Figuring out serving sizes is making me want to break things

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BoxingClever
BoxingClever Posts: 25
in Food and Nutrition
I've been having problems figuring out serving sizes ever since I started tracking, so I bought a scale. I'm making tacos tonight, and I wanted to figure out the servings of all the ingredients.

The serving size for the shredded cheese is 1/4 cup (28g). Out of curiosity, I weighed out the 28g IN the 1/4 cup measuring cup. As you can see in the photo, it's heaping and falling all over the place because it will not fit in the cup. It actually FILLED the 1/2 cup measuring cup, which would mean 28g is TWICE AS MUCH cheese as 1/4 cup. Even squishing it down wouldn't get it to fit in the 1/4 cup.

BRC2


So.....WHICH IS IT?? Which serving has 110 calories as the package states? Because obviously 28g has quite a few more calories than 1/4 cup. Why the hell can't they just make the serving sizes according to WEIGHT for everything that's not a liquid?? How the hell is anyone supposed to know how many calories they're consuming when the measurement system is so completely f**ked?? :explode:

OMG, this is beyond frustrating.
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Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    It makes sense. A cup of flour doesn't weigh the same as a cup of sugar or a cup of shredded cheese. Shredded cheese is especially rough to measure by volume due to all of the space between the shreds.

    This is why so many of us on MFP keep telling others to BUY A SCALE. :bigsmile: Volume measurements are pretty useless. Weight is where it's at!
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
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    What she said.
  • Viva_Karina
    Viva_Karina Posts: 398 Member
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    I measure by weight also.
  • BoxingClever
    BoxingClever Posts: 25
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    But where are they even getting the 1/4 cup measurement from when they put the nutritional info on the package? Because obviously you cannot fit 28g into a 1/4 cup. I just want to know how many damn calories I'm eating. When the difference is literally TWICE AS MUCH between the 2 measurements, how do I know which they were using when they got the figure of 110 calories? Because if it was 1/4 cup, then I'm actually eating 220 calories if I go by the weight.

    Who the hell thought it was a good idea to measure anything other than LIQUID in measuring cups? The nutritional info is required by law to be on the package, but what the hell good does it do when it's so inaccurate and confusing? :(
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    I'm actually pretty excited to hear that. I may go buy a scale if it means I've been under-serving myself on cheeeeese!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    perhaps if the cheese wasn't shredded, it would have less surface area, and fit into the measuring cup. Maybe? IDK
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    The 1/4 cup comes from the pre-shredded cheese. In other words if you had a hunk of cheese that would fit in a 1/4 cup before it is shredded it would weigh 28g.
  • rbbrrmqn
    rbbrrmqn Posts: 132 Member
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    OK, not to sound silly, but did you zero out the weight of the cup itself? I do that but sometimes my scale goes wonky--I have to really watch that--could that be? Good luck
  • BoxingClever
    BoxingClever Posts: 25
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    I even tried squishing the cheese into the measuring cup (to get rid of the air between shreds) and it still wouldn't fit.

    Anyway, bottom line is this: If I'm using the weight instead of the measuring cups measurement, I'm going to be eating considerably larger portions. I'd like to know if that means I'm also eating more calories. Is that a stupid question?
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    I always go by the scale and not the measuring cups when measuring things out that are not liquids. I find sometimes even measuring cups vary by brand and type in the amount they actually hold.

    I only use measuring cups for baking now... My little kitchen scale has become by best friend!
  • BoxingClever
    BoxingClever Posts: 25
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    OK, not to sound silly, but did you zero out the weight of the cup itself? I do that but sometimes my scale goes wonky--I have to really watch that--could that be? Good luck

    If I hadn't zeroed out the scale after putting the cup on it, it would have been over 28g before I even put any cheese in it. :tongue:
  • janetteluparia
    janetteluparia Posts: 318 Member
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    Weigh it.
  • easuess
    easuess Posts: 53 Member
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    Stick with the scale. It won't steer you wrong.

    When it comes to counting calories for peanut butter, I'd be absolutely lost without it.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    OK, not to sound silly, but did you zero out the weight of the cup itself? I do that but sometimes my scale goes wonky--I have to really watch that--could that be? Good luck

    If I hadn't zeroed out the scale after putting the cup on it, it would have been over 28g before I even put any cheese in it. :tongue:

    I'd do a weight with a sandwich baggy or something. If I use anything like a bowl or cup, my scale acts stupid. I just weigh an ounce of cheese (serving) on a piece of plastic wrap so that there's no weight added with the wrap.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    That seems off, we have measured both 28gs of cheese and a 1/4.. that for some reason looks like more than 1oz
  • GreekByMarriage
    GreekByMarriage Posts: 320 Member
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    Hmmm... I measure out 7 grams of shredded cheese every single morning to go into my eggs... My scale has it as MUCH MUCH less then what your scale is showing!! Are you sure that your scale is correct? Maybe it is malfunctioning? I could easily fit 28 grams of shredded cheese in one of my 1/4 measuring cups.
  • luvmybaby333
    luvmybaby333 Posts: 241
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    I'm actually pretty excited to hear that. I may go buy a scale if it means I've been under-serving myself on cheeeeese!

    Dude. This. For real.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Who knows where they get the volume equivalents (which as you point out are quite often bizarre). In the U.S. the serving sizes (and hence nutritional facts) are based on weight by government standards--so go with the weight. The exception to this is liquids, which are measured by volume, but liquids are very easy to measure by volume so that isn't a problem.
  • ugw125
    ugw125 Posts: 28
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    That is what I was thinking *.*
  • panduhburr
    panduhburr Posts: 40 Member
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    Oh..this makes me think I need a scale now. haha. Crap.

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