You don't use a food scale?
Replies
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I don’t use a food scale and have lost a lot of weight just fine. I’m down to the last 10 “vanity” pounds and may just buy one since it has helped so many of you.1
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I was fortunate to see this post--or something similar--the week I started here. I had purchased measuring spoons and cups, but went ahead and ordered a scale after watching one of the videos about the difference between weighing and measure. My thinking is that when the deficit is large and there is a lot of weight to lose, weighing probably isn't AS essential (unless you are one of those folks who fills every measuring utensil beyond full, every time), but it does make a difference *and* helps you with the information/data you are gathering. More importantly, as each of us gets to the end of the losing stage, those small deficits will be hard to maintain consistently without weighing. I have lots of time until I get there but find weighing food is just easier--I don't have to clean as many utensils. So being lazy works for me, in this case. YMMV.
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I was fortunate to see this post--or something similar--the week I started here. I had purchased measuring spoons and cups, but went ahead and ordered a scale after watching one of the videos about the difference between weighing and measure. My thinking is that when the deficit is large and there is a lot of weight to lose, weighing probably isn't AS essential (unless you are one of those folks who fills every measuring utensil beyond full, every time), but it does make a difference *and* helps you with the information/data you are gathering. More importantly, as each of us gets to the end of the losing stage, those small deficits will be hard to maintain consistently without weighing. I have lots of time until I get there but find weighing food is just easier--I don't have to clean as many utensils. So being lazy works for me, in this case. YMMV.
Agree with all of this, especially the lazy part. :laugh:3 -
I use a cheap $9 food scale. Weigh and measure almost everything. Makes a big difference in my ability to keep within my calorie budget, especially since my budget is only 1300 calories. When I don't have a scale available (restaurant meal, dinner at a friend's house), I guestimate portion sizes. Eating out is the hardest--I don't know how much extra fat or sugar went into my meal to make it taste really good. Just do you best.3
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kristingjertsen wrote: »I use a cheap $9 food scale. Weigh and measure almost everything. Makes a big difference in my ability to keep within my calorie budget, especially since my budget is only 1300 calories. When I don't have a scale available (restaurant meal, dinner at a friend's house), I guestimate portion sizes. Eating out is the hardest--I don't know how much extra fat or sugar went into my meal to make it taste really good. Just do you best.
That's why I am glad to have learned a few things working in restaurants. Steak size is extremely accurate; budget vs customer demands (and potential lawsuits). Always add 1 TBSP butter to your steak - that's how they make it taste so good and keep it glistening. So ording a steak (of any meat product) is the easiest thing to log. Anything served sauced is the hardest: even BBQ sauce can vary by more than 250 calories from restaurant to restaurant depending on thier recipe. Alfredo sauce can range from 200-1000 calories (heavy cream, butter, & duck fat - yes, duck fat vs. milk based with thickeners). If all else fails, search for a similar items at chain restaurants that have calories listed and use that.7 -
My new food scale will arrive today from Amazon. I'm 20 from GW, and have had my own internal debate over using a scale. I can lose weight w/o, and I know this sounds crazy, but I've been worrying that by using one I will seem a bit too obsessed with the whole food thing. I want to set a good example for my teens, and personally, I feel like I spend a good portion of my time thinking about my food planning. Still, I get the argument about accurate measurements
Anyone else feel this way?0 -
spygirl2014 wrote: »My new food scale will arrive today from Amazon. I'm 20 from GW, and have had my own internal debate over using a scale. I can lose weight w/o, and I know this sounds crazy, but I've been worrying that by using one I will seem a bit too obsessed with the whole food thing. I want to set a good example for my teens, and personally, I feel like I spend a good portion of my time thinking about my food planning. Still, I get the argument about accurate measurements
Anyone else feel this way?
Weighing food can be a trigger for someone with ED tendencies. But for most of us, it's just an easy way of assuring that we are not taking in more calories than we think and- and this aspect can often be overlooked- making sure we get all we've got coming to us, as opposed to going with high estimates that might otherwise cheat us out of calories. I have kids at home and they see their dad & I weighing our food all the time. They know it's just a tool like any other, to help us accomplish a particular task.4 -
I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?1
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MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
Just go to Amazon or Walmart and pick the cheapest one As long as it has grams & a tare function, you'll be good. I think mine is an Ozeri that I got for $10. It's lasted several years of daily use.2 -
MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
I have this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Escali-157DP-Digital-Kitchen-Purple/dp/B0051B317W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1531166064&sr=8-3-spons&keywords=escali+digital+scale&psc=11 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
I have this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Escali-157DP-Digital-Kitchen-Purple/dp/B0051B317W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1531166064&sr=8-3-spons&keywords=escali+digital+scale&psc=1
Your scale is purple!?0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
I have this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Escali-157DP-Digital-Kitchen-Purple/dp/B0051B317W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1531166064&sr=8-3-spons&keywords=escali+digital+scale&psc=1
Your scale is purple!?
YES, IT IS!!! :bigsmile:2 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
I have this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Escali-157DP-Digital-Kitchen-Purple/dp/B0051B317W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1531166064&sr=8-3-spons&keywords=escali+digital+scale&psc=1
Your scale is purple!?
Oooohhh... those are nice! A little pricey though0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »MixedbarbieMOM1991 wrote: »I've been on here actively a week can anyone recommend a good food scale?
I have this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Escali-157DP-Digital-Kitchen-Purple/dp/B0051B317W/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1531166064&sr=8-3-spons&keywords=escali+digital+scale&psc=1
Your scale is purple!?
Oooohhh... those are nice! A little pricey though
I didn't pay that much. They've gone up in price. I think I got mine off Groupon, actually.2 -
lucerorojo wrote: »I have one but I hadn't been using it for everything. Today I weighed a banana (unpeeled) for the first time. This was an average size banana (definitely have eaten bigger and smaller ones) and it was 40 calories more (once I weighed it and took the USDA value) than the banana that is "medium" in the database. So for 6 months I've been using that "medium" and underestimating most of the time for a banana.
I also weighed a thick slice of bacon for the first time. (First time weighing my bacon at all). For thick slices I had been using the calorie equivalent of "2 slices" in the database. In the first place, I had no idea how big those slices were. I was just lazy. Sometimes I'd look on the package but the bacon I have this week has no information--it was fresh from a butcher. Anyway, ONE thick slice was 70 calories more than the "two slices" in the database. So had I not weighed the bacon and the banana today, I would have eaten 110 calories extra that I didn't realize. I'm weighing everything today!!
I just want to point out that the USDA value for bananas is "peeled", so it's probably not 40 calories more. Banana peels are pretty heavy, and if you use the weight of an unpeeled banana in your diary you are likely to overestimate. Same for bacon - the serving size in grams is typically for a "cooked" slice of bacon. When you cook a piece of meat, especially something good and fatty like bacon, its weight will reduce drastically after cooking.
So, don't just weigh your food, make sure you are equating it to the correct diary entry when you weigh it! Is it 100 g of raw chicken breast or grilled chicken breast? Is it 82 g of unpeeled mandarin oranges or of peeled segments?
It's being nitpicky, but if you'd like to be really accurate, please keep this in mind, kids.6 -
Bump
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I use a food scale ! Sometimes. I have a couple of them.0
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My husband weighed my pork chop so he could report it to me when I got home from work to log10
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Eeek....most of this month I can't. I'm on vacation, so I'm doing my best guesses based on previous meals, restaurant guides, and package listings.2
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Happy Monday!1
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