MAJOR serving size discrepancy!! Help!

KeeleySue
KeeleySue Posts: 158
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
I love my multi-grain O's (generic). On the box the serving size says 1 cup (29g). I've been doing 1 cup for a month or 2 now since I've been on MFP. The other day I bought a food scale, mostly for my meat portions and such. I thought what the heck, I'll weigh my cereal to see how close the g is to the c. It turns out 29g = 2/3 cup!!! What a huge discrepancy and a disappointment! 1/3 cup is a lot when it comes to cereal.


So, my question is, for it to be 110 calories, should I eat 1 cup or 29g???

Replies

  • Msaip
    Msaip Posts: 482 Member
    I know they go by food scale but one something I think cups/teaspoons are better. I always go with what the box measures.....its crap to me
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,585 Member
    Buy yourself some digital scales, I weigh everything in grams and it takes about 20 seconds to switch them on, put your bowl on, zero it in and weigh your cereal! I'm in the UK so we don't understand cup measurements, but I know the grams can't lie!
  • fitniknik
    fitniknik Posts: 713 Member
    I weigh everything. I think as long as you are doing it the same... i.e. always using measuring spoons and cups etc or always weighing... as long as your consistent it should be not that big of deal.
  • KeeleySue
    KeeleySue Posts: 158
    Buy yourself some digital scales, I weigh everything in grams and it takes about 20 seconds to switch them on, put your bowl on, zero it in and weigh your cereal! I'm in the UK so we don't understand cup measurements, but I know the grams can't lie!



    Umm, that's what I did. The problem is the box says 1 cup = 29g. But when I measure out 29g, it comes to 2/3 cup.
  • atriana
    atriana Posts: 9
    I agree with weighing everything on an electronic scale. Again I'm in the UK and a cup is not a measurement to us.


    Nothing goes on my plate unless my plate is on the scale and I can write down exactly how many grams have gone on :-)

    Good luck.
  • Ultima_Morpha
    Ultima_Morpha Posts: 892 Member
    Calories are always calculated from a weight, not a measure so weighing will always be more accurate for you. Especially for a product with a lot of air space you are going to have a better results with weighing. Also, if you didn't already know, you should always weigh your meat raw.
  • KeeleySue
    KeeleySue Posts: 158
    I weigh everything. I think as long as you are doing it the same... i.e. always using measuring spoons and cups etc or always weighing... as long as your consistent it should be not that big of deal.



    I get that, I'm just really confused as to what to log for calories. Does 1 cup = 110 calories or does 29g (2/3 cup) = 110 calories?
  • KeeleySue
    KeeleySue Posts: 158
    Calories are always calculated from a weight, not a measure so weighing will always be more accurate for you. Especially for a product with a lot of air space you are going to have a better results with weighing. Also, if you didn't already know, you should always weigh your meat raw.


    Thank you! That makes so much sense. =)

    I will weigh from now on.


    Part of me is just really disappointed that I've been eating more calories all along because the box is wrong.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
    I love my multi-grain O's (generic). On the box the serving size says 1 cup (29g). I've been doing 1 cup for a month or 2 now since I've been on MFP. The other day I bought a food scale, mostly for my meat portions and such. I thought what the heck, I'll weigh my cereal to see how close the g is to the c. It turns out 29g = 2/3 cup!!! What a huge discrepancy and a disappointment! 1/3 cup is a lot when it comes to cereal.


    So, my question is, for it to be 110 calories, should I eat 1 cup or 29g???

    29 grams as the box states. my cup and your cup may well differ but our scales will not!
  • JennieD2
    JennieD2 Posts: 66
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.
  • KeeleySue
    KeeleySue Posts: 158
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.



    In the US, a CUP is a measurement. When you use measuring cups, everybody's cup is the same.
  • kellymarie619
    kellymarie619 Posts: 50
    29g is equal to 110 calories. The cup measurement on the box is their estimate. That is because one person could lightly scoop something into a cup with lots of air, and another person could pack it dense and have much more. But 29 grams always is, and can only ever be, 29 grams.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.



    In the US, a CUP is a measurement. When you use measuring cups, everybody's cup is the same.

    well it seems that is not the case! other wise 1 cup would = 29 grams
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    Wow, that's really not helpful for the box to have such a discrepancy. Those nutritional facts just annoy me, period. For me, I'm on a low carb diet, and yet if one serving has less than one gram of carbs, they're allowed to say zero. But if I have 3 servings, that can add up. It's so aggravating. I wish they were forced to be more accurate.
  • whitejessamine
    whitejessamine Posts: 166
    The weight is going to be more accurate. Food fluffs and settles. That's why chips and stuff always say, "Packaged by weight, not by volume." Sometimes, 29g will equal a cup. Sometimes it will be less. Sometimes it will be more. If you're really wanting to track every last calorie, non-liquid foods should be based on weight for consistency.
  • emmaldownie
    emmaldownie Posts: 232 Member
    29g is equal to 110 calories. The cup measurement on the box is their estimate. That is because one person could lightly scoop something into a cup with lots of air, and another person could pack it dense and have much more. But 29 grams always is, and can only ever be, 29 grams.

