food scale question

ilvmykidz
ilvmykidz Posts: 66
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I just got a new food scale because I read on here that they are a "must have". So now i just need to know what to do with it! lol I have the Biggest loser one from Walmart and it says it can tell you calories and all but I don't understand how it tells you that. Maybe I misunderstood something..... do I have to figure it out on my own by how much it weighs? If so, HOW? lol any help is appreciated! Thanks!:bigsmile:

Replies

  • OLFATUG
    OLFATUG Posts: 393 Member
    I personally just weight everything I eat, and look up the food on MFP. For instance, 100g of cooked white meat chicken breast has X calories. I weight out 150 grams, and plug in 1.5 servings into my log.

    -=edited for horrible speeeelingg =-
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I use the scale to weigh my food (in ounces or grams) so I know that I'm eating the right serving size. I used mfp to enter my calories still.

    Ex: serving size of chips is 1 oz and 120 calories, so I measure out 1oz of chips instead of guessing...that way it's more accurate.

    Or I have strawberries, so I weigh them (usually I'll have about 100g) and then find 100g of strawberries in the mfp food database and enter it in.

    It's just a way to measure your portions more precisely.
  • luvsherhubby
    luvsherhubby Posts: 135 Member
    I also do like the above poster. Go off the serving size, alvacado is 50 claories an oz, I weigh mine say it 1.8 and then plug it into mfp as 1.8 of 1 oz :) Mine doesnt do the calorie thing though so I have no clue how that works.
  • kspoon5
    kspoon5 Posts: 239 Member
    You use either the pkg info for serving size and measurement and enter it or find info in the database and measure. I used mine religiously for the first 2 months to teach myself portion sizes and I was blown away at how big my portions were proir to starting my journey. I love it. Great tool! I have the BL food scale but it only tells you oz. and grams though.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 866 Member
    I have a digital food scale....I am not sure if it is the same. But, mine lets me change the weight to grams, ounces, KG, and pounds.

    So, i weight my chicken or whatever I cooked. For example: If I make my burrito soup in my crockpot. I enter all of the ingredients into the "Recipe" part of the Food Diary area. If I add 2lbs of ground beef, I will say the soup has 32 1 ounce servings.

    So, if I scoop out 4 ounces of soup, I will put down 4 servings. Now, it is not an exact science because I do not count the weight of the beans and water, so I am probably log in more calories than what i eat...but it is about the best way that I can do it.

    Oh and I will cut an apple, then weigh it. Almonds, 1 serving is 28 grams....this is how I use my food scale.
  • Dare2Believe
    Dare2Believe Posts: 140 Member
    I use the scale to weigh my food (in ounces or grams) so I know that I'm eating the right serving size. I used mfp to enter my calories still.

    Ex: serving size of chips is 1 oz and 120 calories, so I measure out 1oz of chips instead of guessing...that way it's more accurate.

    Or I have strawberries, so I weigh them (usually I'll have about 100g) and then find 100g of strawberries in the mfp food database and enter it in.

    It's just a way to measure your portions more precisely.

    This is what I do as well.
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
    I have the biggest loser scale and it doesn't tell me how many calories are in food. But it weighs in grams, oz and lbs. up to 6.6 pounds with a tare option. This makes it great for measuring for full recipes!
  • Canbfit4life
    Canbfit4life Posts: 124
    whatever the amount the food weighs typically on the bag or box it tells you for example 2 oz turkey slices which may only be 2 slices is 60 calories ,you weigh the item to make sure its the correct serving size ...hope this helps
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    Regular measuring cups can be inaccurate and there are different ones to use for liquids and solids and foods that pack or don't pack (like salad).
    Use the scale (and the grams or oz part of the serving size on your food) instead and you know you will be accurate every time.
  • ilvmykidz
    ilvmykidz Posts: 66
    Thanks everyone!
  • AngelaJ1977
    AngelaJ1977 Posts: 1
    So how many calories does 4 oz of chicken breast cooked in water, skinless, have in calories? I have seen 2 different calorie counts. One was 130 calories and the other 188. To me that is a big difference. Anyone with input please reply. Thank you.
  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
    I don't really know anything about that particular scale but I weigh everything also. It is the only way to really keep up with calories and serving sizes. Most eveything has a serving size on the packaging. I use the MFP app to scan the barcode and MFP will tell you everything you need. It works on almost every food too. The main function of a scale is portion control and without out that there is no way to really be sure of how many calories you are eating.
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    The description for the scale says "The Taylor Biggest Loser Food Scale is a digital clock which calculates and displays the level of fats, saturated fats, sodium, cholesterol, protein, carbohydrates, sugars, and glucose in your food intake. The calculation is done according to the weight of the food item consumed as either solid or liquid food."

    I dont' understand how it figures the nutrients from knowing if it's a solid or liquid food, but I would read the manual.

    As for the MFP database, it's best to choose foods without a * if possible. The * means someone else added it to the database and it could be wrong. If you choose one with a *, then check to see how many people have confirmed the nutritional information as correct (you can click one "nutritional information" to see that). Otherwise I just always compare the package to what MFP says just to make sure it's right.

    Also a very accurate database to use is: http://nutritiondata.self.com/
    It doesn't include items added by the general public.
  • Avandel
    Avandel Posts: 283 Member
    I just have a regular food scale, I look at the info on a food pkg for the weight of 1 serving & weigh it out. If it's a pc of chicken breast I weigh out 4 oz. Any foods that don't have nutritional info on it, I google search.
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