Why you need a food scale

carrie_eggo
carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
I know this is a sort of advertisement for Leigh Peele's book, but it is an excellent example of how easy it is to underestimate caloric intake, even when measuring your food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
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Replies

  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    I love my food scale. It's like a coke scale. Super precise. I get mocked for all the food that I weigh, but it's worth it.
  • amem07
    amem07 Posts: 8 Member
    Does a food sacel really help? I have never thought of using one....... I just kind of guess at what I am eating? Maybe that is why I am not losing a lot of weight?
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    Does a food sacel really help? I have never thought of using one....... I just kind of guess at what I am eating? Maybe that is why I am not losing a lot of weight?

    Um, did you watch the video?
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    Does a food sacel really help? I have never thought of using one....... I just kind of guess at what I am eating? Maybe that is why I am not losing a lot of weight?

    Not a good idea IMO

    Even after weighing my food for so long, I find my guess work to be pretty inaccurate with many foods.

    Its very easy to underestimate the weight of something
  • EbbySoo
    EbbySoo Posts: 267 Member
    IT IS SOOOO WORTH IT!! LOL. I was pretty good at eyeballing the majority of my staples for the proper serving, but I weighed out my oatmeal serving and it was 3X as much as the serving I was recording, which was 350 calories more per day just in oats, then I weighed my Kirkland prunes, it says on the label 5 prunes=100 calories, was I ever off there, 3 prunes on the scale works out to the 40g serving for 100 cals. Big difference if you go to eat 10 prunes per day no? :) Love it, it's my new geeky tool.
  • modernmom70
    modernmom70 Posts: 373 Member
    Yes love my digital food scale! I only use measuring cups for liquid. Also you should weigh your bread because a piece rarely is the number of grams it says it is and the nutritional info is based on.
  • bjfrezell
    bjfrezell Posts: 241
    I recommend a food scale. I'll use measuring cups all the time but nothing beats the food scale. You can definitely over estimate your food weight by just eye-balling the food. My husband mocks me sometimes when I whip my food scale out but he never mocks me on the weight I've lost (which is more than him!) :)
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Thanks. Bookmarked it to use for future forum questions.
  • CheleLynn44
    CheleLynn44 Posts: 339 Member
    I'm so happy with my food scale. I was actually under-eyeballing a few things. Which isn't horrible, but if I'm putting down I'm eating 6oz I now know I'm eating 6oz!! :happy:
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    I ADORE my food scale. My portions were way over what I should have been eating before - you really can't guess your food. Weighing is the only way to be certain, that's for sure.

    I also love that my food scale has a 'tare' option so I don't have to do a lot of math, lol.
  • Goosiesnougs
    Goosiesnougs Posts: 420
    LOVE my food scale, but can anyone answer this....When I measure out half a cup of ice cream (not a lot for a serving size, is it?)
    It is totally different than when I put it on the food scale and measure it in grams (I forget exactly how many it is for my slow churned pistashio!!) I get to eat WAAAAYYYY more than when I try to stuff it in the measuring cups. WHY IS THIS----I am not complaining!
  • sheystar
    sheystar Posts: 58
    you need a food scale because it is very helpful. especially for me because i love nuts, and it is very easy to overeat with nuts. not to mention they are high in calories. i weigh them on my food scale and in that way i can keep everything in control. right nowi just ate 10 grams of almonds :)
  • failnomore
    failnomore Posts: 39
    I weigh EVERYTHING!! To the point my husband thinks I'm losing it :tongue:
  • Bean615
    Bean615 Posts: 132 Member
    my food scale changed my life! it really showed me how much i was over-eating.
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    LOVE my food scale, but can anyone answer this....When I measure out half a cup of ice cream (not a lot for a serving size, is it?)
    It is totally different than when I put it on the food scale and measure it in grams (I forget exactly how many it is for my slow churned pistashio!!) I get to eat WAAAAYYYY more than when I try to stuff it in the measuring cups. WHY IS THIS----I am not complaining!

    I noticed the same thing.... so I stuffed it in a measuring cup, then dumped that on the food scale and made a mental note of what it weight in grams. Then I just use that number of grams to measure it out later.
  • NicolePatriot
    NicolePatriot Posts: 621 Member
    I just got one for Valentine's Day! It is awesome. Highly recommended :)
  • Tammelina
    Tammelina Posts: 9 Member
    I've been putting this issue off for weeks.... Going shopping this weekend!!!
  • dizzyblondegirlie
    dizzyblondegirlie Posts: 40
    I am in love with my food scale! it's a digital one that I got for xmas. Use it for most meals. I weigh everything where i'm not using something pre-prepared or a 'whole' something.

