measurement converter

nw2swgirl
nw2swgirl Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does Fitness Pal have a measurement converter? e.g. tablespoons to cups, cups to grams, etc.

Answers

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    cups t o grams would be impossible - since cups of different things weigh different amounts.

    However if you are using standard measuring cups and tablespoons you can use this converter : https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-tablespoons.php

    Be aware that 'standard' varies according to country and measuring system (eg Metric) and make sure you are using correct one for your utensils.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    I don't think so.

    If the issue is MFP food database entries, often there will be a cross-system equivalent in the serving size drop-down, i.e., if something is in ounces (weight) as a default, there will be grams in the drop-down; or if in cups, milliliters is in the drop-down. Where that's true, no "by hand" conversion is necessary. (Be careful about entries in the crowd-sourced database where the user who typed in the entry didn't correctly distinguish ounces (weight) from fluid ounces, though!)

    Honestly, conversions in my home-country's relatively-dumb system I memorized long, long ago: 16 ounces (weight) in a pound; 16 Tablespoons in a cup; 3 teaspoons in a Tablespoon; 8 fluid ounces in a cup (which has nothing to do with weight, just volume). Most of the time, I can handle the arithmetic in my head, and think that's good mental practice.

    Conversions within the metric system are easy, as long as a person keeps weight vs. volume measures straight (i.e. kilos vs. liters, as basics).

    If I need to convert between systems, I've personally just done a quick web search for (say) "pounds to kilos" and a calculator comes up on page 1. Easy, I think.

    I do know that there are about 28 grams in a US ounce (weight ounce), but that's from having a mis-spent youth in the 1970s. I'll leave figuring out that reference to other aging readers. ;)
  • Hobartlemagne
    Hobartlemagne Posts: 565 Member
    1 Lb=454g
    Easiest thing to do is measure everything in grams only.
    Forget cups. I absolutely hate food measurements like "cups of broccoli". Useless.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    Hobartlemagne wrote: »
    1 Lb=454g
    Easiest thing to do is measure everything in grams only.
    Forget cups. I absolutely hate food measurements like "cups of broccoli". Useless.

    Fun fact: Some of the most accurate entries in the database are the ones MFP loaded from the USDA food database when MFP started, and many of those have a default quantity in cups. However, the drop-down for serving size in these typically has many different types of measures, including grams:

    63wp3kh5cwsr.jpg

    In that example, there are even more options in the box, if a person scrolls down; I just couldn't catch more than this subset with a screen grab.

    Once a person logs that usually-accurate entry with something like grams, it's in recent/frequent foods with grams as the first serving size option.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    Hobartlemagne wrote: »
    1 Lb=454g
    Easiest thing to do is measure everything in grams only.
    Forget cups. I absolutely hate food measurements like "cups of broccoli". Useless.

    Well,yes,things like broccoli are best weighed.

    But liquids in volume measurements is fine - and things like sugar or flour or rice that one measures as a level cup in recipes.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,243 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Hobartlemagne wrote: »
    1 Lb=454g
    Easiest thing to do is measure everything in grams only.
    Forget cups. I absolutely hate food measurements like "cups of broccoli". Useless.

    Well,yes,things like broccoli are best weighed.

    But liquids in volume measurements is fine - and things like sugar or flour or rice that one measures as a level cup in recipes.

    I still think mass is more important for liquids like oils that have a high calorie density. Same thing with sugar. Flour is usually best measured by mass, but you have to figure out the right conversion for your situation if you're using it for baking. That will adjust over time.

    I will say that my particular half cup volume measure seems to be in line with what the mass of a half cup of brown rice should be. Some volume measurements can be close. Mass in grams is still superior.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I use a food scale and look for entries in the database that include weights.

    ADMIN-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database will have weights in the dropdown.

    (A green check mark for USER-created entries just means enough people have upvoted the entry - it is not necessarily correct.)

    To find ADMIN entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP. Be aware that there is a glitch whereby sometimes 1g is the option but the values are actually for 100g. This is pretty easy to spot though, as when added the calories are 100x more than is reasonable.

    https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

    Use the “SR Legacy” tab - that's what MFP used to pull in entries.

    Note: any MFP entry that includes "USDA" was USER entered.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    Yes Tara, I know you think that.

    However many people do use cups and many recipes do too, a nd OP asked how to convert, not what our preferred method is.

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