Should You Use a Food Scale or Measuring Cups to Track Your Food?

When it comes to tracking your food intake, the details matter — especially if your goal is to lose fat, gain muscle, or simply understand how much you’re eating.

While there’s no perfect system, both food scales and measuring cups offer a far better alternative to guessing your portion sizes. But which one should you use? Let’s break down the pros and cons of each, and when one might work better than the other.

Why Guessing Doesn’t Work

Before we get into the tools, let’s talk about why guessing your portion sizes can sabotage your progress.

Most people dramatically underestimate how much they’re eating. That “tablespoon” of peanut butter might actually be two. That “cup” of rice could easily be 1.5 or more. These small misjudgments add up quickly, especially if you're trying to stay in a calorie deficit or hit specific macronutrient goals.

That’s why either a food scale or measuring cups is a major step up in terms of accuracy. But the best tool depends on what you’re measuring — and how precise you want to be.

When to Use Measuring Cups

Measuring cups are quick, convenient, and especially useful for liquids and free-flowing items like:

• Milk or juice

• Oats

• Yogurt

• Cereal

• Sauces or dressings

They're also great when you're in a rush or don’t want to pull out a scale. While they’re not perfectly accurate, they’re often “good enough” for most people — especially if you're more focused on consistency than perfection.

That said, certain foods don’t fit well into cups, which brings us to...

When a Food Scale Works Best

For the most accurate tracking — especially if you’re dialing in your nutrition for body composition or athletic goals — a food scale is your best friend.

A scale removes all the guesswork and works better for:

• Diced or oddly shaped items (like cubed potatoes or chicken breast)

• Dense foods that don’t pack into measuring cups evenly

• Small calorie-dense foods like nuts, peanut butter, cheese, or butter

• Recipes where precise measurements are crucial

For example, try stuffing cubed potato into a measuring cup. You’ll find it varies wildly depending on how tightly you pack it, and how much “air” is between the pieces. With a scale, 150g is 150g — every time.

So, Which Should You Use?

Use whichever you’ll stick with consistently. A food scale is more accurate, but if it feels like too much at first, start with measuring cups. You can always level up later.

Some people even use both — measuring cups for things like milk or oats, and a scale for meat, cheese, or calorie-dense foods.

The most important part is to have some kind of system in place. Tracking with tools — even imperfect ones — builds awareness, and that awareness is what drives long-term change.

Need Help with Nutrition Coaching?

Whether you’re just starting to track your food or want more structure in your nutrition and training, we offer personalized coaching designed to fit your lifestyle and goals. From customized macros and meal guidance to performance-focused training, we're here to help you make progress — without all the guesswork.

Click here to get in touch or learn more about coaching.

Ready to stop guessing and start making real progress?

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Kurtis Proksch