you already own and use one, skip this. If not, here's my take on why you should zip on out today and get one, hey pronto.
A lot of nutritional data is stated in grams or ounces, as well as the more conventional measuring cup units. Many things (I'm looking at you, frozen blueberries) are very difficult to account for with measuring cups. Ounces are good, grams are even more accurate. Most scales let you toggle between "grams" and "ounces."
A scale with the "tare" function is very handy. "Tare" means you can put things on the scale and then return the count to zero without removing anything. Yesterday I made a salad, thus: Put salad bowl on scale and tare, because who cares what the bowl weighs. Add first ingredient, note number of grams, tare. Add second ingredient, note, tare ..... and so on.
As long as your scale is sturdy, measures both grams and ounces and has the tare function, there's no reason so spend a lot of money. Just an FYI: my own scale begins emitting a shrill, random noise when its battery starts getting low. The first time it pulled this amusing prank, my husband and I all but dismantled the kitchen trying to figure out where that peculiar noise was coming from. Who knew a $12.99 kitchen gadget had a fail safe system?
A lot of nutritional data is stated in grams or ounces, as well as the more conventional measuring cup units. Many things (I'm looking at you, frozen blueberries) are very difficult to account for with measuring cups. Ounces are good, grams are even more accurate. Most scales let you toggle between "grams" and "ounces."
A scale with the "tare" function is very handy. "Tare" means you can put things on the scale and then return the count to zero without removing anything. Yesterday I made a salad, thus: Put salad bowl on scale and tare, because who cares what the bowl weighs. Add first ingredient, note number of grams, tare. Add second ingredient, note, tare ..... and so on.
As long as your scale is sturdy, measures both grams and ounces and has the tare function, there's no reason so spend a lot of money. Just an FYI: my own scale begins emitting a shrill, random noise when its battery starts getting low. The first time it pulled this amusing prank, my husband and I all but dismantled the kitchen trying to figure out where that peculiar noise was coming from. Who knew a $12.99 kitchen gadget had a fail safe system?
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I own one, but I almost never use it for cooking or entering food, I just eyeball everything.
In fact, it was last used for measuring corn to make bags for a *kitten* game.
To me it seems if you are able to lose/maintain with inaccurate tracking or no tracking, what would be the point of all that weighing?
However, if you are having trouble meeting weight loss or maintenance goals, inaccurate tracking of consumption is probably the number one culprit and can be resolved with use of a food scale.2 -
I have one, but use it less and less since I tend to eat the same foods over and over and have gotten to the point that I can eyeball or handful the measurements pretty accurately. I found I was pulling out what I wanted and then guessing within 0.1 ounces the weight nearly every time after a while. It was good timing because the battery just went dead this week.1
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i have a food scale. Unless I'm weighing out some carb heavy foods I don't really use it though - I want to be able to eat this way forever without needing to weigh every single thing!0
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YAAAAS!mandycat223 wrote: »This topic has no doubt been covered before but I couldn't find anything that seemed relevant. I hazily assume that everyone concerned with weight/health would own one of these magic gadgets. But in chatting with a woman just starting LC (am I the only one who regularly strikes up conversations with people in public places like grocery checkout lines? My husband thinks so) I found out that this is not the case. If you already own and use one, skip this. If not, here's my take on why you should zip on out today and get one, hey pronto.
A lot of nutritional data is stated in grams or ounces, as well as the more conventional measuring cup units. Many things (I'm looking at you, frozen blueberries) are very difficult to account for with measuring cups. Ounces are good, grams are even more accurate. Most scales let you toggle between "grams" and "ounces."
A scale with the "tare" function is very handy. "Tare" means you can put things on the scale and then return the count to zero without removing anything. Yesterday I made a salad, thus: Put salad bowl on scale and tare, because who cares what the bowl weighs. Add first ingredient, note number of grams, tare. Add second ingredient, note, tare ..... and so on.
As long as your scale is sturdy, measures both grams and ounces and has the tare function, there's no reason so spend a lot of money. Just an FYI: my own scale begins emitting a shrill, random noise when its battery starts getting low. The first time it pulled this amusing prank, my husband and I all but dismantled the kitchen trying to figure out where that peculiar noise was coming from. Who knew a $12.99 kitchen gadget had a fail safe system?
I really could care less how someone eats (low carb, low fat, vegan, etc etc) but if you aren't aware of how much you're taking in (face it, a large majority are underestimating their intake if they are not losing and the using your hand as a measuring device is not accurate), then you will take in too much and too much of anything is what gets people overweight.
