Why do they make calories so confusing? Help!
Options
Replies
-
Wow, that is confusing. I think I've always look at the unpopped by mistake and count that as the serving, meaning I would think it's 540 calories but it's not if you use the "popped" calories which is 35/cup, 12 cups in the whole bag so it comes to 420 calories like you said.
I skip all this mess and by the 100 calorie bags. They cost a bit more, but you don't have to do math and it helps with portion control
0 -
So far we have people coming up with somewhere between 105 and 1080 calories...I'm sure it wasn't labeled for clarity
But yes, its 420 OR 540 calories (because they give two measurements that don't agree with each other). But then you have to subtract the amount that doesn't pop to be accurate...which means you have to get your scale out to weigh greasy unpopped kernels...I'd try to call it 400 cals and call it a day.0 -
Seriously, go measure out 2 tablespoons of popcorn and pop them. Unless you're using mutant popcorn in modified gravity, it will never make 12 cups. It will make about 3 cups.
Go ahead; I'll wait.
Yes, but it says there are about 3 servings per bag so it's not just 2 tablespoons, it's closer to 6 tablespoons of kernals. Pop a bag yourself and use a dry measuring cup to count it all out, I'm guessing it will be 10-12 cups popped.
Go ahead; I'll wait.
Tear open a bag and tell me if there are 6 tablespoons of kernels in there. I promise you, it's only 2. Ignore the unpopped figures because they are misleading!0 -
I tried to do the math and i got 420 calories for a bag. Is that right? So far nobody has actually answered lol
540 180x3 3 servings per bag (12 total) seems like a lot of popcorn though0 -
Seriously, go measure out 2 tablespoons of popcorn and pop them. Unless you're using mutant popcorn in modified gravity, it will never make 12 cups. It will make about 3 cups.
Go ahead; I'll wait.
Yes, but it says there are about 3 servings per bag so it's not just 2 tablespoons, it's closer to 6 tablespoons of kernals. Pop a bag yourself and use a dry measuring cup to count it all out, I'm guessing it will be 10-12 cups popped.
Go ahead; I'll wait.
Tear open a bag and tell me if there are 6 tablespoons of kernels in there. I promise you, it's only 2. Ignore the unpopped figures because they are misleading!
Not sure how much unpopped is in there because, well, I eat it popped but I can tell you I had that same popcorn a few days ago and after it was all popped, I measured 6 cups out for myself and had a little less than half the bag left. When I've had a whole bag before, it was a little over 10 cups popped.0 -
Yeah this pisses me off too. But it actually kind of has a reverse marketing effect on me. I tend to find myself leaning towards brands that display more honesty in their nutritional labeling. A lot of stuff just has 2 columns calories/100g or some other applicable whole measure and calories/bag.
There is also the trick i personally hate of printing out the nutritional info in a great big line/non table form or making it so small you would need a magnifying glass to read it. If a company feels it needs to make it's calorie info so small that it can't be read with the naked eye I automatically assume it's junk.0 -
This is why I buy the 100 cal serving bags of popcorn
This - popcorn math makes me insane. The big bags have at least 400 or more calories. The little 100 calorie bags are much much smaller. Don't fall for the illusion that your big bag of popcorn only has 100 calories.0 -
This is why I buy the 100 cal serving bags of popcorn
This - popcorn math makes me insane. The big bags have at least 400 or more calories. The little 100 calorie bags are much much smaller. Don't fall for the illusion that your big bag of popcorn only has 100 calories.
Thank you, I totally agree :flowerforyou:0 -
The pox of Pop-Secret Butter popcorn DH got has six bags. Each bag is ~3 servings. Each serving UNPOPPED is 180 calories, thus making each bag about 540 calories.
Now if you go by the POPPED serving size of 1 cup (right side of the nutrition information panel), each bag should make 4.5 servings. Then you're looking at magically only 135 calories for the whole bag.
It doesn't make a damn bit of sense. :grumble:0 -
This is one of the reasons I tell my seventh graders that they should learn math. Yes, companies are in business of making money, which often means misleading labels. But looking closely at the label information and the amount of product in the bag. . . you can figure it out.0
-
Okay, what does it say for the amount of servings in the entire box? Is it 17, like in OP'S photo? 17 divided by 3 is 5.6, and rounded up, that's six bags of popcorn in the box. That would make one serving for one cup popped, which is 35 calories, and 3 cups popped would be 105 for the entire bag.The pox of Pop-Secret Butter popcorn DH got has six bags. Each bag is ~3 servings. Each serving UNPOPPED is 180 calories, thus making each bag about 540 calories.
Now if you go by the POPPED serving size of 1 cup (right side of the nutrition information panel), each bag should make 4.5 servings. Then you're looking at magically only 135 calories for the whole bag.
It doesn't make a damn bit of sense. :grumble:0 -
Omg I thought this was just a thread where someone can't read the label but this label is ridiculous! Thank God in the the UK are labels are relatively straightforward - bag of popcorn e.g. 330g - 100g = 67 cals or something.
I can see all sides of the arguement.
* A serving size is 33g unpopped (2 tbsp) - 180 cals unpopped
3 servings in the bag = 540 cals
* A serving of 33g unpopped makes 4 cups for each 33g. A cup is 35 cals and 3 servings in the bag 3x4x35= 420 cals (unpopped and grease)
*But also if there are 3 servings of 2tbsp making 4 cups this could easily be about 3 servings of a cup if you discount the unpopped. Say 3 cups and a bit of a cup. So I see where people are coming from when they say under serving it says 1 cup. So this would be 4x35 = 140 cals or even 3x35=105 However I think this is unlikely.
