Scales / Guide
Portion control container sizes explained: cups, roughly grams, and how far a cup can be off
A portion kit measures volume. Macros are counted by weight. This page translates one into the other for the foods people actually pack, shows how much a 'cup' can vary, and tells you when the kit is enough and when it isn't.
By Mike M.Updated Researched from maker spec pages
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The sizes, in cups
| Container | Food group (per BODi) | Capacity (per BODi) | In mL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Vegetables | 1 cup | ~240 mL |
| Purple | Fruit | 1 cup | ~240 mL |
| Red | Protein | ¾ cup | ~180 mL |
| Yellow | Carbs | ½ cup | ~120 mL |
| Blue | Healthy fats | ⅓ cup | ~80 mL |
| Orange (×2) | Seeds & dressings | 2 tbsp | ~30 mL |
Colors and capacities from BODi's product page and container explainer (linked in Sources); the mL column is the standard US-cup conversion.
Cups to grams, roughly
A cup of water is about 240 g. Food is not water. Cooked white rice packs to somewhere around 150–200 g a cup depending on how firmly it is pressed in; diced cooked chicken breast is loose and runs roughly 110–140 g a cup; raw leafy greens are mostly air and can be under 40 g a cup; olive oil is about 220 g a cup, which is why the fat container is the smallest and the one that matters most. These are ranges, not figures, and they are the reason a kit is a portion tool and a scale is a measurement tool. USDA FoodData Central lists a gram weight per cup for most foods if you want the entry for a specific one.
How far a cup can be off
The fix inside the kit is consistency: fill the same way every time (level, not packed) and the error becomes an offset you can adjust for. The kit itself — what BODi publishes, what it leaves off the listing, and whether it is still worth buying — is reviewed on the Beachbody portion control containers review. The fix outside the kit is a scale, once — weigh what your level cup of each food actually is, write it on the lid, and the kit becomes a gram tool. And if the portions you work to are smaller than anything in the kit, the vessels that go down to a quarter of a cup are ranked on best bariatric portion control containers.
Kit to tray to scale
The three tools are the same idea at three precisions. The kit is fastest and coarsest. A divided tray with embossed cup marks (Bentgo Prep's 2 / 1 / 1 cup wells) is the kit and the lunch box in one: the 2-cup main well is roughly two red containers plus a yellow. A scale is slowest and exact. The rankings: portion containers, divided trays, scales. And the reason a cup of cooked chicken and a cup of raw chicken are different amounts of protein is on weigh food cooked or raw.
The gear this leads to
Our picks for this
The kit, the tray with the marks, and the scale that calibrates them
Best portion kit
BODi 21 Day Fix Portion Control Containers (7-piece)
Color-coded portion kitMicrowaveDishwasher8.7/10The published-capacity kit: seven containers, six sizes, nesting, top-rack dishwasher safe.
$9.95BODi 21 Day Fix#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to BODi 21 Day Fix Portion Control Containers (7-piece)
Best divided set
Bentgo Prep 3-Compartment Containers (20-piece)
PFAS/BPA-free plastic · 3 compartmentsMicrowaveFreezerDishwasher8.9/102 / 1 / 1 cup wells with embossed marks — the kit's portions as a container you carry.
$12.53Bentgo Prep 3-Compar#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to Bentgo Prep 3-Compartment Containers (20-piece)
Best macro scale for the money
Etekcity ESN00 Smart Nutrition Scale
1 g · 11 lb · VeSync appApp sync9.5/10Weigh your level cup of each food once, and the kit becomes a gram tool.
$39.99Etekcity ESN00#ad · Price as of November 5, 2026 · Disclosure for the link to Etekcity ESN00 Smart Nutrition Scale
How Meal & Macro picks gear
Researched, compared and scored
Every pick starts with the maker's own product page and manual: the lid, material and care ratings in its exact wording ("leak-proof", "oven safe to 450°F", "top-rack only"), the container-fit and ice-pack arithmetic worked out from published dimensions and the USDA's numbers, and a score on a public rubric for the category that weights the seal, the material and the fit first. Models are compared side by side, so each page lands on one clear pick per use case with the reason stated. Every figure links to where it came from; where the maker's page would not load we cite a retailer and say so.
Scores are editorial judgments built from that documented research. Commissions never set a score or decide a pick. The rubrics and their weights are published.
Questions
Frequently asked
How many grams is a portion control container?
It depends on the food. The containers are volumes (1 cup, ¾ cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup, 2 tbsp); a cup of cooked rice and a cup of greens weigh very different amounts. Weigh your own level cup once to know.
Are portion control containers accurate?
Repeatable if you fill the same way every time; not precise. Packing density alone can move a half-cup of rice by 30%.
Can I use a divided meal prep tray instead of a kit?
Yes — Bentgo Prep's trays have embossed cup marks in each well, which does the same job while being the container you carry.
Keep reading
Related on Meal & Macro
Receipts
Sources
- BODi — Portion Control 7-Piece Container Kit page (colors, BPA/DEHP-free, top-rack dishwasher, nesting) (checked 2026-09-21)
- BODi blog — Understanding the 21 Day Fix Containers (container capacities by color) (checked 2026-09-21)
- Bentgo — Prep 3-Compartment Containers 20-piece page (capacities, dimensions, materials, care) (checked 2026-09-21)
- Etekcity — ESN00 Smart Nutrition Scale page (capacity, graduation, units, platform, batteries, VeSync + Nutritionix, sync, warranty) (checked 2026-09-21)
- USDA FoodData Central (nutrient database used for raw vs cooked yields) (checked 2026-09-21)
Materials, capacities, seals and care ratings come from the maker's own product pages and manuals (linked on every product) or, where the maker's page would not load, from a retailer listing we label as such. Food-safety numbers are quoted from the USDA and FDA pages linked above. Where a figure isn't published we say so. Amazon sets the prices and changes them often, so the button on every pick checks today's. Read the full method.