arrrgh!! Cereal serving sizes

kathleennf
kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
OK so I notice on the box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares (great cereal BTW - and pretty good protein content for cereal) that it supposedly contains 8 servings. I was already logging 1.25 servings (1.25 cups) based on the amount in the bowl. So today I finished the box and looked back on MFP to see how many times I had eaten it. 4. Yes 4 - I checked again.

So I thought NO WAY - I'm not eating 2 cups!! So I got out the measuring cup and measured the bowl. 1.5 cups is almost to the rim- and the amount I usually eat is pretty close to 1.25. HOW ANNOYING!!! So I changed my logged breakfasts for this week to 2 cups - assuming that the number of grams must be accurate. But PLEASE!

And don't tell me to get a food scale. I'm mathematical and neurotic enough as it is!!
:D
Just beware...

Replies

  • Moonbyebye
    Moonbyebye Posts: 180 Member
    Ha, I was just about to suggest a food scale but then saw what you said. Not sure what else to tell you!

    irrelevant, but that dog in your picture is precious.
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
    Ha ha thanks!! She's a sweetheart. A rescue from a farm. She's a lot bigger now! Barely tipped the scale when I got her!
  • JediMaster_intraining
    JediMaster_intraining Posts: 903 Member
    I remember finally measuring my cereal servings and realizing how much I was eating before! At first I was like "this sucks. I'll never get full" but you get used to it!


    that cereal sounds really good! :flowerforyou:
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,464 Member
    I have to get out the measuring cups every now and again to make sure my eyes aren't fooling me. I can do really well with tablespoons, teaspoons, but when it comes to a cup, I have to be reminded. Cereal is one of the hardest, I just know that when I measure out that 3/4 cup into my bowl, it looks damn small!!!
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    Yea some cereals I don't think fill completely! I use a measuring cup and ALWAYS run out!
  • midonhau
    midonhau Posts: 108 Member
    I bought a big bag of Cheetos this week and on the bag it said: serving size - 13 pieces and servings per container - 4. By my math that should be 52 pieces in all. When I counted the bag there were actually 43 pieces in there.
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
    I bought a big bag of Cheetos this week and on the bag it said: serving size - 13 pieces and servings per container - 4. By my math that should be 52 pieces in all. When I counted the bag there were actually 43 pieces in there.

    Unbelievable!! Well I have counted chips before (seriously) and not really had that problem- though usually I use single serving or 2 serving bags to keep myself from "having" to eat them before they get stale haha.

    The other thing I KNOW I have to be really careful with is salad dressing. Cereal's not so bad- but if I am off by 50% on salad dressing it's a killer!
  • NorthRiver
    NorthRiver Posts: 35 Member
    Hm, I noticed before that the suggested serving sizes on the labels - when you actually measure them out and stick to them - are ridiculously small. But now they don't even fill the boxes up with as much as they claim??

    Either way, I made my peace with the fact hat I need two servings in the morning to get full... except for oatmeal. There I'm actually okay with half a cup (dry). Probably cause I add fruit AND nuts ;)
  • dippystick
    dippystick Posts: 168 Member
    I never measured my cereal. Going to have to do it now.

    Think I might just get me some really cheap zip lock baggies. When I bring home a new box of cereal I'll just measure out a serving and bag it up.

    Think I'll do this with my snacks too. Then all I have to do is grab a bag and I'm good to go. As it's dry, I'll just save the baggies for the next new box. I figure that's what the convience is about when you buy the single serving sizes. I'll just save some money and make up my own single serving sizes.
  • SDkitty
    SDkitty Posts: 446 Member
    Suggested serving sizes always crack me up...it blows my mind that there are people out there that don't pay attention to the nutrition labels!

    http://www.divinecaroline.com/22177/93710-nutrition-label-lies-loopholes-serving
  • mpmama2re
    mpmama2re Posts: 212 Member
    Yea some cereals I don't think fill completely! I use a measuring cup and ALWAYS run out!

    I don't think using a measuring cup for cereal is very accurate. usually the measuring cups are for liquids. but I have a food scale and one serving (on average) for cereal is 1/3-1/4 of a regular size bowl. like a PP said, you do get used to the smaller amounts (eventually :smile: )
  • Newf77
    Newf77 Posts: 802 Member
    I never measured my cereal. Going to have to do it now.

