Steamed Meats.

MindySaysWhaaat

I have a question. I have recently discovered that I can steam meat in my rice cooker. So since this is my new favorite thing, I've been eating a lot of steamed boneless skinless chicken breasts. I also just bought a digital scale. I found an entry on MFP for steamed boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I am unsure if I use the weight before or after cooking. I had a chicken breast that was 11oz before cooking, and 7oz after. I counted it as 7oz but I don't know if this is right or not.

Serah87

Always weigh meat before cooked.

lemurcat12

If you weigh raw, use the raw entry: "chicken-breast, meat only, raw" with no asterisk.

If you weigh cooked, use the one that specifies your cooking method, but ideally one without an asterisk. There are lots of inaccurate entries (no asterisk ones are usually reliable, as are ones with lots of confirmations), so double checking with the USDA site is always recommended. The one I mentioned above is good, as are the other chicken without asterisk ones I've seen.

Kalikel

I just weigh things before I cook them. I don't know how the calories change depending on the method (or if they change) and I don't care. It's an estimate. No matter how careful you are, it's still an estimate. So, just do whatever you do consistently and adjust what you eat as needed, based on the results.

I don't usually weigh individual portions, either. If I but 1.17 pounds of chicken and I mix it up with a bag of veggies, I log the whole mess as a meal, then enter .2 or .25 of it when I eat a bowl. It may not be exact for that day, but over the course of eating the four or five bowl, it works out.

The accuracy is less important than being consistent, IMO. If you do it the same way every time, you can work with that and lose or gain as necessary.

avskk

It's best to weight and log it raw, then cook it. Entries for cooked meats aren't particularly accurate -- the meat's weight changes based on exactly how long you cooked it, how much water came out or was added, etc.

MindySaysWhaaat

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll use the raw one that lemurcat12 mentioned from now on.