The Math Hurts My Brain!

MeganKSchultz
MeganKSchultz Posts: 73
in Food and Nutrition
Ok, I admit it, I'm not great at math. I was lucky to marry a man with a math degree. I'm a musician... I only have to count to 8, 12 if it's really hard! So calculating my calories hurts my brain sometimes. Today, I had a food item that was listed on mfp but my options were 1/3 c, 1 cup or the whole thing. I'd eaten 1 tablespoon! I googled how many tablespoons in a 1/3 cup... 5.3333333!!! What the heck do I do with that?!?! What do you do with the math gets all crazy on you like that?

Replies

  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    I live in a country that uses metric for food nutrition labels! *punches air*
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    eat 4 more tablespoons and enter 1 serving of 1/3 C
  • Juliejustsaying
    Juliejustsaying Posts: 2,332 Member
    divide one serving by 5.33 = .19 enter you ate .19 servings.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
    it depends what it is. Most food is easier to weigh than measure. If for example, you were eating 1tbsp cottage cheese and they only give you 1/3 cup, you can try to find another option under cottage cheese where they give you grams or ounces, and do it that way. Or if they give you 1/3 cup and you eat 1tbsp and 5tbs + 1/3, then you ate 1/5th which is then starting to make my brain hurt, but comes out to like .2 or so of 1/3 cup, so then you put under serving size .2.

    Hope this helps more than hurts lol....
  • amiratann
    amiratann Posts: 3 Member
    so, sounds like if you use the 1/3 cup as the set measure you's put 0.2 in the serving to refelct that you consumed about one fifth of the set measure.
  • MsLilly200
    MsLilly200 Posts: 192 Member
    I live in a country that uses metric for food nutrition labels! *punches air*

    Me too!

    Maybe you could use a different entry? One that has a tablespoon measurement... If there is one.
  • ShaunMc1968
    ShaunMc1968 Posts: 204
    total calories in 1/3rd of a cup divide by 5.333 = calories for one tablespoon.
  • Denise1224
    Denise1224 Posts: 150 Member
    Divide the calories from the 1/3 c serving by the 5.3333 and it will give you the answer for how many are in 1... unless I haven't had enough coffee to do math either LOL
  • aszwarc
    aszwarc Posts: 200 Member
    There are 16 tablespoons in a cup. So if you choose the 1 cup option, you can use 1/16, which is .06. Or eat one more tablespoon and that's 1/8 Cup.

    (And high five from another music major.)
  • americangirlok
    americangirlok Posts: 228 Member
    Sometimes I think I overthink it. But if I see a cup on the drop down as an option for serving size then I know that that is either 8 fl oz or 16 Tablespoons. So
    1 Cup= 8 oz= 16 tablespoons
    3/4 Cup = 6 oz = 12 tablespoons
    1/2 cup = 4 oz = 8 tablespoons
    1/3 cup = 2 1/3 oz or 2.67 oz or 5 1/3 Tablespoons (or 5 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
    1/4 cup = 2 oz = 4 tablespoons
    1/8 cup = 1 oz = 2 tablespoons = 1 shot.
    1/16 cup = .5 oz = 1 tablespoon
    So if I had a tablespoon of something that measures 1 cup as an option in the drop down I would enter .0625 and then let MFP do the rest of the math.

    That's what I do at any rate.

    Also if you type tablespoon enough times it starts to look really weird!
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    Sometimes I think I overthink it. But if I see a cup on the drop down as an option for serving size then I know that that is either 8 fl oz or 16 Tablespoons. So
    1 Cup= 8 oz= 16 tablespoons
    3/4 Cup = 6 oz = 12 tablespoons
    1/2 cup = 4 oz = 8 tablespoons
    1/3 cup = 2 1/3 oz or 2.67 oz or 5 1/3 Tablespoons (or 5 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
    1/4 cup = 2 oz = 4 tablespoons
    1/8 cup = 1 oz = 2 tablespoons = 1 shot.
    1/16 cup = .5 oz = 1 tablespoon
    So if I had a tablespoon of something that measures 1 cup as an option in the drop down I would enter .0625 and then let MFP do the rest of the math.

    That's what I do at any rate.

    Also if you type tablespoon enough times it starts to look really weird!

    I love this! Thank you! I am always googling the equivalents, LOL...
  • EvelynBfly78
    EvelynBfly78 Posts: 240 Member
    Sometimes I think I overthink it. But if I see a cup on the drop down as an option for serving size then I know that that is either 8 fl oz or 16 Tablespoons. So
    1 Cup= 8 oz= 16 tablespoons
    3/4 Cup = 6 oz = 12 tablespoons
    1/2 cup = 4 oz = 8 tablespoons
    1/3 cup = 2 1/3 oz or 2.67 oz or 5 1/3 Tablespoons (or 5 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)
    1/4 cup = 2 oz = 4 tablespoons
    1/8 cup = 1 oz = 2 tablespoons = 1 shot.
    1/16 cup = .5 oz = 1 tablespoon
    So if I had a tablespoon of something that measures 1 cup as an option in the drop down I would enter .0625 and then let MFP do the rest of the math.

    That's what I do at any rate.

    Also if you type tablespoon enough times it starts to look really weird!
    ^^This is correct!
    I used to be a math teacher. Awesome job showing the equivalents.
    You would definitely get an A+ in my class!

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