Yes, as time goes by, you get better at it and if you eat the same things, you get a sense of what it looks like but in the beginning, I agree that it's a valuable tool. 3 pcs of chicken nuggets may be the serving size but if they put 50g as the weight, that may be only 2 pcs of nuggets and you could be overeating.4 -
I use mine every day for every meal. Some people can eyeball. I cannot. If I don't measure, I gain because my food monster outwits my ability to recognize appropriate portions after awhile.6
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I have one. But after years of obsessively weighing and measuring I'd rather just eyeball and not use it. I've gotten pretty accurate anyway. Lol1
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I had one but it was hi-jacked by my 4h-er to measure turkey feed.
Its good, though. I'm done weighing and measuring for now. If I ever pick it up again I'll get a new one. 1 -
I have one and I use it everyday. I just feel better being accurate. I am not good at eyeballing my food yet!2
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I'm in the camp of people who have zero desire to have a food scale. I guesstimate everything and basically if I start putting on weight I know I'm underestimating and adjust. If I were to go back to eating a lot of carbs I might would need a scale because I cannot control portions for carb items and I stay hungry when I eat higher carb.
Basically when I did eat carbs and everyone suggested a food scale I would think how awful it was that I was starving all the time and that if I were actually weighing it out I would have to cut portions further??? That thought depressed me so badly that I never bought one. Instead I switched to LCHF where I eat intuitively and manage to be never hungry and dropping pounds!4 -
I use mine regularly but there are things I eat regularly enough to guesstimate. I still check them now and again in case my potions have crept up1
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I have one and wholeheartedly endorse their use, but I also understand why some people would be averse. They can be invaluable for troubleshooting why a given diet "isn't working". People *chronically* underestimate what they put in their mouths and overestimate their physical activity level. If someone is complaining "hey I'm eating XXX calories and I'm still not losing weight" I say unless they are weighing and measuring everything then they aren't being genuine in their analysis.
Even if someone is confident in their ability to eyeball, if the scale isn't moving in the direction they want, maybe their eyeballs need to be recalibrated every now and then.2 -
Nope, nope, nope...would only contribute to my type A personality. No scale...food or body for me (I will evaluate my fitness on my strength & how I fit into clothes) and my meal will be tailored to my hunger level. I find scales to be demoralizing (I know this is a personal issue) and I will avoid them at any cost. If I am feeling energetic, healthy, bright-eyed, clear-skinned and fitting into the clothing size I want to be fitting into then eff the scales.5
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I do not currently use. However, I did use a food scale when following an IIFYM diet with a calculated amount of carbohydrates (based on activity level). I think sticking with pre-packed food & ideal portions is easier. I'm not going to break the bank if I go over 40kcals on some salad greens or mushrooms. I will say though, cooking oils can be a cruel nemesis0
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When I started LC I used the scale for every single item. It was very eye opening re size portions! Plus, I had to use the scale, because I was eating so many foods that I had never had before and I had no idea of their composition.
But I cook most meals from real ingredients, I think it's almost impossible to get accurate measures. Anyway, I eat to hunger now. I'll measure if it's a carby treat because I don't trust myself to evaluate portions of fruit or yogurt and I know I can eat too much of those and get BG problems for days. Otherwise, for low carb stuff, no.
I have not been losing for 6 months or more so I'll probably need to start eating smaller portions and maybe use the scale again. Thing is, I don't trust myself to be hungry and stay LC so... yeah, I'll have to think about this carefully. For now I'm happy that I am not gaining and that I've kept away what I lost, that's a first in my life.
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In the beginning I used my scale to measure everything that I could. Along the way I stopped (just as I stopped logging food), and have continued on the way to success. If I found myself gaining weight I would fall back to doing both. I credit the activities to my success though. I do recommend it because otherwise you don't know what's going in your body. Is a wonderful teaching tool!
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I'm hoping I can get a scale sometime in the near future, but right now I have no place to put it. I have about a square foot of counter space in which to do all my food prep.
My main reason for wanting one is that so many recipes I see give measurements in grams. I can estimate pretty accurately using teaspoons, tablespoons, ounces and cups (food service background), but have no clue how much 100g of anything is. Online converters are good, but I don't always have the patience for them.
