Food Scale -- To Buy or Not To Buy?

I love my scale - between DH and I, we must use it 5-6 times a day! We weigh everything and wow does it make a difference.

For the question of dry vs wet:

Weigh pasta and rice dry (they suck up water, water will add weight but nothing else, hence weigh dry)

Weigh meat cooked (it looses water, hence will weigh less when cooked) - also for veggies if you want cooked ones

Realize that liquids can also be weighed - measure out 4 oz or 8 oz or whatever and then weight it - water is 4 oz by wt for 4 liquid oz, milk is about the same, clear alcohol is about the same, etc...useful for not dirtying up other dishes or guessing.

For fruit/veggies where you remove things (seeds, rind, etc), weigh before you eat, then after and subtract (ie, avocado weighs 200g, eat just the flesh, reweigh skin and seed = 120g, thus you only ate 80g - log just that).

If you really want to lose weight fast, use accurate portion sizes! It takes less than 10 seconds to plop the bowl on the scale and hit on before pouring in your cereal/pasta/rice/flour/etc!

Buy! Its not only useful for measuring your portions to track calories, a lot of recipes ive come across lately (especially baking) are written in ounces not cups. I got mine at Target for about thirty dollars. It works great and is very handsome on the counter too.

Congrats on your loss! Buy one they are a great tool to have, and really will make you more aware of your portion sizes. I find I use mine for a bit, then it gets put away, and as the weight seems to slow coming off, I get the scale back out and often find the portion sizes I have been eyeballing have grown a little. Make sure you do get one with the TARE option.... that way you can put on a dish, zero it, then add your food. I got mine at Canadian Tire reg 25$ for 9.99. Fabulous!

When I bought my scale, I was worried I would never use it and it would be a waste of money....


I ALWAYS USE IT! AND I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's hard for me to "guestimate" ounces and grams sometimes. That said, should I invest in a food scale? I've seen some pretty decent ones that range in price from $9.99 to $49.99 (sorry...not paying more than $50 for one of these).

I look forward to your feedback.

ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY:

Seriously, I found a SALTER (COMPANY) Baker's Dream TM - Aquatronic Electronic Scale in the discount rack at Kroger's around Christmas time...HELLO.

The price on it was 27.99 marked down from 39.99 (dollars). IT IS FANTASTIC.

Weight Capacity is up to 11 lbs 1/8 ox (5kg 1g) and 175 fl oz x 1.8 fl oz (5000 ml x 1 ml)
Battery life is "guaranteed" at 10 YEARS or it is replaced! Lithium.
The platform is larger enough to put a good sized mixing bowl on.

The scale has four buttons on it.

ON: When depressed with zero the scale with what ever is on it. IE if you have a coffee cup on it at the time you push on (even if it's on already) it zeros again. Then pour your soup or coffee in and it gives you the number of fl oz.

Fl oz/ml lbs/gms - The second and third buttons allows you to switch between fluid oz/Ml and lbs/grams. That way if something in MFP is listed in grams and you just measured it in ounces you don't have to convert....with a calculator or if it is in fl oz it will convert to ml.

If you are adding multiple ingredients you could zero the scale and add milk. Then zero the scale again and add sugar. then zero the scale again and add cream cheese. Each time you'll get the weight in grams/lbs or fluid oz of the item you just added minus every thing else. You can measure the milk in fl oz, then add the flour and measure it (after zeroing) in lbs or grams, then measure the cream cheese in ml or lbs. What ever you need to do to record it in MFP. You just hit a button while it's on the scale and it converts it to the other units I can't tell you how useful this is. Otherwise I use an app (if at work) called "Mila's Tools" that can convert most things but the scale is very user friendly and fast.

Last button is off.

The Model number is 1020w. If you find it on line for this or cheaper let me know. I might buy some friends on MFP one for the Holidays!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

I've been through a few food scales over the years, both for fitness and because I bake and do confectionery. My hands-down favorite is an Escali Primo. It is easier to use, has lasted longer, and taken more abuse (getting wet, sliding off the counter) than more expensive models I have used have. I occasionally test it against something with a known weight, and it still performs well after years. Amazon has them for $25, but if you look around you can find them for less--I think mine was less than $15 because Sur La Tab had discontinued that color.

Overall, I'd say a food scale is well worth the investment.

I'm really glad you brought this up. I have been eating healthy for a few months now. I think I probably over- or under-estimate food portions on a daily basis.

After reading these posts, I will get one this weekend.

Thanks for the topic, and thanks everyone for the great responses!!!!

Definitely buy one! I use mine every day, especially for breakfast cereal and cheese. If you need any help at all with portion control, scales are a must!

I got a digital one at Walmart for $25 dollars, its so worth it, I use it for my meals and snacks everyday!

Absolutely buy. I have a digital one that shows either oz. or grams and I LOVE it. Another good point others may have made -- buy one with a flat top so that you can put a plate on or bowl on it. That way I put down a plate, zero the scale, and then place whatever food I'm measuring on it. No clean up and makes everything easy.