Scales For You

Obesity in children is almost epidemic in America today.  It’s really difficult to put a child on a diet, especially when he’s in school or day care while the parents work.  Children often don’t want to hear about healthy eating habits and exercise routines.  They would rather play their video games and watch television.

Sometimes a new approach helps.  Children like handheld video games–perhaps they would like handheld scales.  The scales are easy to recalibrate and have a stainless steel platform for easy clean up.  If the child enjoys using the handheld scales, he might cultivate an interest in healthy eating habits. 

An ounce seems like a very small amount, but some things need to be weighed in even smaller increments.  There are 28.349523123 grams in one ounce.  That is quite a difference!  

Carbohydrates in food have a large impact on blood sugar.  A gram scale is convenient for measuring carbs in odd-sized foods like fruits, bread, soups, etc.  To find the amount of carbohydrate in a serving of food you first weigh the food to find its total weight in grams.  Find the food’s carb percentage in one of the food groups, then multiply the food’s total weight in grams by the percentage.  This can be especially helpful for people who have diabetes or other medical conditions that specify the number of carbs needed for a healthy diet.
 

I read something today that really bothers me–a basket of corn chips at a Mexican restaurant has 550 calories and two slices of pizza has 1000 calories.  I usually don’t try to count calories when I’m dieting–I’m more inclined to count points from Weight Watchers.  However, I would hate to think how many points those two items would equal.  It hurts me to realize how many of those corn chips I have eaten while waiting for my food!

One-third of Americans get 47 percent of their calories from junk food.  It’s so easy to munch on junk food when we’re stressed, bored, reading, watching television or just haven’t planned our meals.  If we’re really serious about forming good eating habits, we need to get a good set of food scales, research the different kinds of foods and measure our portions.  Portion control is one of the most important parts of successful dieting.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between electric and electronic?  We have so many devices today that are called electronic:  laptops, calculators, palm pilots, video games, scales, etc.  I believe electric refers to something that uses “Alternating Current” or “AC” for short.  Examples of electric appliances would be your iron, toaster, can opener, hair dryer, etc.  Electronic refers to gadgets or something utilizing “Direct Current” or “DC” for short.  For example, the modular power converter for your cell phone is called a power supply which converts the 120 v-AC to around 5 v-DC.  All the rechargeable batteries are devices that store the converted AC to DC power so that portables like laptops can operate on the go.

Many scales are electronic.  This makes them more portable and easier to use.  Electronic scales are made for the bathroom, kitchen or lab.  Counting scales, shipping scales and multifunctional scales are usually electronic.  Electronics have changed our world in many ways including replacing many spring and dial scales with electronic scales. 

Many workplaces have cafeterias or snack bars for the employees who do not want to pack a lunch or go out to eat.  This is a convenience that many workers use.  However, an employee who is seriously dieting due to obesity or medical conditions will need help determining appropriate portion sizes.

A digital pocket scale can solve the problem.  This is a hand-held scale that is easy to recalibrate for accurate weighing.  It has a stainless steel platform for easy cleaning.  With a digital pocket scale in your pocket or purse, you can determine appropriate portion sizes anywhere. 

Why do I need a kitchen scale?  Faster measuring can save me time!  No more scooping flour or sugar into a measuring cup and leveling with a straight edge.  Simply, set your bowl on the scale, use the Tare feature to reset the scale on zero, then add your ingredient until the display shows the desired amount.   Now, reset to zero again and add the next ingredient.  Not only is this faster than the old way of measuring cups and spoons, but there are fewer utensils to clean when the cooking is done.

Digital scales work based on an electrical component called a strain gauge.  The resistance of the strain gauge changes based upon the compression of the component.  A simple computer is preloaded at the factory into the digital scale with a table of values that allows it to calculate the weight of a load by the change in resistance.  Thus, a digital kitchen scale and tell you quickly and precisely the amount of each ingredient that you place in the mixing bowl. 

When babies first learn to talk, many parents start teaching them to count to ten.  As we grow older, we often find ourselves counting large quantities of items, either in the workplace or in hobbies.  Counting large numbers of small items can consume a lot of time.  In addition, it is often difficult to remember exactly where we were and we lose count and have to begin again.

A digital counting scale can help solve this problem.  By using the TARE feature, you can subtract the weight of a container.  Then by determining the weight of one of your items to be counted, the scale can tell you how many you have placed in the container.   The Abacus is out and the digital counting scale is in!

A weight scale is a measuring instrument for measuring the weight or mass of an object. They use one of two techniques. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load. A balance, described below, compares the unknown weight to a standard weight using a horizontal lever.

Weighing scales are used in many industrial and commercial applications, and products from feathers to loaded tractor-trailers are sold by weight. Specialized medical scales and bathroom scales are used to measure the body weight of human beings.

If you’re on a diet or you’re trying to be more conscious of your food intake, it may be beneficial to purchase food scales for your kitchen.  These will allow you to measure out your ingredients and food and ensure that you are staying true to your diet.

You’ll also find these scales helpful if you’re ever trying to split bulk meat or fruit or vegetables with friends or family.

Many times we hear and use words without thinking through exactly what the word means.  For example, in the last few years the word “digital” has been attached to a lot of things in our environment–digital electronics, digital watches, digital scales, etc.  What is the difference between a digital watch and a non-digital or analog watch?

The word digital comes from the same source as the word digit and digitus (the Latin word for finger), as fingers are used for discrete counting.  A digital system uses discontinuous values to represent information, while analog systems use a continuous range of values to represent information.  If we think of a digital watch which shows the exact time in digits, we can visualize a digital bathroom scale.  It also gives information in digits.