    Perfect explanation!
  • Alacey88
    Alacey88 Posts: 486 Member
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.



    In the US, a CUP is a measurement. When you use measuring cups, everybody's cup is the same.

    Everyone's cup is not the same as I have three sets of cups but they are differernt shape.... I should probably mearsure my food in grams.... to see if there is a difference between them.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    This is why many things you buy say, "... By weight not volume..." volume can change when shaken.. Weight stays the same
  • kellymarie619
    kellymarie619 Posts: 50
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.



    In the US, a CUP is a measurement. When you use measuring cups, everybody's cup is the same.

    Everyone's cup is not the same as I have three sets of cups but they are differernt shape.... I should probably mearsure my food in grams.... to see if there is a difference between them.

    In the US a cup is a standard unit of measure. When you purchase a 1 cup measuring cup no matter what shape or style, it will hold 1 standard US cup. If standard 1 cup measurements were different we would not be able to have recipes...nothing would turn out for anyone. I think some people here are not understanding the word "cup".
  • JennieD2
    JennieD2 Posts: 66
    United States customary cup

    United States customary cup is defined as half a U.S. pint.

    1 U.S. customary cup = 1⁄16 U.S. customary gallon
    = 1⁄4 U.S. customary quart
    = 1⁄2 U.S. customary pint
    = 8 U.S. customary fluid ounces
    = 16 U.S. customary tablespoons[nb 2]
    = 236.5882365 millilitres[nb 3]
    ≈ 15⅔ international tablespoons
    ≈ 11¾ Australian tablespoons
    ≈ 0.833 imperial cups
    ≈ 8.33 imperial fluid ounces

    United States "legal" cup

    The cup currently used in the United States for nutrition labeling is defined in United States law as 240 mL.[1][2][3]

    1 U.S. "legal" cup = 240 millilitres
    = 16 international tablespoons
    = 12 Australian tablespoons
    ≈ 8.12 U.S. customary fluid ounces
    ≈ 8.45 imperial fluid ounces

    Way too confusing for me! Apparently even in the US a cup is not always a cup. There are the "legal" cup, the "customary" cup and a cup of coffee wouldn't match either of these as it is only 6 fluid ounces! :ohwell:
  • jagh09
    jagh09 Posts: 555 Member
    I'd go by what the box nutrition label says for a serving size.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    I have this same dilemma, and my hubby and I actually have argued over it a couple of times. Yikes! The two will NEVER be the same, because cup is a unit of volume and gram is a unit of weight. But we Americans insist on sticking with our old UMs, so they still put that info on the box or bag for us. It's just not as accurate as the weight measurement.
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
    a CUP in the U.S. is a measurement of Volume, whereas grams are a measurement of weight. Always go by weight for items because it can't change or be altered. A CUP of cheerios can greatly be altered because of all the air space between the cereal pieces. I could crush or grind those cheerios and put a whole lot more in the CUP than 29grams. The CUP measurements on foods in the U.S. are just basic estimates by the company. If you have a scale you are better off weighing food items and going by the grams and ignore the CUPS.
  • rankailie
    rankailie Posts: 144
    I too am in the UK so don't understand cup measuring. How much is a cup? Surely there are cups of different sizes? There are if you go in my pots cupboard . I always use digital scales but find that I use about 1.5 servings of cereal (allbran) otherwise I still feel hungry. So I weigh out and log 60g.

    1 cup = 8 fl oz (rounded down)
    8 fl oz = 237 ml (rounded up)

    I personally generally use fl oz myself if i'm measuring a liquid and grams if i'm measuring a solid.
  • Lysandra81
    Lysandra81 Posts: 18 Member
    Well the US cup measurement confuses me really, I am from Germany and we - same as the UK - measure our stuff in grams or ml instead of ounces for fluids.

    Cup measurement might be easy on stuff like flour or rice but:

    How can you eat 1/2 cup of banana - a banana has a predefined shape - so a predefined volume. How would you use your measuring cup for a solid banana? Would you sit there and imagine how that solid banana would look like if you slice it up and put it in your measuring cup? That just cannot be accurate at anytime - where in comparison a gram is a gram no matter what shape your food has. I know there are these huge tables available explainig how much grams a cup of banana (or even worse broccoli) is - but that is just really too much effort.

    So whenever I look up anything on MFP I search until I'll find one entry that's measured in grams or the original state - like 1 banana or 100gr banana.

    So go with grams for your serving size when available on your boxes as it will always be accurate. :)
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