Potato weighing question!

princess_vic

This is a very silly question, I know, so sorry!
The only food I have an issue logging is baked potatoes. I never know if I should weigh them raw, or weigh once cooked and log that weight. Obviously there is a huge amount of weight difference between raw and baked, so would like to know!
Thanks so much!!!! x

RodaRose

Weigh raw. (It is actually an important question.)

PeachyCarol

Yup, weigh raw! I weigh every veggie except spaghetti squash raw. When you're logging it, just look for the raw entry.

Liftng4Lis

I always weigh raw.

princess_vic

Cool, thank you so much. So will weigh raw and log the raw weight. Makes sense as you aren't adding cals/fat etc by putting them in the oven. Appreciate the responses

ana3067

It really doesn't matter. Use the appropriate entry for the state you are weighing it in. If there is a USDA entry for cooked baked potato, then go ahead and use it. I recently decided that it's easier for me to weigh things raw if I am weighing them for a single serving/meal. But if I'm cooking something in bulk, e.g. a handful of chicken breasts, it's much easier to just cook them all and then weigh what I want after I've cooked them. Sometimes my parents make meat and other veggies (e.g. boiled broccoli) while I'm at work; am I going to not eat it just because it's all in cooked form? Of course not!

Whatever you do, just be consistent. If you notice that your weight loss/progress is stalling with your current weighing methods, you can try only weighing cooked. Or only weighing raw. And if there aren't any differences in your results then you know it's just an energy consumption/burn issue, in which case you'd just need to eat less or exercise more.

williams969

Yes, whenever possible, weigh them raw. There is a "non-asterisk" entry in the MFP database that says, "potato - flesh and skin, raw" and "potato - flesh and skin, baked."

Because the weight of the potato will reduce with baking (it releases some water as steam), the baked weight will vary. I have used both, depending on the situation (like someone else baked it, or I batch baked a week's worth, etc.). But raw is more accurate for all things you prepare yourself (meat and veggie and fruit, etc).

P.S. be sure to log any oil or additions (I usually rub mine w/ 1/2 tsp. oil if they're going in the oven, yum and worth it).

libbydoodle11

I weigh them raw. Sometimes I forget and have to weigh them baked. No biggie, as long as you are weighing and logging them. The database does have both options.

libbydoodle11

mamapeach910 wrote: »

Yup, weigh raw! I weigh every veggie except spaghetti squash raw. When you're logging it, just look for the raw entry.

Just curious: Why do you make it a point to weigh the spaghetti squash only after cooking?

melimomTARDIS

I weigh them baked, after they come out of the microwave. I use the "baked" entry on MFP

bwogilvie

libbydoodle11 wrote: »

mamapeach910 wrote: »

Yup, weigh raw! I weigh every veggie except spaghetti squash raw. When you're logging it, just look for the raw entry.

Just curious: Why do you make it a point to weigh the spaghetti squash only after cooking?

Not the person who posted that, but my guess is that it's because after you scoop out the strands of spaghetti squash, you have a bunch of skin and leftover flesh that you're not going to eat.

To go back to the original question: because baking a potato releases some water, but it depends on how long and how hot you bake it, I weigh my potatoes raw.

lemurcat12

I weigh most things raw, because it's usually easier and tends to be more accurate when possible, but sometimes you have to weigh cooked. Either is fine so long as you find the right entry that specifies raw or cooked and if cooked, the method (you get different weights from braising something vs. roasting it).

PeachyCarol

libbydoodle11 wrote: »

mamapeach910 wrote: »

Yup, weigh raw! I weigh every veggie except spaghetti squash raw. When you're logging it, just look for the raw entry.

Just curious: Why do you make it a point to weigh the spaghetti squash only after cooking?

Because I cook it in the rind and don't eat the rind, and the amount I scrape out will vary, so I want just the amount I get as yield. When I weigh it, I use the appropriate entry (usually baked).