    Think I might just get me some really cheap zip lock baggies. When I bring home a new box of cereal I'll just measure out a serving and bag it up.

    Think I'll do this with my snacks too. Then all I have to do is grab a bag and I'm good to go. As it's dry, I'll just save the baggies for the next new box. I figure that's what the convience is about when you buy the single serving sizes. I'll just save some money and make up my own single serving sizes.
    I added up what I was spending on single servings vs bulk and found it was less expensive to buy bulk, measure it out {yes I come out uneven alot} and use plastic containers. This way I have the proper amount of cerel in a bowl and ready, grab and go. I even have marked a line so I can measure the milk added.
    When I first was doing this I looked at the amount and said wow I was eatting a lot of cerel then said wow that is not enough. Finally settled in on usually it is enough, when not I will have a yogurt or piece of fruit.
  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
    Hm, I noticed before that the suggested serving sizes on the labels - when you actually measure them out and stick to them - are ridiculously small. But now they don't even fill the boxes up with as much as they claim??

    Either way, I made my peace with the fact hat I need two servings in the morning to get full... except for oatmeal. There I'm actually okay with half a cup (dry). Probably cause I add fruit AND nuts ;)

    Exactly this. Cereal is terrible-- generally little nutritional value (I do like the Quaker cereal the OP mentions, and there are some great ones like Kashi Go Lean), tons of sugar, teeny baby-sized servings. Does anyone out there actually eat only 1/2 a cup? Add milk to it and you're probably over 300 calories and hungry before 10 AM.
  • vaughny
    vaughny Posts: 145
    i thought measuring cups are for dry foods and something like the glass pyrex measuring cups were for liquid
  • traceywaugh
    traceywaugh Posts: 144
    just measure out what you eat work out cals for it and carry on. you wil find away that works for you x
  • wiffe
    wiffe Posts: 224 Member
    I measure out my cereal on my scale then found a bowl taht made it LOOK like I was getting a full bowl. Tricked my mind and it worked. NOw I dont have to measure.
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
    Yea some cereals I don't think fill completely! I use a measuring cup and ALWAYS run out!

    I don't think using a measuring cup for cereal is very accurate. usually the measuring cups are for liquids. but I have a food scale and one serving (on average) for cereal is 1/3-1/4 of a regular size bowl. like a PP said, you do get used to the smaller amounts (eventually :smile: )

    Not exactly. The measuring CUPS (like the ones that come in sets of 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc) are for solids. The measuring cups that are like the little pitchers like glass etc are for liquids.
  • havalinaaa
    havalinaaa Posts: 333 Member
    If you really don't want to weigh your food, you can portion it out to the # of portions per box in ziplock bags and keep those in the cereal box.

    **edit**

    Once you use a bag you can keep it to use for the next box of cereal since all it held was dry cereal. I do this with snack type things, chips and pretzels mostly. Most things are portioned/packaged by weight, not volume, so measuring by volume will never be truly accurate.
  • tschmelzer
    tschmelzer Posts: 120
    Check to see if the serving size is one cup or 3/4 of a cup. That might be the only thing messing you up
  • kyylieeeeee
    kyylieeeeee Posts: 197 Member
    Breakfast cereals are probably my favorite processed foods that exist. And for years I had cereal every day for breakfast, because I loved it and it was quick. I always used measuring cups and would do about 1.5 servings (ususally 1-2 cups, depending on the cereal)...

    and then I bought a food scale and realized I had been estimating my cereal intake so so so incorrectly. I was actually eating almost double or triple the servings I thought I was. Since buying the food scale, cereal is the only food weight that's been wildly off from what I thought it was prior to my scale. I cut cereal out of my diet almost completely, mostly because I totally grossed myself out by realizing how much I'd been unintentionally over-estimating for years. And since I stopped eating it for breakfast this summer (now I eat protein shakes or an omelette), I broke the 1-year plateau I was in and have finally lost about 7 pounds.

    So my advice about cereal? The exact opposite of what you want to hear: buy a food scale :] But everyone else's non-scale advice is good...if you know the box has 8 servings, divide it into 8 servings in baggies-- that'll make your measurements handy and correct.
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