Calculating food

veggienut57

I can't figure out how to calculate grams when I use cups and ounces. This site has changed since I've been here too so I don't know where to post my questions at.

lynn_glenmont

Different foods have different densities, so there's no single conversion from volume measurements (cups and fluid ounces) to weight (grams). It's easier and more accurate to use a kitchen scale to weigh your food.

AnnPT77

Grams is a weight measure, like pounds and ounces (not fluid ounces, weight ounces). Cups and fluid ounces are volume measures. There's no simple generic way to convert between a weight measure and a volume measure. A cup of dry oatmeal (rolled oats), and a cup of vegetable oil, are going to have very different weights.

What to do: If you're not using a food scale to weigh your food, that's how to get a weight measure of the food you're eating. Most people here use grams because food scales typically register individual grams, but only tenths of ounces. Since there are roughly 28 grams in an ounce, gram measurements are a little more precise.

Then, you want to find MFP food database entries that are in weight measures, grams or ounces (usually if one of those is the default, the other one will be in the drop-down list of options). Some MFP database entries even contain both volume and weight measures in the drop-down. (Be careful about confusing ounces (of weight) with fluid ounces, though.)

Most packaged foods (in the US), even packaged whole foods, have both a weight measure and a volume measure on the label. You can use either of those, because they're specific to that food. If the weight measure is in grams, and you know the weight of your portion in grams, you're all set.

If you can't find a database entry in grams (or ounces) for a packaged food, you can use the label information to convert. Let's say the label says half a cup is 50 grams. You find an MFP database entry that has the right macros/calories for half a cup (matches the product label), but you ate 75 grams. In this case, just use arithmetic: 75 divided by 50 is 1.5, so you ate the equivalent of 1.5 servings of half a cup.

There are some other tweaks and wrinkles in doing this in all cases, but the above is the basic idea.

jrborenz

I use a small food scale by "Sharper Image." It was inexpensive and has lasted for years now. You put the bowl on the scale, then press the 'on button' and with the right button you can switch between grams and ounces.

veggienut57

Thanks for your replies. All I have to measure are measuring cups.

AnnPT77

veggienut57 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. All I have to measure are measuring cups.

Then look for MFP database entries that are in cups, fluid ounces, tablespoons, etc.

I don't know your situation, so maybe it's not possible, but a decent food scale is only going to be around $15 USD - about the price of a good pizza. You can get them on Amazon, at Walmart, etc.