A couple more months, and I should have my kitchen back. Then I'll be asking for food scale recommendations from y'all.1 -
I've had one for years but this is the first time I've used it for weight loss and I've never tracked my food in the past and have been successful. I'm being very obsessive this time around, tracking all food, measuring blood ketones and sugar and weighing everything. It makes me feel like I'm giving it my all and keeps me focused. And I found out that 15g = more than 2 slices of bacon
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MyriiStorm wrote: »I'm hoping I can get a scale sometime in the near future, but right now I have no place to put it. I have about a square foot of counter space in which to do all my food prep.
This is where being taller helps. I keep mine on the fridge in that little space under the cabinets over the fridge where pretty much nothing else will fit.0 -
I love my food scale and have had one for as long as I can remember. Wish I was one of those people who doesn't need to track every morsel of food eaten, but strict control mechanisms - weighing and tracking my food/macro/calorie intake is the only way I lose weight. I stopped consistently tracking my food (which for me goes hand in hand with weighing my food as I'm not into guestimating) about 6 months ago and my diet has been a painful, stressful rollercoaster ever since. The only times I've lost weight is during the intermittent periods when I've logged, the rest of the time I fought tooth and nail to hold onto that loss and didn't always win the battle. Don't get me wrong, I've lost a lot of weight over the last year (most of it in the first 6 months), but if I had logged consistently (a) I probably would have lost more and (b) it would have been far less erratic and emotional. I struggle to control my desire to shove food in my mouth, but logging (and weighing) my food really helps me combat that problem. I am very happily weighing and logging my food again and I feel fantastic about it!3
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I have found in the past that it became more necessary for me to use the scale when I was closer to my goal weight and weight loss gets harder. Of course that was back in the CICO days and don't know what it will be like with this WOE.
Also, for me as I am mainly doing this diet in an effort to help with my epilepsy I feel like I have to be more precise so that I can make sure I am staying within my macros daily.1 -
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When I started eating keto in maintenance, it was clear to me I needed to use a scale to not only limit "portion" of all my fat laden food but also limit/be more accurate with my vegetable intake which I previously ate freely.
I'm not obsessive with it but I weight more things than not. There's easily 400 calories in a little clump of nuthin' on keto. I count calories as well as macros. I use a scale. I'm a lousy guesser when it comes to something that looks oh so delicious and I'm hungry.
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I weigh most things, too... especially nuts. I have found that it makes me more mindful of what I put in my mouth and my head will also tell my stomach that it's satisfied when I have eaten the prescribed portion. The kitchen scale works for me!
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I have used one fore years, long before all this "tracking" business was cool. I initially got one for cooking. Because it is faster, uses less dishes, and is much more accurate than measuring cups. Especially when baking. Only over the past few years have I used one for keeping up with my portion sizes. Again for ease and accuracy mostly. Sure we can be off a little here and there but somethings are just too easy to go over on. I would rather weigh it and know than eyeball it and wonder why I put on weight and then have to adjust what I think is a normal serving.1
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20 years of CICO and 4 years of Keto, I still use a scale every day. And I record all of my food. I'm a math geek and everything adding up nicely makes me happy - but more than that I'm not confident (despite knowing roughly what portion sizes look like) that I can accurately guestimate my way to 1500 calories every day eating high fat foods (where a small variation in size can = a large variation in calories).
Most common cause of low carb failure is not tracking. If you're losing weight just winging it then great, but if you are one of those people who says "I'm doing everything right but I'm not losing" and you are putting things in your diary like "1 serve" or "1 cup" or "1 sausage" or "1 slice" I'd bet you're underestimating your intake.4 -
No I don't have a food scale. No I'm not buying one. I have consistently lost almost thirty pounds without it, and I don't need anymore focus on food. Cups and spoons work for me.2
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Used mine again this morning....Measured the grams in my cheese and sure enough I used the full 1/4 cup serving and I probably would have estimated that I only used half that amount. To each their own for sure....but it works for me!3
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Use mine every day. I'm good at guesstimating some things, but others not so much...hello cheese1
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I have an old spring scale that I use on occasion. I don't use it a lot. Mainly when my portions seems to be creeping up. Darn nuts.2
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I'm an eyeball person. If I am losing then good. If I'm not losing then I start eating smaller portions or adding in a little more movement. I just read an article the other day about how our body absorbs different amounts of calories depending on different things, so even if you measure and log meticulously it doesn't mean that is the amount of calories your body is taking in. I will see if I can find the link.
Edit: here is the link. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/problem-with-calorie-counting-calories-in2
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