There is a lot of potential "slop" (degrees of freedom) in measuring 1 cup (or 4 cups) of select vegetables.

I always hear people say you should measure everything raw.

Raw vs Cooked can certainly make a pretty big difference in terms of weight (probably due to absorption of water while cooking) and perhaps amount too (since cooked are "floppier" and probably have less air space when measuring by volume).

Also making a difference is the size of the pieces (i.e. how much air space is between the chunks of vegetables) when you measure; so you will get much more weight in a cup if more finely chopped -- and less if measuring chunks.



I finally decided to start measuring by weight instead of by cups to keep what I am eating each day more consistent.

I have to say it would have been NICE if the Ideal Protein people had written the WEIGHT of the select vegetables to be eaten per day (like they did with the meat) on the Phase 1 sheet instead of the CUP measurement. I bet it would lead to less confusion!

So I decided to use broccoli as an example and compare cooked vs raw and also look at how chopping more finely affects the weight in a cup.


RAW MEASUREMENT (pieces)

1.0 cup of raw broccoli florets is 71g (20 calories)
4.0 cups of raw broccoli florets is 284g (80 calories)

Reference: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/2816/2



COOKED MEASUREMENT (chopped)

0.5 c. of cooked chopped broccoli is 78g (27 calories)
1.0 c. of cooked chopped broccoli is 156g (54 calories)
4.0 c. of cooked chopped broccoli is 624g (216 calories)

Reference: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/2357/2




So you can see 4 cups of broccoli can have a huge variation (in both weight and calories) based on how (and when) you measure out your cups (with variation as large as 2.2x the weight and 2.7x the calories!). One way, (I think the correct way), you are eating 284 grams (or 10 ounces) of broccoli a day (80 calories). Another way, (I think the incorrect way), you will be eating 624 grams (or 22 ounces or 1.4 pounds) of broccoli a day (216 calories). That's a BIG difference!

From here on out, I will start measuring my 4 cups of broccoli as 284 grams or 10 ounces (raw). As it's a much more consistent way to measure (with no worries about the chunk sizes!)

If I computed or stated anything incorrectly here, feel free to post and correct my information! As I don't pretend to be an expert on the IP Diet, and I am trying to muddle through just like most of you!

One last thing, recently someone posted that frozen broccoli might be better than fresh since it's frozen at the optimal time (with higher vitamin and nutrient totals) and not picked early (before fully ripened) like most fresh. Since I switched to frozen broccoli, my life is so much easier, I just measure out what I am going to eat and then microwave it. And since you are not cooking and storing large amounts of broccoli, you avoid that awful cooked broccoli smell that can permeate a house.

I love this brand of frozen organic broccoli, OMG, it actually tastes GREAT! (Probably other brands of organic frozen broccoli florets would be very similar, so feel free to experiment!) It's also great that the net weight of a "standard bag" of this brand is 10 ounces or 284 grams, which matches my 4 cup calculation exactly -- so all you need to do is eat one (10 ounce) bag of this wonderful tasting frozen broccoli per day (and you can leave your measuring cups in the drawer). How easy can you get?



Happy Dieting out there!

Thank you!

I love it when someone has an epiphany and shares it with everyone else!

Avalon, thank you!!!

Nice ad for Cascadian

Myself, I do not even count the calories in green vegetables there are so few.

B F R

Thank you so much - I was also having this problem - especially when it comes to a "leafy vegatable. like curly kale - do I pack it into a cup? how tightly? I agree that it is strange to measure by volume instead of weight.

i've always eyeballed it loosely in a a measuring cup when the veggies are raw. no stress.

Don't forget... It's about the carbs...not just the calories. Too much drift in carbs may slow down weight loss as you get closer to goal/ normal weight range. This diet is NOT just about calories. Other diets may be more forgiving because you are not striving for mild ketosis to jump start fat burning.

Thanks! No stress! - I'm just bemused by the wishy-washy ness of measuring by volume.

Thats what I've been doing, but I have to admit that while doing it I often wonder why am I doing it this way. It seems too... imprecise. If I gave it a what-for I could probably fit a head of cabbage in a 2 cup measuring cup...eventually LOL

Who sells the 10 ounce bags of Cascadian Farms broccoli? I checked Whole Foods and a smaller organic shop and couldn't find it.
I love the idea of not having to measure! Broccoli is one of my staples, and I have it with either lunch or dinner every day. Sometimes both! This way, I could divide a bag in half, 1 half with lunch, leaving the other half to have either with dinner, or with lunch the next day.

Lol! I've often thought this as I measure out my spinach.....I could "pack" a little or a WHOLE lot into that measuring cup depending on how hard I push it down! It bugs my rule-following, slightly OCD self to have it not be a more exact measurement.

Hear ya' with the OCD piece...!! Easy to make yourself crazy!

Used frozen spinach a lot because I could look at the pkg and see how many cal/carbs I was getting according to the serving size info. LOL...Figured was not worth it to use up my allotted veggie 's "volume" on something as light weight and non filling as raw spinach when I could use romaine in a salad ... and not have to count it! Same reason for me not to use spinach in a shake...Loved having a filling veggie volume with a salad at lunch and dinner and still being able to have a cooked vegetable with dinner.

Of course if you have trouble with getting the veggies in everyday...then the spinach is a good thing to add to something else....

I did Atkins very successfully about 10 years ago. (MORE success on IP tho)
Anyway, in his book, Dr Atkins addressed the veggie measurement issue & said he was trying to simplify. So except for those of us who like to be exact, using a measuring cup IS really simple (fill & use).
I'm guessing that was Dr Tein's reasoning as well.
It is a good idea for the masses.
Until they run into the analytical folks.

I know that MOM's (My Organic Market) and David's Natural Food Market carry it. However I am not sure if those stores are national. In any case, probably any brand of frozen organic broccoli will do you fine!

It's interesting because my gym has their own program and they never told us to eat four cups of vegetables. They said to eat unlimited veggies, but no root vegetables. It wasn't till I read this guidelines online when researching Ideal program. Interesting information about raw and cooked.