Measuring Question

FireOpalCO
FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
edited February 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I didn't want to derail another thread, but saw frequent comments in it about how measuring is "no good" for dry foods.

Can someone explain this? I bake a lot and this is the first time I have EVER come across this statement. As long as you use the correct type of measure (dry vs. wet) why would it not be accurate? The only time I could see that being valid would be if it was an item that wouldn't neatly fit in a measuring cup (leaving pockets of air, for example berries) and then one would be ingesting less then they thought, not more.

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    The weight measurements a company gives as the serving size are the exact serving size, while the cups/spoons measurement is the closest estimation they can give to make it easier for people to use their product. The two rarely match up perfectly. For a lot of products and a lot of people this won't make a big difference. But if your weight is stalling it can be one of the easier ways to check that you're doing everything right.

    As a comparison, I recently logged a day of my food with cups/spoons measurements and then relogged it by weight. The same foods logged two different ways differed by about 200 calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    and also

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    If you have a cup of flour for example depending how it settles or how compact it is the amount can vary quite a bit. The same with veggies a cup of carrots will differ depending how small you chop them. The calorie differences can be quite a lot

    Here In the UK it's normal to weigh foods I always find it strange that anyone would think a cup as good measurement for something solid. I also find it weird when people say they don't have scales. I don't know anyone who doesn't have some in their kitchen even if they don't cook much it's just a standard thing in a British kitchen. I actually don't own any cup measurements at all never use them.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    recipes in North american cook books are tested based on those measurments.

    Food consumed is not.
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    The weight measurements a company gives as the serving size are the exact serving size, while the cups/spoons measurement is the closest estimation they can give to make it easier for people to use their product. The two rarely match up perfectly. For a lot of products and a lot of people this won't make a big difference. But if your weight is stalling it can be one of the easier ways to check that you're doing everything right.

    As a comparison, I recently logged a day of my food with cups/spoons measurements and then relogged it by weight. The same foods logged two different ways differed by about 200 calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    and also

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
    And that my dear people is why I always try and stay "Below" my calorie intake.( I have a lot of fellow MFPers telling me I am not eating enough) To allow for variances in measurements. There are grams, ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, cups and other things. It is hard when creating recipes, different ingredients go by different measurements. I end up using all of my measuring instruments. :drinker:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    The weight measurements a company gives as the serving size are the exact serving size, while the cups/spoons measurement is the closest estimation they can give to make it easier for people to use their product. The two rarely match up perfectly. For a lot of products and a lot of people this won't make a big difference. But if your weight is stalling it can be one of the easier ways to check that you're doing everything right.

    As a comparison, I recently logged a day of my food with cups/spoons measurements and then relogged it by weight. The same foods logged two different ways differed by about 200 calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    and also

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
    And that my dear people is why I always try and stay "Below" my calorie intake.( I have a lot of fellow MFPers telling me I am not eating enough) To allow for variances in measurements. There are grams, ounces, tablespoons, teaspoons, cups and other things. It is hard when creating recipes, different ingredients go by different measurements. I end up using all of my measuring instruments. :drinker:

    If you weigh solids and measure liquids there is no reason to stay under your goal.

    Grams are the most accurate for solids esp when using a scale.

    Creating recipes is easy when using a scale/cups etc...

    I put my bowl/container on my scale turn it on...it goes to zero. Put in dry ingrediants zeroing out between ingrediants then measure liquids...how easy is that...
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