Tell me about your kitchen scale

[Erin514]

I've never used one before. Do I really need one for LE diet or could measuring be accurate enough?

If I do buy a scale, I want it to be cute enough that I won't mind leaving it out on the counter every day, so I'd get one of the vintage mechanical scales. Is it ok if it's only accurate to 10g or 25g? What capacity do people usually get (3kg vs 5kg)? We make a lot of meals from scratch.

[atomic sagebrush]

I don't recommend using a scale, there's no point to it really and it is just another thing to stress/obsess over. Those little details really mess with the mind.

[Erin514]

So is it ok to just estimate on the sizes then? My fitness pal is great for a pre-packedged granola bar, but I never know what to enter if the meal is, say, potato wedges or a bean salad or some chicken or a couple of bananas. How can I know what portion size to enter? I've seen a lot of posts saying most people underestimate when they guess.

Sorry if this is really obvious. I just tried using my fitness pal for one day and was guessing for every single thing I ate. I don't eat much pre-made stuff.

[Throwaway_panther]

Now, keeping in mind I AM an obsessive person -- I recommend at least for a time to get a better feel for portions. Almost everyone under rather than overestimates their food intake, even when using cups (which are not as accurate). This is a rec I give to anyone trying to lose weight anyway, let along "boy moms" trying to convert to LE habits. Groupon occasionally has cute ones as deals!

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[atomic sagebrush]

Yes that was me too, but what I would do is just go off the amount of cals. in an average potato, for example, or an average banana, and go off of that. I never used MFP I just kept a tally for a few weeks and after that I completely knew how much I could eat each day. :)

I seriously don't want you guys weighing your food. That is a recipe for disordered eating and "swaycession" and we have enough trouble with that as it is.

[ksmom]

I only ever used a scale for measuring pasta simply because I'm horrible at knowing how much to make. I always make way too much or way too little for myself and others. It was just a cheap plastic scale we already had I think from back when DH was dieting. Everything else I just estimated, like a "medium" apple or approx. 1/2 cup beans.

[XXforhubby]

I use it to weigh my Asian chopped salad I like by Dole. It has fried wonton strips that could easily make the fat and calories skyrocket if not kept in check, hahaha. Occasionally I have weighed other things too, like chicken.



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[3'sacharm]

I use my scales sometimes; mainly for things like pasta and rice, as like ksmom, I'm terribly for getting uncooked quantities badly wrong! I also tend to weight out portions of crisp type snacks that come in big bags. Otherwise I don't bother that much x

[Erin514]

Hmm... maybe I will get one if I see a good deal, then only use it for 1-2 weeks to get the hang of it. I don't want to weight EVERYTHING, but I would feel a lot better about guessing if I could know I was in the right ballpark first. Thanks, ladies.

[atomic sagebrush]

So is it ok to just estimate on the sizes then? My fitness pal is great for a pre-packedged granola bar, but I never know what to enter if the meal is, say, potato wedges or a bean salad or some chicken or a couple of bananas. How can I know what portion size to enter? I've seen a lot of posts saying most people underestimate when they guess.

Sorry if this is really obvious. I just tried using my fitness pal for one day and was guessing for every single thing I ate. I don't eat much pre-made stuff.

Oh whoops I think I failed to fully answer this.

Yes, just estimate. It's fine, and it may even help you guys to embrace being chill on LE Diet. :)

[kc15880]

I cook everything in bulk & freeze my meals so I do use electronic scales, but then I dont really have to think day by day about my food choices. I sit down once a week & plan my meals ahead so all I have to do is glance at the list day by day & away I go. I find I obsess & worry more when I dont know the content of food! I am terrible at estimating

[atomic sagebrush]

I do want to point out, though, that while we talk about anxiety and "swaycession" and stuff, we don't really know how it works. I personally think it''s a lot more down to that nameless feeling of happily checking things off a checklist and how that ALLEVIATES feelings of anxiety for those of us who are planners by nature. It's not the anxiety, it's not the obsessiveness, it's the control-freakishness. Thus, I still urge you guys to have extreme caution when measuring food and planning out meals to the perfect degree and stuff.

Guesstimating, accepting inaccuracy and having faith that good enough is gonna have to be good enough, and flying by seat of your pants = sways pink

Measuring food or any method of trying to control one's universe, and being happy it makes you less worried and anxious - I believe this sways blue. It's the control freakishness, NOT the anxiety. We may have more anxiety and thus be more control-freakish, but it's still the control freakishness and NOT the anxiety that is swaying.

[Lexim]

I weigh things but I should add that before trying LE I was a macro counter purely for body composition goals and I know lots of macro counters. It's a perfectly healthy lifestyle when viewed objectively.
It's simply a tool to use.

So with that in mind, I'm well seasoned with counting my food and figuring out what I'm eating.
However with LE I'm not being as strict as what I usually am. I usually count everything but because I've been doing it so long, I can estimate most things now.

Usually I hit my macros to a T but doing LE I'm just keeping at near enough.

Works for me :)


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[cosmosis]

In order to plug in foods on most platforms like MFP, it is easiest to weigh them. If you cook from scratch often, then you'll need a scale on the bigger side so you can measure big amounts.

[atomic sagebrush]

Just not a fan of weighing the foods, gals. I don't recommend it. :) If you're doing it already, up to you of course, but no one start weighing foods on LE Diet PLEASE!

[Erin514]

I never did buy a kitchen scale, by the way. :wink:

[atomic sagebrush]

Yay Erin! :)