Cup used for weighing food?

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2

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  • sarumbear
    sarumbear Posts: 17 Member
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    Can any user makes an entry to MFP database?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    I think I was not clear on the purpose of my post. I do know that cups and grams are not interchangeable and the the former measures volume, the latter weigh. My post is about why MFP doesn't? And, why they have so many entries with meaningless measures?

    Their USP of the app is the food database, which we can all agree that has many flowed entries. Why are their users, us, not complaining?

    Because those are entries that are created by the users. Some have very wrong information. Some packaged items will have different ingredients (which results in different nutritional values) depending on the country it is from. Things that are fresh vegetables or fruit that have wrong entries are because a user entered the information wrong.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    Can any user makes an entry to MFP database?

    Yes
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    Can any user makes an entry to MFP database?
    Yes. You can do it on the phone app and on the website.
    I tend to make my own entries for things, because I like to weigh everything in grams. If I'm on the website, I'll make sure that the entry isn't shared with others (so my own personal list of foods). If I'm on my phone, it doesn't give me an option so I think it ends up shared with everybody.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Use weights using a food scale for solids, cups for liquids (unless your food scale has a fl oz option).
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    The only items I enter are ones that do not already exist and are items with a nutrition label (usually they are local store brands). Otherwise, I am able to find whatever I need among already existing entries. Sometimes you have to do a little math *gasp* but I look for entries that 1) have at least 5 confirmations and 2) list the weight for 100 gram servings. Makes life and logging very simple.

    Tip: use "usda" in your search terms. You are more likely to get 100 gram serving sizes with that.

    The biggest problem with the bloated database is that people would rather create a new entry rather than just calculate their serving weight from an existing entry.
  • intrigare
    intrigare Posts: 8 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I use the cups measurement when I have to guesstimate how much of something I ate when I didn't bring along a scale (I still haven't brought myself to weigh food at a restaurant or at work, lol.) Indeed its a very inaccurate method, but I think I could guess the volume of something better than I could guess its weight.

    All of the entries you find in the database with an asterisk next to them are member-submitted. Anyone can edit these to correct inaccuracies.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    I think I was not clear on the purpose of my post. I do know that cups and grams are not interchangeable and the the former measures volume, the latter weigh. My post is about why MFP doesn't? And, why they have so many entries with meaningless measures?

    Their USP of the app is the food database, which we can all agree that has many flowed entries. Why are their users, us, not complaining?

    Some complain, others DO

    There was actually a massive survey conducted by the owner of the site as to why so many duplicate entries exist in the database. This wouldn't apply to whole foods like Bananas, but it turned out that the correct serving or nutritional info may not be the same from one country to the other, or even from one day to the next as companies modify their food contents.

    I'm not sure it's been mentioned, but on the web, look for entires without an asterisk next to them to identify entries not created by other users. On the app, I can also identify MFP official whole foods because as mentioned above, they contain multiple serving sizes - like almost a dozen sometimes
  • sarumbear
    sarumbear Posts: 17 Member
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    Earlnabby, thank you! Using "usda" along with the food name does indeed shows correct entries.

    If we can enter into the MFP database, why can't we edit it? There already a system that works pretty well, Wikipedia. MFP can copy the system of editors and have their database sorted.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    Earlnabby, thank you! Using "usda" along with the food name does indeed shows correct entries.

    If we can enter into the MFP database, why can't we edit it? There already a system that works pretty well, Wikipedia. MFP can copy the system of editors and have their database sorted.

    The MFP official entries do not contain the word "USDA", though those may work great for your needs and match the correct nutritional info

    You can edit existing entries that are not MyFitnessPal official entries

    You may need to learn some of the tool's functionality. Some of the items in here may be a bit dated due to database software updates, but you should give this a quick read:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    Hi

    I'm new to this forum. If this question belongs to another forum please accept my apologies and point me to the right place.

    I do not understand the cup measurement used for describing weight. I asked support and they said “A cup is 8 fluid ounces, 236. ml, 226 grams”.

