Weighing liquids to count calories
Options
Replies
-
Christine_72 wrote: »I drink 550ml of milk every day. When I get up in the morning i fill up my little measuring jug with milk, and that is my milk receptacle for the day. I add this milk to my cups of tea. I really do not want to weigh each and every time i have a cuppa through out the day.
Then don't
When I drink milk, I pour 80 grams of milk into a small cup. When I make porridge, I pour 100 grams of milk into the saucepan. For smoothies, I also use 100 grams. For hot cocoa, it depends on which mug I choose. I don't track calories anymore, but this ensures I get enough but not too much, and I don't run unexpectedly out. 0 -
I use a measuring cup for liquids, my blender bottle conveniently has ozs and mls marked on the side so I just pour into there and am done.
I never would have thought to weigh a liquid.0 -
-
kommodevaran wrote: »
I dont mix protein drinks anymore so I use the cup to drink my water, milk (sometimes juice) from. But yes when I was mixing them I did put the liquid in first to measure it, then poured it into a separate cup and put then put the powder into the blender bottle.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
I dont mix protein drinks anymore so I use the cup to drink my water, milk (sometimes juice) from. But yes when I was mixing them I did put the liquid in first to measure it, then poured it into a separate cup and put then put the powder into the blender bottle.
Good
It sounds like a hassle compared to weighing, though. Guess it depends on what you're used to. 0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »OMG just use a measuring cup lol Sounds mathematical and time consuming weighing milk.
Agreed.
I don't understand why people will go crazy about weighing solids accurately and then purposely choose not to be exact on liquids.
Weighing is probably more accurate, given that the graduations on a scale are smaller. I.e. with my measuring cups I think the smallest graduation is ~50 mL or thereabouts (been a while since I looked) whereas I can weigh liquids to the nearest gram. As long as you know the density and have a calculator (i.e. phone), you get a much more accurate number by weighing.
But why do you need to know the density and use a calculator? Is this what you are talking about, jemhh?
Yes.
Liquids are most commonly measured by volume, which means using ounces, mL, etc. Digital scales measure weight. If you do not know the person gram weight of a liquid, using a digital scale for it means you are using the wrong tool. Look at the milk links above and you'll see that different milks have different calorie counts per gram. In the US, at least, most liquids are labeled with servings showing volume, not weight measurements. So unless you find verifiable weight-based nutrition information for them, you should measure by volume.
Ah, I see - I think. I'm used to grams for everything. For instance, foods I have now - kefir and whole milk have 61 calories per 100 grams, oil has 900, mayo has 730, ketchup, honey, all have calories per 100 grams. The soy sauce is per 100 milliliters. I don't understand using both at the same time. I weigh the food, get the amount in grams, log that, and the calories are added, it's no difference whether it's solid of liquid. Or I use a measuring spoon, and log the volume, and the calories are added. If you have the calories and the grams, and the calories per gram, you have the information you need, and you don't confuse yourself with volume.
I just took a few pictures so you can see the labels for a few liquid items I have on hand. Left column: Bartoli olive oil (tablespoons & mL), Italian salad dressing (tablespoons & grams), ranch salad dressing (tablespoons & mL), sparkling mango cocktail (fluid ounces & mL). Right column: Coca-Cola (fluid ounces & mL), Fairlife chocolate milk (fluid ounces & mL.)
0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »OMG just use a measuring cup lol Sounds mathematical and time consuming weighing milk.
Agreed.
I don't understand why people will go crazy about weighing solids accurately and then purposely choose not to be exact on liquids.
Weighing is probably more accurate, given that the graduations on a scale are smaller. I.e. with my measuring cups I think the smallest graduation is ~50 mL or thereabouts (been a while since I looked) whereas I can weigh liquids to the nearest gram. As long as you know the density and have a calculator (i.e. phone), you get a much more accurate number by weighing.
But why do you need to know the density and use a calculator? Is this what you are talking about, jemhh?
Yes.
Liquids are most commonly measured by volume, which means using ounces, mL, etc. Digital scales measure weight. If you do not know the person gram weight of a liquid, using a digital scale for it means you are using the wrong tool. Look at the milk links above and you'll see that different milks have different calorie counts per gram. In the US, at least, most liquids are labeled with servings showing volume, not weight measurements. So unless you find verifiable weight-based nutrition information for them, you should measure by volume.
Ah, I see - I think. I'm used to grams for everything. For instance, foods I have now - kefir and whole milk have 61 calories per 100 grams, oil has 900, mayo has 730, ketchup, honey, all have calories per 100 grams. The soy sauce is per 100 milliliters. I don't understand using both at the same time. I weigh the food, get the amount in grams, log that, and the calories are added, it's no difference whether it's solid of liquid. Or I use a measuring spoon, and log the volume, and the calories are added. If you have the calories and the grams, and the calories per gram, you have the information you need, and you don't confuse yourself with volume.
I just took a few pictures so you can see the labels for a few liquid items I have on hand. Left column: Bartoli olive oil (tablespoons & mL), Italian salad dressing (tablespoons & grams), ranch salad dressing (tablespoons & mL), sparkling mango cocktail (fluid ounces & mL). Right column: Coca-Cola (fluid ounces & mL), Fairlife chocolate milk (fluid ounces & mL.)
Thank you, it looks American
Serving sizes 
I guess they work for you guys, but I like to take the amount I want and weigh and log that, that's what I'm used to. 1 -
Weighing is cool, it's neat to learn how people do things differently as long as it works for you that's great
0 -
Good discussion! I personally prefer to weigh my milk because I'm already weighing my cereal and/or yogurt in the morning (and less for me to clean).
Re: the nutrition labels, unfortunately in the US, milk and certain other liquids don't have calories per 100g as standards -- it would definitely make things much easier! My milk only has calories per mL for example
0 -
I use a measuring cup for milk because I drink it out of that cup anyway.0
-
I always weigh liquids for recipes because I was taught to by a chef. He advised against measuring cups as they are not very accurate.
I have no problem with this because my line of work involves doing calculations that involve density and flotation, so it is second nature to me that 1ml of fresh water weighs 1 gram. That isn't even a conversion for me, I don't have to think about it.
I also know that the density variation in water-based liquids like milk, juice, vinegar, fizzy drinks etc. is minimal. Even sea water is only two and a half percent heavier than fresh - enough to matter if you're sailing a ship in it, but not for recipes or calorie tracking.
I would only use a different density for something where there is a SIGNIFICANT proportion of another substance in there, not just a dissolved trace - so oils, cream, honey, syrup, hard spirits. You'll need to account for different densities there. But for anything which is overwhelmingly made up of water, 1g=1ml is close enough.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.4K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 983 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions