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Ounces vs Grams

spreyton22
spreyton22 Posts: 8 Member
edited January 20 in Food and Nutrition
I'm in Australia, and we use grams. :smile:
When we weigh our food, we can say 67g or 158g or whatever and it gives a very accurate calorie reply.
I notice some foods are in ounces and often not having a smaller division.
Here is an example:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/update_servings/61757953 (White Potato 69 cal / 5.3 oz)
Many of our foods (eg vegetables / salad especially) are a fraction of the calories per 100g, for example:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/update_servings/8440459 (Green Beans 35cal / 100g)

At the other end of the scale, with more calorific foods, an error created by estimating fractions of an ounce, the results could be in greater error.

I was just curious and look forward to your responses.
PS - my first post!

Replies

  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Calculating both your TDEE and your calories-in is a very inexact science. I wouldn't stress over 0.1 ounce amounts or 3 grams here or there. Just estimate honestly and it will be close enough for most people.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    ...
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I generally try to find things in the database that are in grams - they are out there! I have better luck with the items that don't have an * in front of the name (these are the non-user-entered items).

    Food sold by weight is in grams in Canada, so I find the gram entries more useful.
  • houlee
    houlee Posts: 60
    I prefer grams because they (generally) help me calculate ratios with whole numbers instead of fractions like ounces tend to give me. I hate mixing decimals and fractions in an equation, but that is more a preferred math quirk of mine. Completely ignoring the caloric count aspect, I find it easier to bake when I calculate ingredients using weight (in grams) as opposed to volume (cups).

    I currently live in the US, but I started using grams when I lived in Australia in college :)
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
    1 ounce = 28 grams
    Since joining MFP i prefer weighing and measuring in grams as i find it more accurate. I find, the least accurate, is measuring by volume (cup, 1/3 cup, etc) and in some instances such as ice cream, it is usually off by significant grams thus significant calories. I always try to convert to grams... I wish the US would do everything in grams. Food monitoring would be so much easier.
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,845 Member
    I have a scale that weighs in ounces and grams. That makes it easy to use any of the database entries. For example, my turkey sandwich today had 3 ounces of turkey and 28 grams of avocado.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Do you even math?
This discussion has been closed.

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