    Now, every secondary school educated person knows that volume and weigh are not interchangeable and there certainly is no set conversion factor between them as it depends on the item's mass. Where do they come up with that 226 gram then?

    I step into this issue when trying to calculate calories for some foods like cucumber, carrot, parsnip.

    There is a database entry of 1 cup parsnips at 100 calories. According to support this would be translated to 226 grams, which means 100 grams of parnips is 42 calories. Meanwhile, the database has an entry for 1oo grams of Asda British parsnips at 123 calories. That is 2.9 times discrepancy on a vegetable which only a single variety exists. Can you see the problem? I think this caused by using wrong unit to measure items.

    Besides, can you see yourself measuring a physical cup of parsnip, or cucumber, or carrots?

    I like MyFittnessPal, especially the iPad app is great, but if the database is wrong the USP is gone and it becomes just a calculator.

    Riza

    The MFP database has a lot of incorrect entries.

    Get a food scale and weigh your solids. Grams are preferable, but I also will use ounces sometimes for meat. Measure your liquids in a measuring cup (I use my glass one that goes up to one cup, not the individual plastic ones).

    To make sure you are choosing the correct entries from the database, you need to do some research. Read packages, research foods at the USDA website. When it comes to meats, weigh raw when you can, but if you choose to weigh cooked make sure you are using the correct entry for cooked (grilled, fried, steamed).

    You might find yourself creating you own food entries because you can't find one in grams in the MFP database. If I can't find a food in grams, I do the research, create the entry in My Foods with my initials next to it, and enter the macros, log it, and it's there to use the next time.
  • sarumbear
    sarumbear Posts: 17 Member
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    What I learned from this thread that MFP made a pig of managing the database.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    sarumbear wrote: »
    What I learned from this thread that MFP made a pig of managing the database.

    Well, no, you can't really expect MFP to manage a big database where users make entries, because that's all they would be doing.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    sarumbear wrote: »
    What I learned from this thread that MFP made a pig of managing the database.

    Well, no, you can't really expect MFP to manage a big database where users make entries, because that's all they would be doing.

    Yep, and there are other databases where the Site owners control the entries. Some people have reported switching to those because it fits their personality and needs better. I myself prefer the MFP format where I can find just about anything on the planet because someone else already entered it. In a sense, it really embodies teamwork to me.

    In about 2 years of logging, personally I have just the 13 items in the "My Foods" tab
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
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    Yeah, if something has a barcode, I scan and use that. If it doesnt, that means its meat or vegetables so I add usda to the search and use that. I find it to be a fairly simple process.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    sarumbear wrote: »
    What I learned from this thread that MFP made a pig of managing the database.

    Well, no, you can't really expect MFP to manage a big database where users make entries, because that's all they would be doing.

    I think it's an opportunity for improvement. I'm sure there is a better way but they apparetly have better things for their coders to be working on.
  • sarumbear
    sarumbear Posts: 17 Member
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    Well, no, you can't really expect MFP to manage a big database where users make entries, because that's all they would be doing.

    They do not have to manage it. All they need is to put the methods and systems in place and police that. Like Wikipedia does it. They do not manage content, public does it. The problem now there is no method and systems in place nor any editors assigned.
  • wick3tgirl
    wick3tgirl Posts: 47 Member
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    maybe offtopic, but the using of cups in almost ALL OF American recipes makes me lose it. and not weight, but interest in trying to make even the yummiest looking things :(
  • ShifuYaku
    ShifuYaku Posts: 504 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    You should be using a scale, not a cup, to measure solid item.

    I'll second this. :smiley:
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    HappyCampr1 wrote: »
    wick3tgirl wrote: »
    maybe offtopic, but the using of cups in almost ALL OF American recipes makes me lose it. and not weight, but interest in trying to make even the yummiest looking things :(

    I know. I take the recipe, measure the cupful or the tablespoon and then weigh it and use the weight when I enter the recipe. If professional cooks use scales, you' think the recipes would list weights too.

    Also wanted to mention, since A lot of the items I use will have both the cup and g measurement on the label, even if the recipe calls for cups, I can still weigh the flour in grams.

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