Just curious - do you eat the serving size or just whatever amount you want?
Options
Replies
-
I go with serving sizes listed on the packet as the base, altering the math when needed. Like I normally have 2 slices of bread for a sammich, so 1 slice = 23 g on the package, but both weigh 48 g so I log 2.09 servings.0
-
I weigh and eat the portion that I want. I just use the serving size to calculate calories.0
-
I don't understand the concept of serving size, I'll eat how much I need/want/can fit in.
Cups is volume and shouldn't be used for anything but liquids, and even liquids can be weighed (I do that).0 -
I started to wonder this when I see all the critiques of folk's diaries... i.e., "it says you ate 1/4 cup of cheese, use a food scale!" Well I personally use a food scale, and know that 1/4 cup of cheese is 28g. So if I go to log it and I weighed out 28g, then I log the 1/4 cup if that's what comes up first.
But then I started to realize that I mostly aim for serving sizes because to me, it's just easier to log that way. Am I the only one that does this?
No, 1/4 cup of cheese is not always 28 grams.
Just like not all bananas are 110 calories either, and this thing about small, medium, large bananas is all in the perception.
I research to make sure I am using accurate entries and most of the time I log in grams, sometimes in ounces. I also weigh my food and never count on measuring cups/spoons for solid food because they are not accurate.
For me, it's much easier to weigh my food and ensure accurate entries, and it doesn't take any time at all.
Depending on my calorie allotment, I might eat more or less than the serving size. That's the beauty of weighing in grams--the serving size is very easy to adjust.
I took that to mean that the label on her cheese says something like Serving: 1/4 cup (28 g). So if she finds that cheese in the MFP database with the same nutrition info that is on her label, she measures 28 g and logs it. It might show up as 1/4 cup on her diary but she's actually weighed it out.
Another example, my cottage cheese comes up as Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup on MFP. The label on the package says the serving is 1/2 cup (114 g.) The nutrition info on MFP for Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup matches what is on my food label. So I measure my 114 g and log it.0 -
it depends on the food item...sometimes I have a serving...sometimes less than a serving...sometimes more.0
-
I do like you do. Actually, when I have had struggles with my weight loss, I didn't come to the boards because I knew that all they would say is to open my diary and then tell me that I wasn't weighing everything. I do though! The only thing that I don't weigh consistently is bread because I don't eat a lot of it and I am always under on my calories anyway. But cheese? The cheese I use is a finely shredded blend. A serving size is 1/3 cup or 28 grams. I will set a container on my digital scale, tare it, and then weigh out exactly 28 grams. If I go over, I take cheese back out until it is 28 grams. Sometimes 27 or 26 grams will be used as 28 if I'm in a hurry. I even weigh my eggs though usually I just use the jumbo setting even though I only use large eggs and they weigh less than the jumbo. I weigh most of my liquids including salad dressing and coffee creamer the same way. I set my bowl, plate, cup, etc on the scale, tare, and then very slowly put my dressing or creamer or ketchup or mayo, whatever, until it says the right weight.
I don't only eat the serving size on everything but I usually do end up doing it in whole numbers. I don't know why. It seems easier, I guess. Haha.0 -
"Serving size" doesn't mean much to me these days. I feel like the term has sort of turned into a game by companies to try to make their foods appear lower in calories - hence all of those amusing moments where you read the package and realize that a "serving" is some stupidly small amount of the total.
I just measure out whatever I'm interested in at the moment, weigh it, and make sure it fits into my day.
I was reading the back of some sausages, and the package said there were 6 servings in the package, but only 4 sausages. Who eats 2/3 of a sausage?! The manipulation of a serving is annoying, and supposedly when the new FDA rules go into effect (next year I think?), thing should get slightly better in the US. Slightly. I wonder if cereal servings are going to change; those are always ridiculous.0 -
HappyCampr1 wrote: »"Serving size" doesn't mean much to me these days. I feel like the term has sort of turned into a game by companies to try to make their foods appear lower in calories - hence all of those amusing moments where you read the package and realize that a "serving" is some stupidly small amount of the total.
I just measure out whatever I'm interested in at the moment, weigh it, and make sure it fits into my day.
I was reading the back of some sausages, and the package said there were 6 servings in the package, but only 4 sausages. Who eats 2/3 of a sausage?! The manipulation of a serving is annoying, and supposedly when the new FDA rules go into effect (next year I think?), thing should get slightly better in the US. Slightly. I wonder if cereal servings are going to change; those are always ridiculous.
