Fro-Yo, uh-oh

If you love frozen yogurt, as many of us do, I have a little known secret that may make the difference between a small treat and a weight control disaster.

When the nutrition information for frozen yogurt is listed, the calories, fat, sugar etc, are stated per ounce. FLUID OUNCE. But, the weight of the product on a scale is different than the fluid ounces.

For example, a kiddie cup typically weighs 3 ounces, but contains 4 fluid ounces. If your fro-yo is 25 calories per ounce, you are consuming 100 calories, not 75. Not much of a difference in small size, but the larger the cup, the higher the caloric discrepancy.

One particular national frozen yogurt chain has cups that weigh in as follows:

kiddie cup, 3 ounces (4 fluid)

small, 5 ounces (6 1/3 fluid) 

medium ,7 ounces (9 1/3 fluid)

large, 9 ounces (12 fluid)

In a large cup, that's approximately 75 extra calories you didn't know you were consuming. SO, the next time you enter one of the new frozen yogurt stores that are self-serve, remember this: when you weigh your cup at the register, you need to add about 1/3 on top of the ounces you see on the scale to get a true calorie count on your tasty treat. Toppings? Well, that’s a whole other story….