    I find it really useful for creating my recipes on mfp as I can them work out the cals in one serving. Would definitely recommend getting one. No matter how good you think you are at gestimating weight, every time I weigh something I have a guess first and I'm always way off. They are cheap so definitely buy some x
  • jeccalou
    jeccalou Posts: 92 Member
    Yep, love my scale. Takes all the guesswork out of calcuating my portions, and I am much more confident about the accuracy of my calorie intake.
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    I love my food scale!

    I can't imagine my life without it.

    My battery died in my old one and within 2 hours I had replaced the entire scale with a fancier version
  • TurnLeftNow
    TurnLeftNow Posts: 171
    I have been really thinking about getting a food scale because of how drastic people say the difference is when measuring. However I have been a little reluctant in getting one because they are slightly pricey.

    Watching this video, I can see how things would add up quickly when you simply just use a measuring spoon. But honestly, if you are using the scoop and the oatmeal is OVER the line... what do you expect? That's not 1/2 of a cup, that's more than 1/2 of a cup. I mean you are supposed to level everything out. Although that would still make it slightly more if you brush off everything, it wouldn't be as much more.

    I really would have liked to see some fruit and vegetable measurements. Like one big banana vs a small banana, a big apple vs a small apple. If anyone has any pictures of those to show the weight difference between sizes, I'd be interested in seeing that.
  • BrandiD56
    BrandiD56 Posts: 103
    After reading all these comments I think I will go buy a food scale.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    LOL I really doubt the "average" person overscoops like that and expects it to be accurate. But I do get the point. I have a food scale. I find it especially useful for nuts, cheese, and meat.
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    LOVE my food scale, but can anyone answer this....When I measure out half a cup of ice cream (not a lot for a serving size, is it?)
    It is totally different than when I put it on the food scale and measure it in grams (I forget exactly how many it is for my slow churned pistashio!!) I get to eat WAAAAYYYY more than when I try to stuff it in the measuring cups. WHY IS THIS----I am not complaining!

    I noticed the same thing.... so I stuffed it in a measuring cup, then dumped that on the food scale and made a mental note of what it weight in grams. Then I just use that number of grams to measure it out later.

    You should be going by the serving size in grams. That is the most accurate. The 1/2 cup is an approximation of the serving size. The grams is the exact serving size.

    x grams = x calories, 1/2 c. = ? calories....that's why food scales are more accurate than measuring cups. :flowerforyou:
  • Kissybiz
    Kissybiz Posts: 361 Member
    Food Scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons.. couldn't live without them... I weigh and measure everything! Now if I could just get a decent HRM I'd be in great shape!
  • DoingItNow2012
    DoingItNow2012 Posts: 424 Member
    WANNA WATCH VIDEO LATER
  • derposaurus
    derposaurus Posts: 53 Member
    I have considered a food scale for a while for things. especially meat. i usually eyeball it but i always try to over-estimate just to be safe.

    when i measure stuff though.. i NEVER overscoop. i always level off. I thought that was normal? The girl in this video thinks it isn't i guess lol.

    but even still, this is a big realization. anyone know where i can get a good and cheap food scale?
  • 0EmmeNicole0
    0EmmeNicole0 Posts: 180 Member
    I love love love my food scale. It's perfect for meats, cheeses, and nuts since it's so easy to be inaccurate with those measurements. I still continue to use measuring cups for sauces, soups and oils but it's perfect for anything and everything solid. Very good investment.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    Does a food sacel really help? I have never thought of using one....... I just kind of guess at what I am eating? Maybe that is why I am not losing a lot of weight?

    For sure! You can be a few hundred calories out over the day if you don't get the food weights correct and that few hundred calories will add up over the week and can be the difference between losing weight or putting weight back on see. Especially with foods such as butter (even low fat spreads), meat, CHEESE is a big one - hell a tiny bit out and you are underestimating just how many calories you are taking in.

    I have a digital food scales that measures in grams. Seriously worth its weight in gold.

    Dang I luff me scales so much I am going to call them tickles!
  • Hungry_Tuna
    Hungry_Tuna Posts: 361 Member
    Ohh yes, I've been meaning to get a food scale for some time and keep forgetting! Thanks for the reminder!

    Any recommendations on a good, reliable scale? Checking Amazon right now.. they're not badly priced!
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