I agree with this. The bag of pre-shredded potatoes we occasionally buy for Sunday morning breakfast says it contains 7 servings. No way. My husband and I used to split the bag between us. Now, I only use a third of it, but still... 1/7 of the bag is nothing.
Also, I got a bottle of hard cider the other day. 11.2 oz bottle, but the serving size was 8 ounces. Is anybody NOT drinking the whole bottle?
That kind of thing annoys me the most. I can see myself thinking "I'll have a cup of cider" and then sitting down and drinking 8 ounces of it. But when would I ever then think "I'd really like four fifths of a cup of cider" or "Three point two ounces of cider would really hit the spot!"0 -
Always the serving size. Always.0
-
I do the same thing for most things. I weigh out a portion size, and log it as that portion size. So it probably doesn't look like I weigh my food, but I actually do.0
-
I weigh out the serving size on the package in grams and then add to it if it's not enough. So it looks like I'm logging some things by measurement, but everything I eat that's not liquid gets weighed in grams.0
-
depends on what it is and what i have to work with for the day LOL
there are plenty of things i dont weigh - slices of bread, cheese slices, single serve prepackaged things (or whole containers if im eating the entire thing- like a can of soup)... but there are things i weigh EVERY time - usually higher calorie things. meats, pasta/rice, peanut butter, oils, cereal, avacados, etc.....0 -
I almost always use a serving size, and I do the same thing with weighing my food in grams but logging the individual serving by cups because it is easier. However, one serving of cereal is never enough, so I usually weigh out 1.5 servings and log that instead.0
-
MFP needs the ability to say "i ate 212 grams of X" instead of having to do "i ate 2.36 90g servings of X"0
-
I started to wonder this when I see all the critiques of folk's diaries... i.e., "it says you ate 1/4 cup of cheese, use a food scale!" Well I personally use a food scale, and know that 1/4 cup of cheese is 28g. So if I go to log it and I weighed out 28g, then I log the 1/4 cup if that's what comes up first.
But then I started to realize that I mostly aim for serving sizes because to me, it's just easier to log that way. Am I the only one that does this?
No, 1/4 cup of cheese is not always 28 grams.
Just like not all bananas are 110 calories either, and this thing about small, medium, large bananas is all in the perception.
I research to make sure I am using accurate entries and most of the time I log in grams, sometimes in ounces. I also weigh my food and never count on measuring cups/spoons for solid food because they are not accurate.
For me, it's much easier to weigh my food and ensure accurate entries, and it doesn't take any time at all.
Depending on my calorie allotment, I might eat more or less than the serving size. That's the beauty of weighing in grams--the serving size is very easy to adjust.
I took that to mean that the label on her cheese says something like Serving: 1/4 cup (28 g). So if she finds that cheese in the MFP database with the same nutrition info that is on her label, she measures 28 g and logs it. It might show up as 1/4 cup on her diary but she's actually weighed it out.
Another example, my cottage cheese comes up as Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup on MFP. The label on the package says the serving is 1/2 cup (114 g.) The nutrition info on MFP for Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup matches what is on my food label. So I measure my 114 g and log it.
Yes, this is how I took it as well. If I have 0% Greek yogurt, for example, I'll weigh out 227 g and record that as a cup, which is a serving size.
I almost always do fractional parts of a serving: 1/2, 1-2/3, 3, etc. Although I log my food elsewhere and can't always log to the gram.0 -
I started to wonder this when I see all the critiques of folk's diaries... i.e., "it says you ate 1/4 cup of cheese, use a food scale!" Well I personally use a food scale, and know that 1/4 cup of cheese is 28g. So if I go to log it and I weighed out 28g, then I log the 1/4 cup if that's what comes up first.
But then I started to realize that I mostly aim for serving sizes because to me, it's just easier to log that way. Am I the only one that does this?
No, 1/4 cup of cheese is not always 28 grams.
Just like not all bananas are 110 calories either, and this thing about small, medium, large bananas is all in the perception.
I research to make sure I am using accurate entries and most of the time I log in grams, sometimes in ounces. I also weigh my food and never count on measuring cups/spoons for solid food because they are not accurate.
For me, it's much easier to weigh my food and ensure accurate entries, and it doesn't take any time at all.
