Weighing in "cups"
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EddieKingsley
Posts: 12 Member
Can this site please stop using this ridiculous term. It is clearly meaningless and undermines the whole purpose of the site. Every item should be in metric or imperial measurements, nothing else.
Or am I missing something obvious?
Or am I missing something obvious?
12
Replies
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You are missing the fact that food entries are made by the users, not the site. They can put anything they want. If you don't like an entry using cups, then use different search measures (grams or usda usually helps), or make your own entry.16
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The database is largely user created, and they determine the serving size measurement. Some people don't use a food scale, they use volume measurements like a measuring cup, so there will be lots of entries set up that way. You can usually find another entry for the item with a measurement you like, otherwise you can always add your own entry.7
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I totally eyeball everything in cups...and I am never going to be diligent enough to weigh food, plus I have no idea what 100g of anything looks like.8
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IMHO the site should regulate the available measuring systems so that the information on the site is meaningful. How big is the measuring cup? Does a cup of x weigh the same as a cup of y? And so on. Sometimes there seem to be 10 of these nonsense "cup" entries for 1 usable entry. What's the point of sharing information that can't be used by others?11
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EddieKingsley wrote: »IMHO the site should regulate the available measuring systems so that the information on the site is meaningful. How big is the measuring cup? Does a cup of x weigh the same as a cup of y? And so on. Sometimes there seem to be 10 of these nonsense "cup" entries for 1 usable entry. What's the point of sharing information that can't be used by others?
Keep wishing. And don't hold your breath.5 -
"Cup" is an actual defined volume size, just like gallon or tbsp. You can't weigh in cups (because you can't weigh volumes) but you can measure in cups. A cup is about 237 ml. A legal cup (for nutrition fact purposes) is 240 ml.EddieKingsley wrote: »Can this site please stop using this ridiculous term. It is clearly meaningless and undermines the whole purpose of the site. Every item should be in metric or imperial measurements, nothing else.
Or am I missing something obvious?
Rather than wade through the database entries to find one with the measurement units that I prefer, I just make my own without sharing with the database. That way, no one else can edit it and I can customize the name and delete it from My Foods if I wish.14 -
I often just find an entry that matches the calories I'm looking for and then "measure" my serving in grams with a food scale instead of cups. For example, my oatmeal says it is 150 calories for 40grams or about 1/2 cup. I use that entry but weigh out 40 grams on a food scale instead of a 1/2 cup (which I've found weighs more than 40 grams).
This is easier for me than making my own entry; I'm lazy that way.11 -
A cup is a definitive measurement, it's not meaningless. It's a specific volume, not weight.9
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So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.8 -
EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?12 -
Cup is an Imperial measurement of 8 ounces. I can always weigh and measure my food in gills and drams if you'd rather see that.9
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quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.0 -
I find that if I put the unit I want in the search, I usually get what I want in the first couple entries.
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EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
And??? That doesn't mean that's what the food weighs. It means that IF it weighs 100 grams, then it is 100 calories (made up numbers). But it isn't automatically 100 grams in weight.6 -
EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
Assuming everything you eat is packaged in a single serving size, and matches the listed weight perfectly every time (newsflash: it won't) that's a valid point. Otherwise, you still need to weigh things.4 -
EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
Assuming everything you eat is packaged in a single serving size, and matches the listed weight perfectly every time (newsflash: it won't) that's a valid point. Otherwise, you still need to weigh things.
Nope. On average the errors cancel each other out statistically. So, I may buy a piece of fish and the package says 138g (Just by way of example). It may be inaccurate but on average the errors will cancel themselves out (some will be under and some over but the law of large numbers mean that over time the data will be an accurate reflection of calorie consumption). Similarly kitchen scales may be inaccurate and often are. The point is that I can choose to take that weight and refer to an entry on the site that shows the nutrition for 1g or 100g but I can't refer to an entry for a cup of fish which is what a lot of the entries refer to.
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US nutrition facts generally show both weight and the equivalent approximate volume. Sometimes liquids just show volume but they show both imperial and metric.
Here are a couple of examples of the older style:
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quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
And??? That doesn't mean that's what the food weighs. It means that IF it weighs 100 grams, then it is 100 calories (made up numbers). But it isn't automatically 100 grams in weight.
Nope. Most food packaging shows the weight of the food. Some packaging also shows the nutrition per 100g but thattends to be processed food which I try not to eat for obvious reasons.2 -
EddieKingsley wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
Assuming everything you eat is packaged in a single serving size, and matches the listed weight perfectly every time (newsflash: it won't) that's a valid point. Otherwise, you still need to weigh things.
Nope. On average the errors cancel each other out statistically. So, I may buy a piece of fish and the package says 138g (Just by way of example). It may be inaccurate but on average the errors will cancel themselves out (some will be under and some over but the law of large numbers mean that over time the data will be an accurate reflection of calorie consumption). Similarly kitchen scales may be inaccurate and often are. The point is that I can choose to take that weight and refer to an entry on the site that shows the nutrition for 1g or 100g but I can't refer to an entry for a cup of fish which is what a lot of the entries refer to.
Good luck with that.
I'll refer you back to my original answer. Search by adding "usda" or "grams" to your search phrase.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p15 -
EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »EddieKingsley wrote: »So a cup of rice, tells me the volume not the weight but food calories are a weight-based measurement. If Americans don't usethe metric system, use Ounces and Pounds which at least can be meaningfully converted.
Sure I could use a food scale, and sometimes I do, but usually I am measuring against something that the store has measured and labelled. Like the steak that I had yesterday. I trawled through a dozen "cup" based entries for steak. Ridiculous.
Wait? You don't use a food scale? Then how do you know what anything weighs to enter it in the first place?
Food packaging shows weight in most cases.
And??? That doesn't mean that's what the food weighs. It means that IF it weighs 100 grams, then it is 100 calories (made up numbers). But it isn't automatically 100 grams in weight.
Nope. Most food packaging shows the weight of the food. Some packaging also shows the nutrition per 100g but thattends to be processed food which I try not to eat for obvious reasons.
My protein bars show they are 62 grams. Guess how many are actually 62 grams when I weigh them?
You realize food labels are allowed to be off by 20%, right?7
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