Food Scale.. worth it or not?

12estump
12estump Posts: 13 Member
edited December 24 in Food and Nutrition
I am trying to see if I should invest in buying a food scale for meal prepping? Is it worth it or can I live without it?
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Replies

  • whoami67
    whoami67 Posts: 297 Member
    I bought a cheap one on Amazon. I couldn't cook without it now even when I'm not trying to lose weight. I love that thing.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    Yes, it is worth it.
  • VioletRojo
    VioletRojo Posts: 597 Member
    Worth every penny.
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Worth it. More accurate counts AND it's even a time saver. Why go get a measuring cup when I can just tare it out and take straight from the contianer.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Crafty_camper123 wrote: »
    Worth it. More accurate counts AND it's even a time saver. Why go get a measuring cup when I can just tare it out and take straight from the contianer.

    Also, fewer dishes to wash :) Put bowl on scale, tare, add ingredient 1, tare, repeat. (Or, put full container on scale, tare, take out what you want.) No need to dirty any measuring cups or spoons.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Absolutely worth it!!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    No one can choose for you. It is not required to lose weight. For me, after the initial couple of weeks of getting accustomed to it and learning a few tricks it has been one of the most important tools in my box.

    What it provides me most is peace of mind. In almost 2 years of losing weight my bathroom scale has failed to budge or it went up as long as I was logging accurately and I remained in a deficit I didn't have to worry. The weight loss would always eventually show up on the bathroom scale eventually and it always has.

    Without it there was always the potential I was eating more than I realized and that 3 weeks later I would not see any progress because I was not due any. Now you could say that because I was eating at maintenance I wasn't really losing weight anyway so there should not have been a struggle but just because there is no physical struggle doesn't mean there is no mental one.

    I am not afraid of losing slow but I do not wish to spin my wheels mentally for weeks at a time because I was not logging accurately enough.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    I love mine and use it even without tracking both for cooking generally, and for checking the amount I am consuming. I used to use a scale for baking, and think it's vastly superior to cup measures for dry goods whether one is logging or not.

    I also found it made logging easier and more fun.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited January 2020
    It's worth it. A small price to pay for that reliability. Makes logging less stressful in some ways, I don't have to fret over whether I've logged something accurately or not. That said, when I first joined MFP back in 2012, I did not have a scale. And I lost 20 lbs just fine. For me it's not as much about being super accurate, but more so about being held accountable and consistent...
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Worth it.

    A digital scale will only cost about $10 on AMZN but won't be worth anything in terms of wt loss if you don't use it.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,147 Member
    I don't think of $15 as an investment, but if you do think of it as an investment into your health. I plateaued with 45lbs to go, the food scale (and starting workouts) is how I lost the rest. Eyeballing and measuring cups aren't accurate, and packaged food should be weighed as it's often off. For things like peanut butter and assuming fruit was "small" I was way off. Measuring out oatmeal I was actually under and could eat more. I can't imagine recipe builder without a scale!
  • barbarafburns
    barbarafburns Posts: 5 Member
    I think it is worth it. It took me a couple of days to get use to using mine but now I do not prepare meals without. I even have my family using it for my meals.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,024 Member
    edited January 2020
    It's the most important tool I have to stay accurate with logging. I've lost 91 lbs since last April. Would have never been as successful without it! I use it for every piece of food that goes in my mouth.
  • Mov3mor3
    Mov3mor3 Posts: 96 Member
    It's a nice tool to have in any kitchen if you are a cook. It also will help you realize portion sizes. If you are stuck on a plateau, sometimes portion sizes are the culprit. $20 is't going to break the bank, and anything over that is just for brand.
  • imabeevampire
    imabeevampire Posts: 166 Member
    Yes!!!!!! I didn't realise how much 30gs of cheese was until I weighed it 😭😭
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    A food scale is a basic premise of MFP methodology, so yes. Take time to read the sticky posts at the top of the forum.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,729 Member
    From monitoring calories to stretching food budget (enjoying more with less) kitchen scale is absolutely worth whatever you decide to pay for one!!
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    Probably the single best bang for your buck you can get in terms of money for something benificial. I don't even use mine that often, but I find it to be beneficial when I need it. Considering you can get them for under 15 bucks, it's a no brainer.
  • walkingforward
    walkingforward Posts: 174 Member
    edited January 2020
    Unless you spend your money on plans / products where everything is already measured out in serves then very worth it. I enjoy almonds and peanut butter - highly calorific foods that aren't practical or cost-effective to by in "Single Serve". For this I have a food scale at home and another at my office desk at work. If you don't have a job where it is practical to do what I do, then do what I used to do before the second scale came along - measure out a serve before you head out.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Yes, its worth it.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited January 2020
    We've always had one, so it was my first and most logical choice when I decided to start losing weight, even before I joined this forum. I hate extra dishes, so 100% worth it to me for calorie management. As a bonus, it's also the most precise way to record my intake so my weight loss was more predictable. I'm done losing and I'm now maintaining, and I still use it for most things. It's invaluable for calorie-dense things because the margin of error for measuring these foods is large.

    If you don't mind unpredictable weight loss (or aggressive troubleshooting beyond water weight issues if your weight loss stalls), then you don't really need one. It is nice to have, though.
  • yellobird13
    yellobird13 Posts: 118 Member
    edited January 2020
    After41 wrote: »
    It's a nice tool to have in any kitchen if you are a cook. It also will help you realize portion sizes. If you are stuck on a plateau, sometimes portion sizes are the culprit. $20 is't going to break the bank, and anything over that is just for brand.

    I‘ll echo this - I use it to cook regardless of diet, works wonders to measure coffee grounds to make good coffee, for flour etc. and is a great tool for anyone who cooks. I also love it for measuring my portions. Agree with others that there are good ones that are cheap. I selected mine so that I can still read the numbers with a dinner plate sitting on it (some scales are too small for that).
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    walkingforward wrote: »
    Unless you spend your money on plans / products where everything is already measured out in serves then very worth it. I enjoy almonds and peanut butter - highly calorific foods that aren't practical or cost-effective to by in "Single Serve". For this I have a food scale at home and another at my office desk at work. If you don't have a job where it is practical to do what I do, then do what I used to do before the second scale came along - measure out a serve before you head out.

    even packaged stuff is often quite off, so even someone eating everything out of a package with serving size could benefit from a scale.
  • a_candler
    a_candler Posts: 209 Member
    Very necessary!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Like everyone else has said, Yes, it is very much worth it. Accuracy is everything and spending $20 or less is so much worth it!

    Not only are you able to log more accurately, as you work with your scale you will get a better sense of what a portion looks like, which will help you when you are eating out or at another's home. I feel comfortable estimating a restaurant meal now that I know what 6 oz. of chicken breast looks like or 2 oz. of shredded cheese.

    You need a scale that measures in grams and has a tare function. Anything else is not necessary (especially the liquid function which is only accurate for water and reasonably accurate for milk).
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