Handy volume to weight conversion tool

Many struggle with figuring out how much a half cup of food is.  Since it is the guideline that many of our doctors and nutritionists give us for eating AND they often compare it to something we're familiar with, apple, plum, etc (many variables there) I found an easy comparison tool to use on line http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_volume_cooking.htm

As Jean M recently posted, her nutritionist compared a half cup to a baseball.  This is very inaccurate, since the volume of a baseball is between 12-13 cubic inches and the volume of a half cup is much less, about 7.5 cu in in volume.  Essentially, a half cup of food will be about 1 x 2 x 3.5 inch rectangle I'd you were to try to visualize it.  

Don't take the comparisons as gospel truth, because most of the time there are too many variables (comparing to fruit) or just wrong.

Hope this helps!

I guess my point is we shouldn't rely on comparisons such as an apple, etc.  too many variables.  We need to KNOW our limits, especially if we are new to WLS.

Thanks for posting that, Steph.

One of the problems with "measuring" food using comparisons (like the baseball, a deck of cards, dice, etc.) is that different foods behave differently when measured by volume. Even the same food differs - for example, broccoli florets have a lot of empty space around them when put in a measuring cup, while chopped broccoli fills up the cup with less empty space.

I think that is why many nutritionists say 1/2 to 1 cup allowing fr those not so dense foods.  I was assuming that as well-behaved bandsters, we would be cutting our food into tiny pieces prior to eating it and would be able to better visualize the volume.  If I don't chop my broccoli, there's no way I can eat it, too fibrous.  

I was assuming that as well-behaved bandsters, we would be cutting our food into tiny pieces prior to eating it and would be able to better visualize the volume.

I know what you mean. Kind of hard to standardize broccoli chopping. Especially in a community governed by bariatric surgeons and dietitians who can't seem to standardize even the big issues related to patient care.

So true.