Depending on my calorie allotment, I might eat more or less than the serving size. That's the beauty of weighing in grams--the serving size is very easy to adjust.
I took that to mean that the label on her cheese says something like Serving: 1/4 cup (28 g). So if she finds that cheese in the MFP database with the same nutrition info that is on her label, she measures 28 g and logs it. It might show up as 1/4 cup on her diary but she's actually weighed it out.
Another example, my cottage cheese comes up as Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup on MFP. The label on the package says the serving is 1/2 cup (114 g.) The nutrition info on MFP for Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup matches what is on my food label. So I measure my 114 g and log it.
Thank you!! I'm always seeing people arguing this point! I weight my oatmeal until it is the 40g (or whatever it is) that the box says is 1/2 cup and 150 calories. When MFP has entries that say 1/2 cup and still the nutrition that my box says there is in 40g, I log it! It might look like I'm measuring 1/2 cup, but I was really using the scale and getting 40g.0 -
jesikalovesyou wrote: »Thank you!! I'm always seeing people arguing this point! I weight my oatmeal until it is the 40g (or whatever it is) that the box says is 1/2 cup and 150 calories. When MFP has entries that say 1/2 cup and still the nutrition that my box says there is in 40g, I log it! It might look like I'm measuring 1/2 cup, but I was really using the scale and getting 40g.
This (and, coincidentally, every morning for my oatmeal as well!). Like others have said, MFP has the serving size as volume in its library, not as grams. So when that is the case, i measure out to the serving size in weight (listed as grams in parentheses next to the volume). But I like doing math, so I don't mind doing the adjustments (NERD ALERT!!!!!) 0 -
jesikalovesyou wrote: »I started to wonder this when I see all the critiques of folk's diaries... i.e., "it says you ate 1/4 cup of cheese, use a food scale!" Well I personally use a food scale, and know that 1/4 cup of cheese is 28g. So if I go to log it and I weighed out 28g, then I log the 1/4 cup if that's what comes up first.
But then I started to realize that I mostly aim for serving sizes because to me, it's just easier to log that way. Am I the only one that does this?
No, 1/4 cup of cheese is not always 28 grams.
Just like not all bananas are 110 calories either, and this thing about small, medium, large bananas is all in the perception.
I research to make sure I am using accurate entries and most of the time I log in grams, sometimes in ounces. I also weigh my food and never count on measuring cups/spoons for solid food because they are not accurate.
For me, it's much easier to weigh my food and ensure accurate entries, and it doesn't take any time at all.
Depending on my calorie allotment, I might eat more or less than the serving size. That's the beauty of weighing in grams--the serving size is very easy to adjust.
I took that to mean that the label on her cheese says something like Serving: 1/4 cup (28 g). So if she finds that cheese in the MFP database with the same nutrition info that is on her label, she measures 28 g and logs it. It might show up as 1/4 cup on her diary but she's actually weighed it out.
Another example, my cottage cheese comes up as Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup on MFP. The label on the package says the serving is 1/2 cup (114 g.) The nutrition info on MFP for Food Club - 4% milkfat cottage cheese large curd, 1/2 cup matches what is on my food label. So I measure my 114 g and log it.
Thank you!! I'm always seeing people arguing this point! I weight my oatmeal until it is the 40g (or whatever it is) that the box says is 1/2 cup and 150 calories. When MFP has entries that say 1/2 cup and still the nutrition that my box says there is in 40g, I log it! It might look like I'm measuring 1/2 cup, but I was really using the scale and getting 40g.
I don't think this point gets argued, it's all about context. Often these basic measurements are red flags of not measuring correctly when an OP isn't losing weight and people look at their diary.
I often use cups, or "7 crackers" etc. for simplicity, even though I weigh- but I still point it out if someone has these measurements in their diary as it often indicates inaccuracy.0 -
No, 1/4 cup of cheese is not always 28 grams.
For shredded or crumbled cheese, in my experience, a 1/4 cup serving is always 28g.
But we're not talking about the same thing. We're just talking about labels and serving sizes, not about how much volume it really is. Then yeah, I agree that if you weigh 1/4 cup of cheese it will probably be anywhere from 20g to 40g. But the labels always say that 1/4 cup is 28g.
I seriously still don't understand who thought it would be a good idea to estimate food by volume.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 938 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions