These measurement units make me want to scream!

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2

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  • adam1885282
    adam1885282 Posts: 135 Member
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    I'm with the original poster about grams, grams, grams! Of course, I'll also use ounces; ounces of whiskey, ounces of vodka, etc.

    I like that I can enter my own foods but I also wish people would stop entering the same basic items in 20 different ways. For example, there are multiple, multiple entries for carrots. There's one that's actually useful becuase it includes the full list of measurement options, grams, ounces, "one large," "one cup," etc.

    Whatever.
  • adam1885282
    adam1885282 Posts: 135 Member
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    I guess a lot and use the drop down menu. If it is close to the calories on the box then I go with it.

    You've been a member since 2012 and have lost 1 pound. Maybe you've just reset you ticker, none of my business. But accurate, not perfect, measurement is important IMO.
  • felcandy
    felcandy Posts: 228 Member
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    I am so with you, it is incredibly frustrating!!

    i have a food scale and weigh almost everything and match it to the calories on the box/internet/mfp-average

    if i cant find it, i just enter in quick calories.... but that wont work now that i am starting to focus on my macros
  • Mom0819
    Mom0819 Posts: 82 Member
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    Google "oz to grams" or anything you want to convert - a handy little converter comes up as the first entry. I use it all the time.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    While I find things like "1 filet" to be annoying, cups have worked for me.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I couldn't agree with you more. I will "add" an item in MFP just to get the grams as the preferred unit of measuring. WTF is 8 large strawberries, a medium banana.. Isnt "size" all relative to what your comparing it to?
  • meFreshwater
    meFreshwater Posts: 46 Member
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    I'd love for the items to have both ounce and gram, or cup volume measures. Metric doesn't work for me, and it isn't easy to convert if I'm logging from my phone app. I also agree that there is no need for a dozen entries for one food, just differing in whether the name brand is on the first or second line, or other minor details in the title. Isn't anyone monitoring or cleaning up the database?
  • GiddyNZ
    GiddyNZ Posts: 136 Member
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    As handy as "oz to grams" calculators are, it's a pain in the butt to bring one up every time you need to enter food.. an ounce is quite a large unit of measurement.. ie 28.35 grams.. how on earth do you measure smaller amounts of food with any accuracy??
  • sgrubby
    sgrubby Posts: 103 Member
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    Google "oz to grams" or anything you want to convert - a handy little converter comes up as the first entry. I use it all the time.
    Even easier, just use the calculator on your cell phone and multiply the number of ounces by 28.35.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    While I find things like "1 filet" to be annoying, cups have worked for me.
    If you've ever weighed the actual measurement, the cup size is usually MORE than the weight size. I used to eat a 1/2 cup of ice cream until i finally invested in a food scale... My 1/2 cup is now more like 1/3 to 3/8 of a cup, not the 1/2 cup i was eating.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I'm with the original poster about grams, grams, grams! Of course, I'll also use ounces; ounces of whiskey, ounces of vodka, etc.

    I like that I can enter my own foods but I also wish people would stop entering the same basic items in 20 different ways. For example, there are multiple, multiple entries for carrots. There's one that's actually useful becuase it includes the full list of measurement options, grams, ounces, "one large," "one cup," etc.

    Whatever.
    I think there are multiple entries because often times there are incorrect data entries on some of the nutrients in an item. I have also seen where a food i ate changed the nutritional profile on a food item or similar foods are entered from other countries which have slightly different nutritional content. I usually go to
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/
    If i have any questions about a food item i will verify it with the government website. They also ave the calculation in multiple ways for example if its a large apple it will put in parentheses how many grams. Its a great tool!
  • mamosh81
    mamosh81 Posts: 409 Member
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    yeah i have the same problem usaly i try to enter my own or use the bigger portion maybe i should really buy me a kitchen scale but im not quite there yet =)
  • susiepet
    susiepet Posts: 68
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    Some days it winds me up, some days not....

    I am amazed how people can lose weight without a set of scales though - sure, it's fine for low calorie stuff like water filled veggies where you can't do much damage (and you get good nutrition anyway) if you overeat - but for nearly everything else it's pretty crucial.
    OK - so I do use some tricks like I know one flat scoop of my measuring cup is 40g of porridge oats - but only because I checked it - and even now I still do occasionally, to make sure I'm not creeping gradually up in portion size..and I have weighed bananas before now so I have a better estimate of what "medium" is next time - a lot smaller than you think!

    Everybody has their methods I guess.

    S
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
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    A cup is actually a standard, precise measure.
    1 metric cup = 250 ml
    Though a fillet can weigh differently depending on the size of the fish or type of fish.
    It might be worthwhile getting a set of electronic kitchen scales and a set of cup and spoon measures.
    With regards to the cup and spoon measures, you'll be able to guestimate volume after a little while of using them.
    And they do come in handy for cooking and getting precise ingredient volumes/weights.
    kind regards,

    Ben
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I do find it strange when people say they haven't time to weigh so they use cups. My scales are on the counter top so I just pop the item on there to weigh. No longer than trying to stuff a cucumber into a cup. If your trying to calorie count reasonably accurately cups are pretty useless for anything that's not a liquid as the volume can change depending how an item is cut or stuffed in or settles. I saw the other day a cup of fresh basil. So was that stuffed tight or just a few leaves sitting in the cup? As others I have added a lot of my own regular items that I know are accurate
  • McButtski
    McButtski Posts: 203 Member
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    I usually know the calorie content of what I'm eating before trying to enter it in the diary.. it's hard work to read the packet or indeed, google but hey, I'm a trooper.

    Agree with whoever said to just enter your own food.. it will fix the problem.. and your blood pressure.:wink:
  • nekoface
    nekoface Posts: 149 Member
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    I find that food items in the database have a few measurement options. Measurements like 1 fillet of cod are especially useful when you're eating out and are unlikely to weigh your food.
  • pennydreadful270
    pennydreadful270 Posts: 266 Member
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    I prefer things like grapes, nuts, berries to be in "one nut" form. I take a handful of these types of food to work without weighing it and I don't worry about the difference between a big grape and small grape.. it isn't going to change that drastically.

    Cup measurements for things that couldn't possibly fit in a cup are strange to me, although I think if you must guess, we are generally better at eyeballing volume than weight. I never guess in grams. I will divide a 250g package of meat by eye, but I would never look at a piece of chicken and guess it's weight. Unless you work as a butcher or something, you're almost certain to be wrong.
  • splashblob
    splashblob Posts: 249 Member
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    I don't mind it when it comes to liquid or powder form, however, when it is refer to chunk of fruit or vegetable like one cup of tomato or one cup of pineapple...then I got confused because isn't it up to how big the fruit/veggies are. I can cut of a large chunk of fruit and one piece if fulled already or I can chop them very fine and pack them all in one cup.

    Also another thing that always confused me is chicken serving size, sometimes in a recipes sites like in allrecipes, for example, they said 2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, which I understand that it is 8 Oz for each breasts and in VDO it shows big size of breast (8Oz) but then the calories count below the recipe per serving is around 135 kcal which is less then it should have been. :indifferent:

    I prefer to count nuts in one nut/kernel too.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I am amazed how people can lose weight without a set of scales though - sure, it's fine for low calorie stuff like water filled veggies where you can't do much damage (and you get good nutrition anyway) if you overeat - but for nearly everything else it's pretty crucial.

    I lost most of my weight before I got my scale! I am actually pretty good at eyeballing. I think people who use cups or half a cup just eyeball (because it's easier really). Because it's easier and less dishes to pop things on the scale than to have to stuff them in a cup first...

    I totally agree though that 'one fillet' is totally inaccurate. They come in all sizes, same for chicken breasts, so what you consider an average fillet size might not have anything to do with what the person who entered the info considers an average fillet size.

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