Weigh the food!

[AmandaWi]

I was about to have a Brumby's Coffee Scroll for morning tea. Yum. Checked the database: Calories = 273

Seems reasonable, I can work that off on the treadmill. I weighed it to double check: 206gm.

I checked Calorie King - aahhh -  serving size =100gm.I thought it looked too good to be true. One is expected to cut it half. It might look like a single serve but it isn't.

To lose weight one needs two sets of scales: one for the person and another for the food!

[WendyB]

Yep such is life. They get you all the time 😞

But it is so important to weigh your serving sizes.

[A_Lurker]

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@AmandaWi wrote:

To lose weight one needs two sets of scales: one for the person and another for the food!

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Yep, a decent food scale is a must.  Even our impressions on what a small, medium and large piece of fruit can skew the calories if enough of our things are off.  If I'm making green beans for dinner I don't often bother weighing them (2 cups vs. 2-1/4 cups, well close enough).  However, if I'm making a dish with lots of veggies that I'm going to split I will often chop them into a container on the scale so I have a better approximation of the dish when I'm done.

High calorie foods, I always weigh.  I was making something to take to the office the other night and out of habit I weighed the peanut butter.  A cup of peanut butter weighed more than I thought based on the serving size in grams on the label.  Over the whole dish it wasn't a big deal, but still, if you were dropping what you thought was 100 calories each day into a smoothie and it was closer to 150 calories a day, it's just one more inaccuracy you need to worry about.  Maybe not a big deal if you're working on a 1000 calorie deficit each day, but more worrying if you're on a 250 calorie one.

[MaryVE]

Yes, I agree.  One of the best purchases I've made is a food scale.

[Sunny36]

Can anyone recommend a decent food scale?

[emili]

you need one that does oz and grams. they are all pretty much the same. I think you go with one that fits your budget from someplace like Best Buy where if you have to take it back, its not a big deal. I think mine was 15 bucks and it works awesome. I would also shoot for digital- just easier.

[iMike]

A food scale is best. I've found it takes a lot of discipline however, some folks might find it easier than others to remember to weigh their portions.  And some folks like myself find the act of weighing food discouraging.

My nutritionist did recommend something to me though ... not really to use instead of a food scale, but to use when I simply don't have time and I need food on the go.  Look for a Bento box.  It's basically a lunch box that has pre-sized interchangeable compartments.  You can view them at www.bentology.com.  I rarely ever fill every compartment, but when you look at the sizes of the compartments, you're a lot closer to the correct portion sizes than eyeballing alone. 

Sometimes I'll use the containers at dinner when I eat things such as pasta and rice so that I know I'm not overdoing.

[MaryVE]

I've been using the EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale since February 2013. No problems and batteries last a long time. I think I've replaced them twice.
EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_et7Nxb7T2GSS8