Cups vs Scales ??

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cjwils169
cjwils169 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been weighing my food by scales and just lately found out that it may be better to measure certain foods by cups as opposed to scales and ounces. How do you do it ? Thanks
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Replies

  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
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    scales are far better/far more accurate
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    For measuring liquids, get a good set of measuring cups and measuring spoons.

    eodzm4g6sonp.jpg
  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
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    Only use measuring cups / jugs for liquids. Anything solid is better on the scale.
  • cjwils169
    cjwils169 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
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    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
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    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
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    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk is pretty close to water in its specific gravity, but higher fat milks are denser. Stick to measuring and make sure you use a liquid measuring cup, not the dry ones because they are not as accurate (on the other hand, use dry cups for things like flour because the liquid are not as accurate for measuring dry ingredients).

    Liquid measuring cup:
    imagesMeasuringCup_zps22ccrn1c.jpg

    Dry measuring cups:
    dry_measuring_cups-jpg_zpsfbfb1mdc.jpg
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Doesn't really matter, though. As long as you consistently weigh X ml of Y you'll get consistent results. Probably more so than with cups or spoons.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    How can measuring ever be better than weighing?
  • Artemiris
    Artemiris Posts: 189 Member
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    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk has almost exactly the same density of water, so it's ok to measure it in grams.

    Otherwise, the only proper method for measuring liquid is a container with milliliters.
  • mikeski52
    mikeski52 Posts: 59 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    How can measuring ever be better than weighing?

    Depends on how you define 'better'. Weighing is usually more accurate than measuring, but measuring can be more convenient than weighing depending on circumstances. Whichever works for you IMO!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Artemiris wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk has almost exactly the same density of water, so it's ok to measure it in grams.

    Otherwise, the only proper method for measuring liquid is a container with milliliters.
    How is it improper to measure liquids by weight, exactly?
  • MarcyKirkton
    MarcyKirkton Posts: 507 Member
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    I use cups and have not found it to be a problem.
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Doesn't really matter, though. As long as you consistently weigh X ml of Y you'll get consistent results. Probably more so than with cups or spoons.

    Yep, you'll get consistent results, but you're not consuming 100ml of Y, you're consuming 100g of Y.

    Honestly, it's probably more of a personal issue than anything. I'm an engineer, so I like my units to be correct :smile:
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    acheben wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Doesn't really matter, though. As long as you consistently weigh X ml of Y you'll get consistent results. Probably more so than with cups or spoons.

    Yep, you'll get consistent results, but you're not consuming 100ml of Y, you're consuming 100g of Y.

    Honestly, it's probably more of a personal issue than anything. I'm an engineer, so I like my units to be correct :smile:
    I like my results to be correct. Consistent measurements -- which I think is easier to do with weight than with cups and spoons, others may not -- makes it easier for me to get correct results.

    I mean, if my log says 80g of milk and not 80ml of milk, it's not like a jet engine is going to blow apart in the sky because I conflated micrometers with millimeters or something.

    But, yeah, I agree on the "personal issue" thing. As long as people can get consistent measurements with whatever tools they use, they'll be in good shape.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2015
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Artemiris wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk has almost exactly the same density of water, so it's ok to measure it in grams.

    Otherwise, the only proper method for measuring liquid is a container with milliliters.
    How is it improper to measure liquids by weight, exactly?

    Denser liquids will weigh more per milliliter than lighter liquids so they will have more calories. A Tbl of olive oil is 15 ml but weighs 12 g. if you weigh it assuming grams = milliliters, you will be consuming 15 grams which is 3 more milliliters (20% more) for a total of 27 extra calories. The extra calories by weighing one Tbl of olive oil instead of measuring it is not going to kill the diet, but it is still consuming more than you think.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Artemiris wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk has almost exactly the same density of water, so it's ok to measure it in grams.

    Otherwise, the only proper method for measuring liquid is a container with milliliters.
    How is it improper to measure liquids by weight, exactly?

    Denser liquids will weigh more per milliliter than lighter liquids so they will have more calories. A Tbl of olive oil is 15 ml but weighs 12 g. if you weigh it assuming grams = milliliters, you will be consuming 15 grams which is 3 more grams for a total of 27 extra calories. The extra calories by weighing one Tbl of olive oil is not going to kill the diet, but it is still consuming more than you think.
    Not if you know it weighs 12 grams, right?

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited November 2015
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Artemiris wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    acheben wrote: »
    krithsai wrote: »
    I even measure my liquids on my scale by turning the unit to ml. I simply don't trust cups anymore.

    That built in conversion is only for water. Liquids with a different density than water (1g/cm^3) will not have the same gram to ml conversion factor.

    Oooh...I never thought of this! I measure only milk(I don't drink juices etc), so I guess I'm getting a reasonable estimate. What do you think?

    Skim milk has almost exactly the same density of water, so it's ok to measure it in grams.

    Otherwise, the only proper method for measuring liquid is a container with milliliters.
    How is it improper to measure liquids by weight, exactly?

    Denser liquids will weigh more per milliliter than lighter liquids so they will have more calories. A Tbl of olive oil is 15 ml but weighs 12 g. if you weigh it assuming grams = milliliters, you will be consuming 15 grams which is 3 more grams for a total of 27 extra calories. The extra calories by weighing one Tbl of olive oil is not going to kill the diet, but it is still consuming more than you think.
    Not if you know it weighs 12 grams, right?

    But you have to know that the calorie count will be different. If you decide to weigh liquids, you need to figure out what each liquid is going to weigh and convert the calories for accurate logging. More trouble than it is worth. I have enough notes in my kitchen. I do not need a notebook listing the equivalent weight/volume conversion for every liquid I use. My wine list would be an entire page since I drink a variety from light whites to very hearty reds.

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