So I think the 1st is the most likely.
Also, how are there about 17 servings in a bag??? This would make 5.666 packets. If there are 'about' 3 servings in a bag, surely is should be 'about' 18 servings in a bag?
Please pop them and measure to let us all know! lol0 -
just get an electronic scale and do things by weight which is far easier0
-
Look at OP'S photo, see where it says "Servings Per Box about 17."Also, how are there about 17 servings in a bag??? This would make 5.666 packets. If there are 'about' 3 servings in a bag, surely is should be 'about' 18 servings in a bag?0 -
The bag if every kernel pops will make 4 cups of popcorn, EACH serving is 1 cup (they figure there are about 3 servings per bag, to account for the kennels that don't pop). So if every kernel pops (making 4 cups): the calories are 140 (35 X 4) (we all know this NEVER happens). So based on their rate of unpopped kernels (meaning the 3 cups) it would be 105 (35 X3) calories per bag. Yes I happen to be OCD and measure out each bag, which tends to be 3.5 cups of popcorn, which the calorie count is: 122.5 (35X3.5)
The 2 TBSP calories for unpopped are NOT multiplied by number of servings because the bag contains 2 TBSP of unpooped popcorn (seriously cut open the bag and measure it, it's 2 TBSP). The reason that the calorie number is higher there is because some of the oil (used to cook the popcorn in the bag) cooks off, plus the interior of the bag absorbs a lot of it. (seriously wipe your finger across the inside of the bag and feel the slime on your finger.
I would love to find a microwave popcorn that makes 12 cups of popped popcorn (seriously I would). It would make things much simpler here on my kids movie nights (unfortunately they like this kind of popcorn instead of the old fashioned air popped that I make).
You are right ^ bag image wouldn't load before, so I was going by what was said for servings etc above, but now that I can see the image, this seems correct. Very very confusing. Approximately 4 cups in a bag if all pop, and the box contains 3 bags, which each contain a possible 4 cups. This is the 12 cups, which have on average 17 servings? But you are not popping 3 bags, just one. Some of the grease is not consumed, so calories after popping go down per cup. You have to measure the unpopped and subtract to get a true calorie amount. Or just record 140.
That label is absolutely confusing and labeled wrong, because the first statements lead you to believe a 2 tbsp serving makes 4 cups, and then they say a serving is 1 cup = ERROR DOES NOT COMPUTE - IS IT "4 cups" or "1 cup" you cannot give two values for a defined "serving"! Which is it, decide Mr. Manufacturer...
But by common sense we know you cannot make 12 cups of popcorn in one of those bags.
The next thing I notice is there cannot be 17 servings in the box, if there are 3 bags in the box, and 3 servings per bag, unless there are about 5 bags in that box with some "extra"...but I know most boxes like that have 3 bags...?!?!?!? I think I've got it, this is Schrödinger's Cat's box and the quantity within is any and all of these numbers at the same time, you will not know until you open it...
*edit OK so looking online there are 6 bag boxes of Pop Secret. This must be a 6 bag box not a 3 bag box, very confusing if not given this info., and it still does not resolve the error in defining one serving as "4 cups popped" above and "1 cup popped" in calories/serving.0 -
There's 3 servings in the bag so 1o5 is no where near the actually count which would be close to 450.0
-
Look at OP'S photo, see where it says "Servings Per Box about 17."Also, how are there about 17 servings in a bag??? This would make 5.666 packets. If there are 'about' 3 servings in a bag, surely is should be 'about' 18 servings in a bag?
That's what I mean, if the serving per packet is already 'about' and rounded, surely the that should be a factor of the servings per box. Otherwise, if there are 6 packets and about 17 servings, this is 2.3 servings per packet and should be about 2. Or 5 packets and around 17 servings makes about 3.4 servings per packet. Why would you make about 3.4 servings per packet?Saying about 18 is already taking the unpopped kernels into consideration by not claiming it is 18 servings exactly. It's just confusing on purpose.0 -
Changed my mind, if the bag weighs 99g before popping 3x33g I am going to go with the 420 cals. I've just looked at loads of different values on http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/grocery-categories/Popcorn_in_Tesco.html and most of them are around 420-440cals for 100g of popped popcorn. It should weigh the same popped as unpopped minus the grease and unpopped.
http://i.imgur.com/jc4kASR.png?1 for label0 -
I had a packet of beef steakettes the other night (like hamburger patties I guess, but square). The package said 167 cals per serve, 4 serves per package ... but there was 3 steakettes in the package. WTF? Am I supposed to cut them in quarters and give each person 3 quarters each? Seriously ...0
-
You can't cheat and go find a different company's label, that doesn't apply here!
Changed my mind, if the bag weighs 99g before popping 3x33g I am going to go with the 420 cals. I've just looked at loads of different values on http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/grocery-categories/Popcorn_in_Tesco.html and most of them are around 420-440cals for 100g of popped popcorn. It should weigh the same popped as unpopped minus the grease and unpopped.
http://i.imgur.com/jc4kASR.png?1 for label Your info also seems to lie about the salt..*trace*...no way unless you got unsalted.
From experience, about 400 cals/bag sounds right though, its what I try to go with, when I dont log it as labeled and it gets all screwed up.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