You don't use a food scale?

eye balling = does not equal the same. lol ... cereal for a true serving is to dang small .. hahha

Gisel2015 wrote: »

dogWalkerTX wrote: »

Food scale is 100% necessary. Best money spent on weight loss.

Make salad. Google calories. Weigh. Tare. Next item. Tare. Next item. Tare,... till done.

Particularly useful for calorie dense items.

A food scale is a very useful tool (and a good recommendation), but not 100% necessary to lose wt. There are many people in MFP, myself included, that have lost weight without one.

While this may be true - and it was for me for quite a while - I find I eat enough food with the scale, as well as not too much.

I lost the first 40-50ish pounds without a food scale. I eyeballed everything, used cups for cereal, guessed on meat. Tablespoons when I felt like it, etc. A "medium" apple was close enough and I lost weight with not much difficulty when I had a lot of weight to lose.

When I got to within 20 pounds of my goal that stopped working for me and my tendency started to be to restrict even more, which led me to getting pretty sick - hair loss, fatigue etc. It's every bit as important to me now, 12 years into maintenance, for that same reason. I want to eat as much as I need to keep my energy up and stay healthy and I don't do that well at all if left to my own devices. Without a food scale I swing too wildly between all or nothing. I need the accuracy...well, most of the time. I still go out to eat and eat at peoples' houses and just guess, but it's not that often.

cmriverside wrote: »

Gisel2015 wrote: »

dogWalkerTX wrote: »

Food scale is 100% necessary. Best money spent on weight loss.

Make salad. Google calories. Weigh. Tare. Next item. Tare. Next item. Tare,... till done.

Particularly useful for calorie dense items.

A food scale is a very useful tool (and a good recommendation), but not 100% necessary to lose wt. There are many people in MFP, myself included, that have lost weight without one.

While this may be true - and it was for me for quite a while - I find I eat enough food with the scale, as well as not too much.

I lost the first 40-50ish pounds without a food scale. I eyeballed everything, used cups for cereal, guessed on meat. Tablespoons when I felt like it, etc. A "medium" apple was close enough and I lost weight with not much difficulty when I had a lot of weight to lose.

When I got to within 20 pounds of my goal that stopped working for me and my tendency started to be to restrict even more, which led me to getting pretty sick - hair loss, fatigue etc. It's every bit as important to me now, 12 years into maintenance, for that same reason. I want to eat as much as I need to keep my energy up and stay healthy and I don't do that well at all if left to my own devices. Without a food scale I swing too wildly between all or nothing. I need the accuracy...well, most of the time. I still go out to eat and eat at peoples' houses and just guess, but it's not that often.

This proofs that we are all different. I only had about 12 lb to lose when I joined MFP. And I, like you, also used tablespoons and cups, and I even searched and used "generic" items (OMG, the nerve!!!), and estimated values when eating out. I lost 14 lb. slowly but surely, and I didn't care. I only got a food scale almost 9 years ago when I reached maintenance because I wanted to keep better track of my macros.

I am not a very precise logger anymore, and I use the scale loosely when cooking at home. Maybe it helps that I am not a volume eater. Who knows?

Bottom line is that I don’t ditch the use and benefit of using a food scale, but I just don’t believe that using a food scale is the only way to lose weight. It may be the faster and more accurate, but not 100% necessary. That is my opinion and only based in my results, so just take it with a grain of salt.

By the way, congratulations on your 12 years in maintenance. Way to go!

quiksylver296 wrote: »

try2again wrote: »

whmscll wrote: »

I weighed my peanut butter several times and 1 Tbsp weighs exactly what the label says. So I use Tbsps for peanut better (scraped across the top with a knife so it is not a rounded Tbsp). I find it quicker and easier.

Except for the transferring of the pb from the TB to whatever, usually involving a finger (for me), and the washing of the TB. With a scale, a person would just have to put the jar of pb on the scale, tare it, and use the negative weight of whatever they scoop out with their utensil.

Yep. PB jar on scale, scoop out with knife or spoon, til I get 32 g. No extra dishes FTW!

I weight whatever I'm putting the PB on and then weigh again after I spread the PB and take that as the weight of the PB (or Nutella or Jelly or butter).

@quiksylver296
I have no idea. My scale never leaves the kitchen countertop. Just in case, remove the battery and keep it in another place away from heat and make sure that is a new one and not corroded. Good luck with your trip!

zebasschick wrote: »

unless you're using measuring cups and spoons, you have to be lucky if your tablespoons and teaspoons actually hold a measured tablespoon or teaspoon. we have two sets of flatware, and none of the spoons are accurate - in one set, the spoons are well under; in the older they're over.

Even if you are using measuring cups and spoons your measurements are lucky to be accurate. This is why you'll see it repeated over and over again on this forum to use a scale to weigh your food and only as a last resort for liquids turn to volume measurements. But, even liquids you're better off doing by weight if you can.

My confession...

Although I join in the chorus, telling struggling noobs to weigh, I've never done it myself. I don't even measure. I don't own scales. It just seems like far too much faffing around