A couple of posters seemed to comment that they wanted a scale but couldn't afford one- I just wanted to say that I got mine at the grocery store for about $6 and it's fine. It's probably not as accurate as a digital one, but it works for me! I would guess places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond would also have some for under/around $10.

One of the things I've noticed is that though sometimes I was overestimating a cup, sometimes I was UNDER estimating ounces (ie: I figured 3 oz of chicken was MUCH less than it actually is) so that helped me a lot!

I love my food scale. I use it regularly even when I'm not really dieting or actively calorie counting.

But I just saw this video on youtube. It will definitely convince you that weighing, not measuring, is the way to go!

http://www.youtube.com/user/Fatlosst.../1/JVjWPclrWVY

The same thing happened to me! Chicken breast (skinless, boneless) is really a calorie bargain.

Weighing has its upsides too! I found that 1 cup of pasta was WAY less than the 2oz dry weight and even better ice cream...1/2 cup has to be seriously packed in to equal the gram weight, I was WAY overestimating my ice cream consumption.

MTA: I only weigh heavy hitters like icecream. I wont toss a zucchini on the scale ever. EVER

FYI- on the frozen vs unfrozen topic. I recently weighed my frozen, un-cooked chicken at 4.6oz and then again after baking at 2.5oz

I agree with the above poster about underestimating ounces. I'm pleasantly surprised with how much meat and cheese I get every time.

Nutritional labels are notorious for inaccurate information and they get away with it because they are allowed to have a generous margin of error. Also they round up or down to suit what they think the consumer is watching for. A single serving can say 0 carbs, for instance, but is actually .99g carbs and if one ate 3 servings, there is 3 carbs not being counted.

Recently I laughed at a powdered drink mix packet. It said it had 5 calories for HALF of the SINGLE serving packet. Yet it listed 0 for fat, carbs and protein. So what makes up the 10 calories for the packet? It's carbs of course, it is in the dextrose used to fill out the powder. It's quite deceptive, especially to a carb counter or diabetic.

I got my food scale from walmart.com really cheap! I always weigh my meats raw.