My specific question that motivated this post, though, is in regards to measurement as cups versus grams and how widely figures can vary. An easy example in relation to my common carb foods follows:
My oats package lists "1/2 Cup (40g) uncooked", which contains 150 calories and 27g of Carbs. My jasmine rice lists "1/4 Cup (45g)", which contains 158 calories and 35g of carbs. It doesn't make sense that the oats are "twice as many cups" when by weight via grams they're practically the same and mostly at parity of caloric content.
I've used grams in all my tracking and more or less trust that my scale "gets it right", and is at least very precise and consistent if not accurate based on how much a given measuring implement weighs out to. Maybe a quantity reading "50g" is actually 40g, or 75g, but it's consistent so that won't crush my results as long as I pay attention and adjust accordingly.
Regarding the cups idiocy; should I just forget cups and stick with grams for tracking?
Bonus round questions:
- Is it better to weigh rice/oats/grains before cooking?
- Weigh meats cooked or raw? Would finding an MFP entry for "x raw, uncooked, 16oz" and going from there be most accurate?
- Are fibrous veggies worth tracking or just better to write "some broccoli crowns", and get on with it?
- Convenient ways to measure oils/fats? ->Is a single Tbsp implement best for cooked dishes, and measuring by weight on a tared scale best for raw (oil on a salad, etc.)?