How do you measure food to count calories?

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wise_wind
wise_wind Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys,

I'm trying to plan a diet schedule for myself to ensure that I do not exceed the number of calories per day.

However, i have a doubt when doing so. I have googled to find how much calories does a particular food contain. But I'm confused about the serving portion.

Eg: In this website http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/homemade-tomatoe-basil-soup-374159049

1 cup of Tomato Basil Soup is 66 calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/generic-white-rice-cooked-1-3-cup-197015987

And 1 cup of cooked rice is 201 calories.

How do I measure the liquid (eg soup) and solid (eg rice) to ensure that it's 1 cup?

Thank you.

Replies

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    Forget cups - using them is inherently inaccurate (and so it is a shame that so many MFP entries specify cups!)

    Weigh everything using a set of kitchen scales. Weigh either before or after cooking, but ensure that you then use the correct entry in MFP (cooked rice has a very different calories per gram than dry, uncooked rice)
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
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    I weigh solids in grams and liquids in mls. It's much more accurate compare to cups and ounces. I use the recipe builder a lot...
  • Derpy_Hooves
    Derpy_Hooves Posts: 234 Member
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    I agree. Go metric for this, grammes only and compare the packaging to the entries here, as they're not always accurate. If you can't find the correct entry, enter it yourself, it's a few minutes work and after that it's in the database so next time you'll eat/drink it, it's there for you.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Grams on the scale, not cups. It's important that you choose the correct entries (aside from the flat out ridiculously wrong ones, it also makes a difference whether you are weighing cooked or uncooked foods.)
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    I wouldn't be using any "homemade" entries unless it's something you've made yourself and entered in to the database.

    I would use a scale to weigh all solids, and cups/spoons for liquids. Double check all entries with packaging or against USDA information. Weigh raw when possible and use appropriate entries.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    wise_wind wrote: »

    How do I measure the liquid (eg soup) and solid (eg rice) to ensure that it's 1 cup?

    Thank you.

    I use scales and weigh most of my foods and sometimes I use measuring cups but not often.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    I agree on using scales, but if you don't have food scales, you get a two-cup liquid measuring cup, add a cup of soup, then add rice until the soup reaches the two-cup line.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Weigh all solids and semi solids (like peanut butter, mayo, etc) and only measure liquids
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Weigh everything. Never trust nutrition information from websites. Use the recipe builder and weigh the finished dish to see how many grams a serving is (for me, it's 1, so I can just enter the number of grams I'm eating as the amount of servings).

    For dry foods like rice and pasta, weigh it dry. If you're making more than one serving, just weigh it cooked afterwards to see how many grams a serving of cooked rice/pasta weighs, so you can know exactly how much you're eating.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    Food scale. You can get one for under $20 (my current one was $13).

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